Yamagata Prefectural Public High School Entrance Examination - Social Studies flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Archipelago

A chain of islands surrounded by sea; Japan is an archipelago of about 6,800 islands, with Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku as the four largest.

Exclusive Economic Zone

Sea area extending up to 200 nautical miles from a coastal state's baseline, where it has sovereign rights to explore and use living and nonliving resources.

Pacific Belt

Japan's main industrial and population belt along the Pacific coast from the Kantō region through Chūkyō to Hanshin, favored by ports, transport, and flat land.

Monsoon climate

Seasonal wind system; in Japan summer winds from the Pacific bring heat and rain, while winter winds from the Asian continent bring cold air and heavy snow on the Sea of Japan side.

Seto Inland Sea climate

A mild, relatively dry climate with low rainfall because surrounding mountains block moist winds; it is known for sunny weather and occasional water shortages.

Map scale

The ratio between map distance and real distance; on a 1:25,000 map, 1 cm represents 250 m, and a smaller denominator means a larger-scale, more detailed map.

Yamagata agriculture

Yamagata Prefecture is a leading producer of cherries, La France pears, and rice, benefiting from temperature differences between its inland basin and coastal areas.

Population decline

Japan's population has been falling since around 2008, with low birth rates and longer lifespans causing aging; rural prefectures such as Yamagata face depopulation and labor shortages.

Plate boundary

A boundary where tectonic plates meet; Japan lies near several plates, causing frequent earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic activity, so disaster preparedness is essential.

Latitude and longitude

Latitude measures north-south position from 0° at the equator to 90° at the poles; longitude measures east-west position from 0° at the Prime Meridian to 180°.

Rice terraces

Stepped fields built on slopes to conserve soil and water; common in Japanese mountainous areas, they require labor but reduce soil erosion and make use of limited flat land.

Jōmon period

Prehistoric period in Japan characterized by cord-marked pottery, hunting, fishing, and gathering; people lived in pit dwellings and shell mounds before wet-rice agriculture spread.

Yayoi period

Period when wet-rice agriculture, bronze and iron tools, and weaving spread from the continent; society became stratified and small chiefdoms formed, leading toward Kofun culture.

Taika Reform

645 political reform that aimed to strengthen imperial power by nationalizing land and people, creating a ritsuryō state modeled on Tang China.

Kamakura shogunate

Japan's first warrior government, established by Minamoto no Yoritomo around 1192; it placed shugo and jitō in provinces and repelled Mongol invasions with help from storms called kamikaze.

Sakoku

Tokugawa policy of strict limits on foreign contact from the 17th to 19th centuries; trade was restricted mainly to Nagasaki, and Japanese travel abroad was banned.

Meiji Restoration

1868 political change that ended the Tokugawa shogunate and restored imperial rule; Japan then pursued industrialization, military modernization, and Western-style institutions.

Industrial Revolution

Late 18th-century change beginning in Britain, using machines and steam power in factories; it transformed production, transport, cities, and social classes worldwide.

French Revolution

1789 uprising against absolute monarchy and privilege in France; it proclaimed liberty, equality, and popular sovereignty, influencing nationalism and democracy in Europe and beyond.

Cold War

Post-1945 rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union and their allies, marked by nuclear arms competition, ideological conflict, and proxy wars without direct large-scale war.

San Francisco Peace Treaty

1951 treaty that formally ended World War II between Japan and many Allied powers; Japan regained sovereignty in 1952 and later joined the United Nations in 1956.

High economic growth

Japan's rapid postwar economic expansion from the mid-1950s to the early 1970s, driven by manufacturing, exports, investment, and government industrial policy.

Popular sovereignty

Constitutional principle that political power ultimately belongs to the people; in Japan the Emperor is a symbol and sovereignty rests with the citizens.

Separation of powers

Division of government into legislative, executive, and judicial branches to prevent concentration of power; each branch checks the others under the Constitution.

Article 9

Constitutional clause renouncing war and prohibiting maintenance of armed forces with war potential; Japan interprets it as allowing self-defense forces for defensive purposes.

Universal suffrage

Right of all adult citizens to vote regardless of property, gender, or social status; Japan lowered the voting age from 20 to 18 in 2016.

Price mechanism

Market process in which prices rise when demand exceeds supply and fall when supply exceeds demand, guiding producers and consumers toward equilibrium.

Progressive tax

Tax system in which the tax rate rises as income increases, so higher-income earners pay a larger share; income tax is a major example.

Social security

Public system providing pensions, medical care, long-term care, and welfare benefits to support people against illness, old age, unemployment, and poverty.

United Nations

International organization founded in 1945 to maintain peace and security, promote human rights, and foster cooperation; its Security Council has five permanent members with veto power.

Local autonomy

Principle that local governments have their own elected assemblies and leaders and manage local affairs; Japan guarantees it in the Constitution and Local Autonomy Act.

Official Development Assistance

Official Development Assistance: government aid to developing countries for economic development and welfare, provided through grants, loans, and technical cooperation.