Japan and US

Japan and the United States of America are two countries which have chosen to be allies in spite of tremendous differences and a fairly recent history of war between the two countries. One of the most obvious differences lies in their cultures. In Japan, when people interact careful attention is given to differences in both social status and power, even in informal settings (Kitao, 2003).

In the United States we have valued the right of anyone to overcome adverse circumstances at birth and rise as far as he or she can go, and we work hard to ignore differences in social standing in everyday dealings with others. Other cultural differences occur because Japan, as a country, is much older than the U.S. And markedly less ethnically diverse, allowing them to focus on what it means to be Japanese. In the U.S.

we constantly redefine ourselves based on the many diverse aspects of our population. Physically, the countries have some similarities and some differences. Japan is an island nation, a long and narrow string of islands. Because of this, Japan's climate varies from tropical to cool temperate (CIA, 2004a). While the United States has many different kinds of geography, most of Japan is low to medium-range mountains. The highest point is Mount Fuji at 3,776 meters (CIA, 2004a). Partly because of the mountains, Japan only has about 12% arable land (CIA, 2004a).

Natural hazards include earthquakes, sometimes severe, tsunamis related to those earthquakes, ad typhoons (CIA, 2004a). While Japan is only about the size of California, the United States is slightly larger than all of China. This gives United States more arable land, more natural resources, and a wider range of weather conditions and geographical forms. The climate is mostly temperate, with extremes in Alaska and Hawaii. It has major rivers and markedly higher mountains in places: Mount McKinley rises 6,194 meters (CIA, 2004b).

While only about 19% of the land is considered arable, because of its greater size, that allows the United States to grow a substantial amount of food. Also related to size, Japan has few natural resources, while they are abundant in the United States, including coal, copper, petroleum, natural gas, gold, iron and timber (CIA, 2004b). Some interesting population facts exist between the two countries. The median age in Japan is 40.5 (males and 43.3) female. their population growth rate is only.08%, and infant mortality is low (3.28 per 1,000 live births) (CIA, 2004a).

The population is over 99% Japanese with few immigrants from other countries. By comparison, the United States has a younger population: median ages are 34.7 for males and 37.4 for females (CIA, 2004b). The U.S. population growth rate is significantly higher (over 9%), ad its infant mortality rate is nearly twice as high at 6.63 deaths/1,000 live births (CIA, 2004b). Both countries have high rates of literacy. The U.S. population differs significantly from Japanese in that it is multi-ethnic and multi-cultural. About 77% of U.S.

residents are considered white; about 13% black; about 4% Asian, and Native about 1.5%. While English is the official language, a significant minority speaks Spanish (CIA, 2004a). Economically, both companies have remarkable traits. After World War II, Japan was not allowed to build extensive military strength, and so they put those resources into industry. The result was a rapid growth in GNP and a swift rise as a major world economic power (CIA, 2004a). However, Japan must import much of its basic needs.

It does not have the land to grow all the food needed for its population and has few natural resources for raw materials and fuel (CIA, 2004a). The United States is the most significant world economic force (CIA, 2004a) but has built its economic base more gradually, over several centuries. It has a wider range of incomes among the population with significant number of both wealthy and poor families (CIA, 2004a). Politically, the two countries have some similarities and some significant differences. They both use a parliamentary form of government.

However Japan also has an emperor by birthright (CIA, 2004a), who exerts significant influence on the country's policies. Japan is a relatively new democracy, having adopted its Constitution in 1947 (CIA, 2004a). By comparison, the United States adopted its Constitution in 1789, giving the country well over 200 years of experience with representational democracy as a form of government (CIA, 2004b). The two countries' histories are markedly different. Japan existed for centuries as a band of feudal states, founded as a country in 660 BC.

The country has a long history of relative isolation, which allowed the country to focus in on itself, its culture, its heritage, and develop a common collective view of what it meant to be Japan and Japanese. However, once Japan opened its doors to the West, it rapidly adopted some facets of Western culture, so today's Japan is a meld of very old and relatively new ideas (CIA, 2004a).

The land that is now the United States was of course populated for many centuries before Europeans came, but its identity as a country began with the American Revolution (1776-1783). The United States had an entirely different response to contact with other cultures and encouraged.