Japan's Physical Geography And Economic Comparison Of Japan, Japan

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When you think of East Asia, what countries come to mind? The one I immediately think of is Japan. Japan is a small country consisting of many islands. Although it is small, it’s packed with a large sum of wealthy cities. One of the more well known ones is Osaka, Japan. This paper will fill you with knowledge on Osaka’s physical geography, economic system, political system, history, and a few current events.
Osaka is one of the largest cities in Western Japan, but is the third largest in the whole country. Although they greatly differ in size, many people compare it to Tokyo. Its estimated area is around 86.1 square miles, and it has a whopping 2.665 million people populating the city. Tokyo, on the other hand, has an area of almost 865 …show more content…

The entire economy of Japan operates under capitalism. Capitalism, as defined by dictionary.com, is “an economic system in which investment in and ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth is made and maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations, especially as contrasted to cooperatively or state-owned means of wealth.” (Dictionary.com) A simplified definition just states that businesses and property are owned by private individuals or corporations, not governments. Osaka’s greatest contribution to Japan’s economy is through industry. It was a leader in the Industrial Revolution, and since then has produced a large number of major industries. It is also classified as the gateway to overseas and the center of Japan’s economy. The entire region enveloping Osaka has a GDP (gross domestic product) of $358.8 billion. That small fraction of the country stands at an equal GDP to Switzerland. Osaka is known as the Region for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) and is credited for 65% of the world’s industry. 8% of the nation’s small-medium sized industries are based there, and 99.6% operate out of there. Because of the city’s vast amount of skilled manufacturers in many fields, there are 190,000 places of business within Osaka. (1. Osaka Business Center 2. Osaka Introduction- Industry of Osaka 3. …show more content…

People began settling in what we know as Osaka around 10,000 years ago, but Osaka didn’t really begin to flourish until the 5th century. Chinese culture was brought to Osaka around that time, causing Buddhism to become a major religion of Japan. Prince Shotoku then constructed the Shitennoji Buddhist Temple to honor Buddha. In the 7th century, Osaka became the nation’s first capital. The capital moved to different cities in later years, one of them being Kyoto at the beginning of the Heian Period. Even after the many capital relocations, Osaka still remains a sub-capital and is a culture and trade hotspot. At the end of the 12th century, Japan fell into the clutches of the warrior class, causing years of wars to devastate the land. In 1583, Toyotomi Hideyoshi constructed the “Osaka Castle”. Six years after its construction, Hideyoshi had conquered all of Japan. He left the peasants without weapons, only allowing the samurai to yield them. He persecuted Christians and according to stripes.com, he “changed the face of Japan forever.” (Stripes.com) After his death in 1598, his 5 year old son was left in charge. His rival, Tokugawa soon became shogun and ended up destroying the castle. It was rebuilt in 1626 by Tokugawa but ended up being destroyed by lightning. Japanese citizens rebuilt it in 1931, but it was destroyed in a WWII air raid that ended up leveling out ⅓ of

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