I Presentation of Japan
I.1 A terrible handicap

The geography of Japan shows one of the most remarkable contrasts in the world, between a very soil environment - which only offers to its inhabitants a cultivable surface of 80,000 kilometres square (of a total of 378,000) - and the presence, in 1993, of 124,6 million inhabitants. But, this hard situation didn't prevent Japan from being among the top three economic nations in the world. It's because, in spite of a classic insular situation, Japan has used all the foreign technologies, from the occident, for example, and all its common sense to take advantage of pieces of its territory to overcome its
haunting thought of overpopulation. Thought who is the base of Japanese behaviour. This prodigious effort is visible in the constant transformations of the rural landscape, planned by the state, even if the economy remains capitalist. But the state has to take this kind of decisions in a country where almost all natural catastrophes could happen. So, everywhere in the country, a lot of scientists are looking for any signs of the soil or of the next volcano, or study where a swamp could be drained to start building a new rice field, a fishing centre, or marine breeding with the best economic rent.

Happily, all these handicaps bring some advantages. So, for example, volcanoes, even if they represent a source of dangers, allow hot springs and a very cheap warm water for consumers... Moreover, Fuji-Yama (or Fuji-San, as we can also say), is a volcano, but the symbol of Japan too, and the symbol the imperial family who decided, many years ago, to leave Kyoto and to install next to it...
I.2 Environment of Japan

Geographic relief is characterised by three main facts : First, the abundance of mountains: slopes over 15% represent 75% of the country. But, except some volcanoes, only a few mounts top 3,000 metres. In fact, in the Japanese Alps, there aren't any high peaks but a lot of medium ones with deep valleys. Then, the lack of plains: Plains only occupy 16% of the territory and are the result of an accumulation of volcanic alluviums which make them very fertile.... Landscapes are however very various. The longest flat areas of the country are along the coasts, even if the largest plain doesn't exceed 15000 square kilometres. Due to this lack of flat plains, many sinuous rivers oblige people to build a lot of high breakwaters. Finally, the variety of contacts with the sea: in the interior of the mountains, there are a lot of basins which are linked by all the rivers we already talked about. But, the principal contact between Japan and water is through its coast. For, Japan has 28,000 kilometres of coast, in other words one kilometre for thirteen.

The result of this situation is a large variety of sceneries even if the most part of the population is established against flat and swampy bays. But there is the same variety for climates. For Japan possesses a lot of different climates, due to the influences of many different factors: length of the country (from the 46� North to the thirtieth parallel), double continental influences, oceanic ones and contrasts in altitude. We can also distinguish two main seasons : during winters, raw northeaster winds bring a lot of snow on this side of the mountains, whereas they go down, dried, on the Pacific's side; during summers, tropical winds, from the Southeast prevail over the two slopes and bring very warm winds with no humidity or very abundant rains, especially in June and September. Temperatures also change a lot : Hokkaido and Tohoku recorded minimum temperature of 40�C below zero, whereas Tokyo, who is at the same latitude than Madeira, at the west of the Portugal, only records an average of 15.7 �C.

All these conditions allows a lot of diversity and the presence of very abundant nature on all the territory. So, very large forests spread over 68% of the archipelago (on the mountains), that's why wood is the basic element of the traditional construction. Unfortunately, all these varieties of climates, environments don't make the inhabitants forget that Japanese nature is particularly inhospitable to mankind...
I.3 Contemporary economy

Japan is above all known for its economy. But it arises from a slow evolution. Very far is the time when Japanese goods were considered as very deficient in technology. Since the 80's the Japanese economy has appeared like the most dynamic of the industrial countries, but like the second most powerful in the World too. Totally ruined at the issue of the war, it has a total of 3400 billion dollars. The Nipponese archipelago is now the first industrialised country in the world and asserts itself like one of the three main centres of international relations, with the USA and the European Community. This

extraordinary growth takes root in the first steps of its industrial takeoff and in the personality of its inhabitants, who always know how to adapt to new situations.
Time of totally isolationism is equally a past. Nowadays, Japan needs the rest of the world. It is equally seeking international legitimacy to give a meaning to its economic development. That is the reason why it appears like one of the biggest helps giver to the Third-World and like a prime intervening party in the defence of the environment. In this way, it takes advantage of its impressive financial position, which can be only maintained by its investments abroad (3,939 billion in May 1996).