The Research in Japan

This is a piece of information showing how important the research and development that is required for Japan to continuously rise as a country in their economy. Just as early as in 1980, the Science and Technology Agency, a component of the Kantei (the office of the Prime Minister, Masayoshi Ōhira) announced the beginning of 'the era of Japan's technological independence'.

1. Japan 'Japan' in Japanese in Nihhon which means 'Land of The Rising Sun' as is believed that Japan was the first country in the East to see the sun rise. Japan consists of over 6,800 islands. Japan has more than 3,000 McDonald’s restaurants, the largest number in any country outside the United States of America. Twenty-one percent of the Japanese population is elderly (over the age of 65), the highest proportion in the world. There are more elderly than there are children in Japan today. The Japanese consume more fish than any other people in the world, about 17 million tons per year. Japan is the world’s largest importer of seafood, with shrimp comprising about one-third of the total, about four million tons a year. More than 20% of Japanese protein is obtained through fish and fish products.
2. Japan's Technology The Japanese invented canned coffee, instant noodles, karaoke, blue-light-emitting diodes and the Walkman. Japan was a pioneer of MP3 technology. Sony and Phillips co-developed the compact disc. In recent years, though, the Japanese have had a hard time coming up with the next bid thing. After all, it was Apple that came up with the iPod and iPhone, not Sony. Japanese are addicted to the latest and newest technology. They have things like air conditioning that you can control with a remote, smart televisions that can speak English and Japanese, cars with automated voices that can tell you where to go.
3. Natural Disasters- Earthquakes In the last six days, 10 earthquakes have occurred, with the second to most recent earthquake being a magnitude of 5.4, which was the highest this week. On April 15th, 2016, a strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.3 struck southern Japan barely 24 hours after a smaller quake hit the very area and killed nine people. Police on Saturday were informed as saying that at least six people had been killed. Officials said hundreds of calls had come in from residents reporting people trapped inside houses and structures on the island of Kyushu. The fire and disaster management agency said 66 people were trapped inside a nursing home in Mashiki, the town hammered hardest, and rescue efforts had begun.
4. Natural Disasters- Tsunamis On March 11, 2011, a magnitude-9 earthquake shook northeastern Japan, setting free a violent tsunami. The effects of the great earthquake were felt around the world, from Norway's fjords to Antarctica's ice sheet. Tsunami wreckage continues to surface on North American beaches two years later. The 2011 Tohoku earthquake struck offshore Japan, along a subduction zone where two of Earth's tectonic plates have a collision. In a subduction zone, one plate slides beneath another into the mantle, the hotter layer beneath the crust. The great plates stick and slip, causing earthquakes. East of Japan, the Pacific plate dives beneath the overriding Eurasian plate. The temblor completely released centuries of built-up stress between the two tectonic plates, a recent study found.