Japanese Club

1. Japanese Club

2. Japanese Club with Mrs. Crist Konichi-wa, My name is Mrs. Crist and I am the foreign language teacher at Hanover Middle School. Besides speaking Spanish and French, I know a little bit of Japanese. I have been to Japan twice and have many Japanese friends. I worked for a Japanese company in Washington D.C. before I became a teacher. I want to share with you some of the things I learned about Japanese culture and language during this club.

3. Navigate to the page you would like to visit Map of JapanPhotos of Japan Facts comparing Cultural Tidbits Japan to 2 other countriesunder construction Vocabulary Pages Mrs. Crist’s photo album under construction

5. Let’s Compare Japan to U.S.A. and Mexico To get a better idea of where Japan stands compared to other countries in the word, let’s compare some facts about Japan to those of U.S.A. and Mexico. All of the information is very current, from the summer of 2008, taken from www.cia.gov.

6. How Big are the countries? • U.S.A. has a total land and water area of 9,826,630 square kilometers. • The U.S. is the 3rd largest country by size in the world. • Mexico has a total land and water area of 1, 972,550 square kilometers. • Japan has a total land and water area of 377,835 square kilometers. • Japan is the smallest of the three countries. It is slightly smaller than California.

7. How many people live there? The U.S.A. population is 303,824,646 people. The average age is 36.7 years. The birth rate is 14.18/1000 people. The death rate is 8.27/1000 (this means that in a group of 1000 people, 8.27 of them will die in a given year. Mexico’s population is 109,955,400. The average age is 26 years. The birth rate is 20.04/1000. The death rate is 4.78/1000. Japan’s population is 127, 288, 419 people. The average age is 43.8 The birth rate is 7.87/1000 The death rate is 9.26/1000 This is fascinating!! Japan has more people than Mexico even though Mexico is 5 times bigger! Japan’s population is aging, which may account for it’s death rate being higher than the other countries. Mexico’s average age is only 26. This will account for the lowest death rate of the 3 countries.

8. More about birth and death In the U.S.A., the average woman bears 2.1 children. Out of 1000 babies born, 6.3 will die as infants. U.S. population is growing at a rate of .883% The life expectancy of Americans averages 78.14 years: men 75.28 years and women 81.13 years. In Mexico, the average woman bears 2.37 children. Out of 1000 babies born, 19.01 will die as infants. Mexican population is growing at a rate of 1.142% The life expectancy of Mexican males is 75.84 years, for women it is 78.78 years. In Japan, the average woman bears 1.22 children. Out of 1000 babies born, 2.8 will die as infants. Japan’s population growth is negative: - 0.139% Recall that the death rate (elderly population) exceeds the birth rate. Japanese women may be choosing careers over families. The life expectancy is 82.07: 78.73 years for men and 85.59 years for women. This is one of the highest life expectancies in the world. Mexico’s higher infant mortality rate is disturbing and may require further research as to the causes.

9. More People Facts In the U.S., citizens may vote at the age of 18. 99% of the population is literate. 12% of the population lives below the established poverty level. In Mexico, citizens may also vote at the age of 18. 91% of the population is literate. Nearly 40% of the population lives below the established poverty level. In Japan, citizens may vote at the age of 20. 99% of the population is literate. There are no statistics available about the poverty level. I find the literacy rate in all 3 countries impressive. The poverty level in Mexico is very troubling and may help account for the high rate of Mexican immigrants coming to the United States.

10. Government The United States is a constitution-based federal republic. George W. Bush is the current president. The external debt is $12.25 trillion. The unemployment rate is 4.6% Mexico is a federal republic. The president is Felipe de Jesus Calderon Hinojosa. He is called Presidente Calderon. The external debt is $179.7 billion. The unemployment rate is 3.7%, but it is estimated at 25% of the population is underemployed. Japan is a constitutional monarchy w/ a parliamentary government. The chief of state is Emperor Akihito. The head of government is Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda. The external debt is $1.492 trillion. The unemployment rate is 3.9%. It appears that more Mexicans have jobs than people from the other 2 countries! The problem is that they are not getting enough hours and high enough wages to support their families.

11. Money The monetary unit of the United States is called the U.S. Dollar. The value of the U.S. dollar has been decreasing in recent years when held up against currencies in other countries, such as the euro. U.S.A.’s per capita G.D.P. is $45,800. Mexico’s money is called The Mexican Peso. With each U.S. Dollar, you can by 10.8 Mexican pesos. This exchange rate has stayed fairly steady for the last few years. Mexico’s per capita G.D.P. is $12,800. Japan’s money is called the Japan Yen. You can buy 117.99 yen for every U.S. dollar. In 2006, you could only get 116.18 yen, so this has improved slightly in favor of the dollar. Japan’s per capita G.D.P. is $33,600.

12. Vocabulary PagesClick on the topic to view each vocabulary page • Colors • Numbers • Family • Days of the week • Seasons • Animals • Foods

13. Colors: Iro Daidai-iro-orange Midori- green Kuro - black Hai-iro - grey Aka - red Cha-iro - brown Shiro - white Ao - blue Pinku -pink Murasaki - purple Ki-iro-yellow

14. Numbers:Kazu 1 ichi 11 juichi 2 ni 12 juni 3 san 13 jusan 4 shi 14 jushi 5 go 15 jugo 6 roku 16 juroku 7 shichi 17 jushichi 8 hachi 18 juhachi 9 kyu 19 jukyu 10 ju 20 niju

15. Family:Kazoku Grandmother sobo younger sister imoto Grandfather sofu older sister ane Cousin itoko daughter musume Uncle oji older brother ani Aunt oba younger brother ototo Husband otto son musuko Father chichi Wife tsuma Mother haha

16. Iroirona-hi: days of the week Japanese Getsu-yobi Ka-yobi Sui-yobi Moku-yobi Kin-yobi Do-yobi Nichi-yobi English Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

17. Dobutsuen-zoo page 1 JapaneseEnglish Inu dog Neko cat Kingyo goldfish Tori bird Usagi rabbit Hamusuta hamster Morumotto guinea pig Ondori rooster Mendori hen Me-ushi cow Shichimencho turkey JapaneseEnglish Buta pig Uma horse Hitsuji sheep Gacho geese Ahiru ducks Fukuro owl Hikigaeru toad Risu squirrel Kitsune fox Chocho butterfly Tora tiger Kujira whale Same shark

18. Dobutsuen:Zoo Page 2 Japanese English Hebi snake Shima-uma zebra Yagi goat Biiba beaver Sai rhino Shiro-kuma polar bear Kuma bear Zo elephant Kame turtle Azarashi seal Rakuda camel Shika dear Kirin giraffe Raion lion Japanese English Iruka dolphin Pengin penguin Wani crocodile Okami wolf Kangaru kangaroo Gorira gorilla Komori bat Saru monkey Kaba hippo Washi eagle Panda panda

19. Kisetsu:Seasons Haru- spring Natsu-summer Aki-autumn Fuyu-winter

20. Tabemono-Food page 1 Japanese English Niku meat Hanbaga hamburger Hamu ham Sarami salami Soseji sausage Sakana fish Toriniku chicken Hottudoggu hotdog Beekon bacon Biihu beef Japanese English Yasai veggies Sarada salad Retasu lettuce Ingen or mame beans Kabocha pumpkin Horenso spinach Tamato tomato Saya-endo peas Kyabetsu cabbage Tamanegi onion Serori celery Kyuri cucumber Ninjin carrots

21. Tabemono-food page 2 Japanese English Kudamono fruit Puramu plum Pain pineapple Momo peach Apurikotto apricot Remon lemon Gurepu-furutsu grapefruit Mikan tangerine Meron melon Sakuranbo cherry Ringo apple Budo grapes Banana banana Orenji orange Japanese English Nashi pear Ichigo strawberry Ki-ichigo raspberry Dezato dessert Kukkii cookie Keki cake Chokoreto chocolate Okashi candy Sato sugar