Japan

1. Japan By: Kendall McLucas And Josh Wertheim

2. Introduction to Japan • Population:126,475,664(July 2011 est.) • 10th most populated country. • Capitol: Tokyo • Largest City: Tokyo • Area: 377,915 sq km • Language: No native language.

3. School in Japan • Japanese women are among the best educated in the world. In 2005, 42.5 percent of them had at least some post-secondary education. • More than 90 percent of Japanese three- and four-year-olds attend pre-schools that teach students things like respect for their school, the importance of group interaction, language skills and how to cooperate with others to achieve common goals. Preschool teachers usually don't teach numbers and letters because mothers are expected to do that at home. Teachers and mothers also swap notes on how the child is doing.

4. School in Japan • There are no substitute teachers in Japanese elementary schools. When the teacher is absent, students generally take care of themselves. A teacher or principal often looks after the first and second graders but the third, forth, fifth and sixth graders are often left for hours without supervision, and work quietly on their own. • Japan only requires nine years of compulsory education. The Japanese education system consists of six years of elementary school, three years of middle school and three years of high school.

5. Japanese Katagana, Hiragana and Kanji • Children spend a large share of their time in school learning how to write and read Japanese katagana, hiragana and kanji. • Katagana is mainly used for transcription of foreign language words into Japanese writing. • Kanji is the logographic Chinese fonts that are used in the present Japanese writing. • Hiragana is mostly used to write native Japanese words.

6. Websites • http://www.facts-about-japan.com/ • http://factsanddetails.com/japan.php • http://web-japan.org/factsheet/index.html