Japan Country Report

Daniel Lozada

Dr. Carolyn Mueller

MGT 405 – Cross Cultural Dynamics and Management

October 17, 2012

Japan: Geography

This section of the country report will focus on Japanese geography and how it has impacted the development of its society and its culture. Basic areas of geography such as climate, biodiversity, and the environment will be discussed in this section as well. Japan is one of the most uncertainty avoiding countries in the world. This is attributed to the fact that Japan is constantly threatened by natural disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons, or volcano eruptions. Under these circumstances, the Japanese learned to prepare themselves for any unpredictable situation. For example, in corporate Japan, much time and effort is put into feasibility studies and all the potential risks must be worked out before any decision is made. Managers will ask for all the detailed facts and figures before putting any plan into action.

Japan has a total of 6,852 islands extending along the Pacific coast of East Asia. Roughly 73% of Japan is forested, mountainous, and unsuitable for agricultural, industrial, or residential use. As a result, the habitable zones, mainly located in coastal areas, have extremely high population densities. Japan’s population is estimated at 127 million with 80% of the population living in the region of Honshu. The islands of Japan are located in a volcanic zone on the Pacific Ring of Fire. It has over 108 active volcanoes. Destructive earthquakes often result in tsunamis and can occur several times over a century. The most recent major quakes have been the 1995 Hanshin earthquake and the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. In January of 1995, a major earthquake hit the city of Kobe, the fifth largest city in Japan, and its surroundings. Known as the Great Hanshin Earthquake, it claimed the lives of 6,000 people and injured over 400,000 people. Additionally, 100,000 homes were completely destroyed and 185,000 were severely damaged....