3. *General Info (1/3)*
● Japan was founded in 660 BC
● Japan is an island country located in East Asia
● Tokyo is Japan's Capital
● Japan's Flag is made up of a red circle that
symbolizes the sun , it’s against a white
background. Its because Japan lies at the far
west of pacific ocean.
4. *General Info (2/3)*
● Japan's Major Cities:
○ Tokyo
○ Yokohama
○ Osaka
○ Kobe
○ Sapporo
○ Nagayo
5. *General Info (3/3)*
● Japan's population = 126. 8 million
● Japan is a constitutional monarchy where the
emperors power is limited
● Prime minister is Shinzo Abe
6. *Quick Facts*
● Japan's drinking age is 20
● Japan are made up of 6,582 islands
● Japan is a world leader in robotics
● Japan has a suicide forest
● Japan's death rate is 10.7 per 1000 people
● Japan has only two gun homicides per year
● In Japan there is a crying sumo contest
7. *Culture and Traditions of Japan (½)*
● Religion: Shinto and Buddhism
○ Shinto - classified as East Asian religion by scholars, it’s followers often regard it
as a nature religion for the indigenous people of Japan
○ Buddhism - a widespread Asian religion/philosophy, founded by Siddhartha
Gautama in northeastern India in the 5th century BC
● Art
○ The emergence of Buddhism correlates with the relevance of art. Many
Japanese began sculpting and painting religious figures and concepts and this
is still true till today.
○ Painting and Pottery very relevant in Japanese culture
8. *Culture and Traditions of Japan (2/2)*
● Food:
○ Typical meals in Japan include a bowl of rice (gohan), a bowl of miso soup,
tsukemono (vegetables, meat, and or fish), and a choice of multiple types of
noodles (udona, soba, and romen).
○ Sushi - fish wrapped in seaweed and or rice. (I THINK YOU ALL KNOW WHAT
SUSHI IS)
● Drink:
○ Rice Wine, also known as Whistle Sake, is referred to as the National Drink of
Japan.
○ Amazake a sweet and low-alcohol drink fermented by rice (served warm)
○ Japanese Soda
10. Popular Sports in Japan
● Sumo Wrestling
● Baseball
● Golf
● Soccer
● Tennis
11. -Sumo Wrestling
● Sumo wrestling is Japan's national sport
● Origin: Between the 3rd and 7th Century
● Sumo wrestling purpose was to entertain the Shinto deities
● The Loincloth worn by the men are 10 yards
● The sumos hair is oiled and supposed to look like a shape of a leaf
● To win a match you have to knock your opponent to the ground
● There are different rankings in sumo wrestling. The highest is Yokozuna
● Most men who compete in sumo wrestling are not japanese
● Famous Sumo Wrestlers:
○ Taiho
○ Futabayama
12. -Baseball
● Baseball in Japan was discovered in 1872
● Japanese baseball league is called the Nippon league
● Japan baseball is legit, it’s second to the MLB
● Fans in stadium have to wear helmets for protection
● Japan baseball game can't go past 12 innings
● The Yomiuri Giants are the “ Yankees”
● Only 12 teams in league
● Some famous Baseball Players
○ Masahiro Tanaka
○ Shohei Otani
13. -Golf
● The game of golf was created in 1764 at the Old Golf Course of St. andrews in
Scotland.
● The game made its way to Japan
● In 1903 Japan learned the game of Golf from the British
● “Postwar Golf Boom” - Japan acquired its Golf courses back after the war and
the game of golf became very popular with hundreds of golf courses being
created
● 1964 - 195 Golf Courses | 1970s -Over 1,000 Golf Courses
● The game of Golf is on the decline now in Japan as their has been a 40% drop
in participation of the sport
● Some Famous Golfers:
○ Hideki Matsuyama
○ Shigeki Maruyama
○ Isao Aoki
14. -Soccer
● Soccer has been played in Japan since 1870s
● Japan has a football association
● In Japan the football association is called Nippon Sakka Kyokai
● Japan national team is called the Samurai Blues
● Famous Japanese soccer players are
○ Shinji Kagawa
○ Makoto Hasebe
15. -Tennis
● 1886 Tennis was adopted in Japan by a High School professor,
Tsuboi Gendo
● Game first played with rubber balls
● 1913 Keio University adopted the “hard tennis ball”
● Naomi Osaka is looked at as the star for the rise in popularity of
the sport of tennis in Japan
● Tennis is on the rise
● Famous Tennis Players:
○ Naomi Osaka
○ Kei Nishikori
17. -Naomi Osaka
● Pro Tennis Player
● Born: October 16, 1997 (22 Years Old)
● Ranked #1 by Women's Tennis Association
● 1st Asian player to hold the top ranking in Women's Tennis Singles
● Accolades
○ 5 Titles of the WTA Tour
○ Grand Slam Title
○ Premier Mandatory Levels Title
18. -Shohei Otani
● Professional Baseball Player
● Born: July 5, 1994 (25 Years Old)
● Nickname “Sho Time”
● He is a dual position baseball player as he can play the DH and
OF positions as well as Pitch (VERY RARE)
● Teams Played 4:
○ Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
○ Los Angeles Angels
19. -Masahiro Tanaka
● Professional Baseball Player
● Born: November 1, 1988 (31 Years Old)
● Starting pitcher for the New York Yankees
● Grew up in Itami, Hyogo, Japan
● Played Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles from 2007- 2013
● Then came to America in 2014 and is present pitcher for Yankees
● His success transferred over from Japan
● He is one of the top pitchers in the MLB
20. -Ichiro
● Professional Baseball Player
● Born: October 22, 1973 (46 Years Old)
● Known for starting the trend of transition form Japanese Baseball
Leagues to the Major Baseball League in the United States of
America
● Position: OF
● Teams
○ Orix BlueWave (Japan)
○ Seattle Mariners (MLB)
○ New York Yankees (MLB)
○ Miami Marlins (MLB)
21. -Hideki Matsui
● Professional Baseball Player
● Born: June 12, 1974 (45 Years Old)
● Starting outfielder for the Yankees, Angels, Athletics, Rays
● Grew up Neagarimachi, Ishikawa, Japan
● Played for the Yomiuri Giants from 1993- 2002 and then came to
America to play for the New York Yankees in 2003
● All star outfielder for Yankees
● Helped lead Yankees to 2009 world series
22. -National Symbols in Sport
● Ichiro Suzuki- he represents baseball in Japan by
him being the first Japanese player to make MLB
● Sumo wrestling- Japan's national sport
● National dance is called Noh Mai
● National fish - Koi
● Tokyo- where the powerful sports team play
● Summer olympics 2020
23.
24. *Social Issues in Sport (½)*
● Nichidai Scandal
○ Japan had a scandal called the Nichidai scandal
○ Where two football coaches promoted dirty tackling
○ This left an opposing quarterback in critical condition
○ This happened at Nihon University
○ This happened in November of 2018
● Baseball fans safety
○ Japan baseball league gave their fans helmets and a glove to protect
themselves against foul balls.
○ That solves the problems of suffering injury at baseball games
25. *Social Issues in Sport (2/2)*
● The 2020 Summer Tokyo Olympics CANCELLED
○ Due to coronavirus shutting down the world
○ Japan had no choice to have the olympics with this deadly
disease going on
