ABSTRACT
The capital of Tokyo is the world’s most populous metropolitan area with more than 38 million residents. Japan has limited arable land; a good portion of the arable land it does have is on the northern island of Hokkaido. The country sits quite literally on shaky ground, at the confluence of four major tectonic plates, which created a land of mountains, volcanoes and ancient craters. Japan has several other minority groups, including the Ainu, Indigenous peoples only officially recognized as such in 2019. Ancestors of the current Japanese people are thought to have inhabited the Japanese islands tens of thousands of years ago. Classical Japan comprises three periods: Asuka, Nara and Heian. During Asuka (538–710), Japan transformed from a loosely structured tribal land into a more organized society. Japan’s creation story explains the origins of the Japanese islands, describes the emergence of the celestial and earthly worlds and recounts the birth of the first Gods.
