Page 68 - South Korea & Japan: Temples, Shrines & Seaside Treasures

Other newsworthy scandals centered on Japanese history, as in a 2007 refusal by the Japanese
Prime Minister to acknowledge the military’s use of “comfort women” in World War II. Still
other were part of the political machine, like the landslide victory of the Democratic Party in
the 2009 elections—for Parliament this was an abrupt change from the Liberal Democratic
Party that had been in power for nearly 50 years. The same year, Yukio Hatoyama was named
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replaced him as Prime Minister in June of 2010.

Despite the changes to the ruling party and party leadership, the political controversies
continued unabated. In particular, the last few years have seen a strong public debate about
the continued presence of the U.S. military at the Futenma base in Okinawa. An earlier
agreement stated the base would be moved to a less-populated part of Okinawa Island,
and the number of Marines stationed at the base would be reduced. But public opinion has
been divided about moving the base (one proposed site raised environmental concerns), and
many are for removing the base from the island completely. Currently the base has not been
relocated, but plans are underway to reduce the number of Marines.

Sadly, more sober events were soon to take the spotlight away from a decade of political
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earthquake, which in turn triggered a tsunami. Although powerful, the damage from the initial
earthquake was minor compared to the damage caused by the tsunami, which reached heights
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and Fukushima were particularly hard-hit, which put the nuclear power plants Fukushima
Daiichi and Fukushima Daini at risk. By deliberately venting some radioactive isotopes from
the Daiichi plant, the authorities averted a meltdown, but the emergency measure still raises
concerns about the impact to the region immediately surrounding the plant. (This is why an
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world, under the slogan “Pray for Japan”. Inside Japan, many citizens felt the government
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result Prime Minister Naoto Kan stepped down in 2011; he was succeeded by Yoshihiko Noda,
who in turn was defeated by Shinzo Abe. In 2016, Emperor Akihito surprised his subjects by
announcing he was ready to step down from the Chrysanthemum Throne; his abdication will
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China

Facts & Figures
• Area: 3,705,407 square miles

• Capital: Beijing
• Languages: >_LYOL]O .STYP^P 8LYOL]TY T^ _SP ZʯNTLW WLYR`LRP& D`P .LY_ZYP^P B`
(Shanghaiese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese) are also spoken, along
with various Chinese dialects

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