About Hokkaido, Japan

Japan is located the islands in eastern Asia and surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, Sea of Japan and the East China Sea. The country covers 378,000 square kilometers and has a population of 127 million people. Although Japan has many islands, there are four main ones: Honshu, Hokkaido, Shikoku and Kyushu. This year, both the J8 and G8 Summits are taking place in Hokkaido, the northernmost and second largest island in Japan. The J8 Summit will take place in Chitose City, in the mid-southern part of Hokkaido.

About three-quarters of Japan’s land surface is mountainous. Mt. Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan, at 3,776 meters high. Although it is a volcano, it has been dormant since its last eruption in 1707. Japan’s climate has clear-cut temperature changes between the four seasons. The temperature is influenced in the winter by seasonal winds blowing from Siberia and in the summer by seasonal winds blowing from the Pacific Ocean.

In Japan, pre-school education starts at kindergarten (yochien) and day-care centers (hoikuen), although these are not compulsory. Primary education is provided in elementary schools (shogakko) and there is compulsory education for children from ages 6-12. For their secondary education, children 13-15 years old attend junior high school (chugakko), where they begin to study English as part of the curriculum. High school (koko) attendance is optional. In Japan, the J8 reaches out to students in junior high school and high school.