Japan, island country lying off the east coast of Asia. It consists of a great string of islands in a northeast-southwest arc that stretches for approximately 1,500 miles (2,400 km) through the western North Pacific Ocean. Nearly the entire land area is taken up by the country’s four main islands; from north to south these are Hokkaido (Hokkaidō), Honshu (Honshū), Shikoku, and Kyushu(Kyūshū). Honshu is the largest of the four, followed in size by
Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku. In addition, there are numerous smaller islands [...]
The Japanese people constitute the overwhelming majority of the population. They are ethnically closely akin to the other peoples of eastern Asia. During the Edo (Tokugawa) period (1603–1867), there was a social division of the populace into four classes—warrior, farmer, craftsman, and merchant [...]
Insofar as a social class system does persist, it does not have the ethnic basis that can exist in multiracial societies, since the Japanese regard themselves as belonging to a single ethnic group. The few exceptions include those classified as resident aliens (particularly Koreans) and Japanese citizens of Ainu and, to a much lesser degree, Okinawan origin. Japan also has a small population of Chinese descent.
Hundreds of thousands of Koreans migrated to Japan (a great many against their will) before and during World War II, when Korea was a Japanese colony, and worked mainly as labourers; those remaining after the war and their descendants, the latter born and raised in Japan, do not have Japanese citizenship and face considerable discrimination.
Historically, both Ainu and Okinawans were often relegated to a second-class status. The indigenous Ainu largely were assimilated into the general population centuries ago; a few small, scattered groups, however, have maintained their identity in Hokkaido. Before the war there was a tendency to distinguish the people of Okinawa from other Japanese because of perceived physical and cultural differences; that tendency has diminished considerably but not entirely disappeared. Okinawan culture, including its dialect and religion, has been recognized as sharing many traits with Japanese culture, and Okinawans have become more assimilated into the larger
Japanese society. However, Okinawans have long believed that the continued large presence of U.S. military forces on Okinawa was a form of discrimination against them by the Japanese government. There has also been a resurgence among Okinawans who want to maintain their distinctive cultural identity.
Disponível em: https://www.britannica.com/place/Japan/People (adaptado).
Assinale V (verdadeiro) ou F (falso) para a alternativa.
As ilhas que constituem esse país insular dispõem-se na direção nordeste a sudoeste em um arco de, aproximadamente, uma milha e meia.