Japan
·
History
of country In 1603,
after decades of civil warfare, the Tokugawa shogunate (a military-led,
dynastic government) ushered in a long period of relative political stability
and isolation from foreign influence. For more than two centuries this policy
enabled Japan to enjoy a flowering of its indigenous culture. Japan opened its
ports after signing the Treaty of Kanagawa with the US in 1854 and began to
intensively modernize and industrialize. During the late 19th and early 20th
centuries, Japan became a regional power that was able to defeat the forces of
both China and Russia. It occupied Korea, Formosa (Taiwan), and southern
Sakhalin Island. In 1931-32 Japan occupied Manchuria, and in 1937 it launched a
full-scale invasion of China. Japan attacked US forces in 1941 - triggering
America's entry into World War II - and soon occupied much of East and
Southeast Asia. After its defeat in World War II, Japan recovered to become an
economic power and an ally of the US. While the emperor retains his throne as a
symbol of national unity, elected politicians hold actual decision-making power.
Following three decades of unprecedented growth, Japan's economy experienced a
major slowdown starting in the 1990s, but the country remains a major economic
power. In March 2011, Japan's strongest-ever earthquake, and an accompanying
tsunami, devastated the northeast part of Honshu island, killing thousands and
damaging several nuclear power plants. The catastrophe hobbled the country's
economy and its energy infrastructure, and tested its ability to deal with
humanitarian disasters.
·
Population
in 2009 127,156,000
·
Population
age 0-14 in 2010,
13.2%
·
Life
expectancy (females and males, years) 87.2/ 80.1
·
Infant
mortality rate (per 1,000 live births) 3.1
·
Unemployment 4.6%
·
Homelessness
rates An estimated
25,296 people are homeless in Japan
An estimated 5,000 people are homeless in Tokyo
Source: www.street-papers.org/case-studies-asia, 2006
An estimated 5,000 people are homeless in Tokyo
Source: www.street-papers.org/case-studies-asia, 2006
·
Population
Below Poverty Line 16%
·
People
living with HIV/ AIDS 8,100
·
Religion Shintoism 83.9%, Buddhism 71.4%, Christianity 2%, other 7.8%
note:total adherents exceeds 100% because many people belong to both Shintoism
and Buddhism (2005)
·
UM
Missionaries
· The Reverend D. Timothy Boyle is a
missionary with the General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist
Church assigned to teach at Kwansei Gakuin University in Nishinomiya, Japan.
· Yuko (Juji) Boyle is a missionary
with the General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church
currently serving as a counselor at the Shin'ai (True Love) Home in Kobe,
Japan.
· Jonathan Daniel McCurley
is an international missionary with the General Board of Global Ministries,
commissioned in October 2009 and assigned to the Asian Rural Institute in
northern Japan.
·
Umipig-Julian,
Devorah - Social worker for the
Christian Coalition for Refugees and Migrant Workers (CCRMW)in Tokyo, Japan.
·
Valino, Angelita - In ministry to
international seafarers through the Council on Cooperative Mission, Kanagawa
District, Japan.
·
Valino, Lamberto - In ministry to
international seafarers through the Council on Cooperative Mission, Kanagawa
District, Japan.
Italy
·
History
of country Italy
became a nation-state in 1861 when the regional states of the peninsula, along
with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor EMMANUEL II. An era of
parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito
MUSSOLINI established a Fascist dictatorship. His alliance with Nazi Germany
led to Italy's defeat in World War II. A democratic republic replaced the
monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed. Italy was a charter member of
NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC). It has been at the forefront of
European economic and political unification, joining the Economic and Monetary
Union in 1999. Persistent problems include illegal immigration, organized
crime, corruption, high unemployment, sluggish economic growth, and the low
incomes and technical standards of southern Italy compared with the prosperous
north.
·
Population
in 2011 61,261,254
·
Population
age 0-14 in 2010
14.2%
·
Life
expectancy (females and males, years) 84.6/78.6
·
Infant
mortality rate (per 1,000 live births) 3.8
·
Unemployment in 2009 7.8%
·
Homelessness
rates An estimated
7,000 people are homeless in Rome
Italy has no official, legal definition of homelessness
An estimated 17,000 people are homeless in Italy
Source: http://www.wantedinrome.com/news/news.php?id_n=3559
Italy has no official, legal definition of homelessness
An estimated 17,000 people are homeless in Italy
Source: http://www.wantedinrome.com/news/news.php?id_n=3559
·
Population
Below Poverty Line 12%
·
People
living with HIV/ AIDS 140,000
·
Religion Christian 80% (overwhelming Roman
Catholic with very small groups of Jehovah Witnesses and Protestants), Muslims
NEGL (about 700,000 but growing), Atheists and Agnostics 20%
·
UM
Missionaries
o
The
Rev. Dr. Rodney L. Aist is a missionary with the General Board of Global
Ministries of The United Methodist Church assigned to work with the
Methodist/Waldensian community in Milan, Italy and vicinity.
Hi, Beth! Our church youth group just did a mission trip to Northern Alabama the last week of June and we live here in Central Florida - I just found that kind of interesting! How fun that your group got to end it on such a great, educational but fun trip to EPCOT!
ReplyDeleteLisa
That is interesting! Where did you work in N Alabama? What a small world! :)
ReplyDelete