Over 19 millionJapanesecivilizationhistoricallywasbasedaroundtheOsakaplanewith a capitalinKyotobeforeitwasmovedtothelarger, morestrategicandmoreproductiveKantoPlaininthe 17thcentury.
AndJapanhasalwayshadtorelyontradetomaintainherstatusas a greatpowerbecausethebiggestweaknessinJapan's geographyismaintainingherenormouspopulationonanislandthatdoesn't haveenoughresourceistosustainit.
Japancurrentlyreliesextremelyheavilyonimportedfoodstuffsandfossilfuels, andfor a timethegovernmenttriedtooffsetthisdependencebyswitchingtonuclearpower.
In 2010 25% ofJapan's electricitycamefromdomesticnuclearenergyproduction.
2010年には日本の電力の25%が国内の原子力発電によるものでした。
ButJapan's othergreatgeographicweaknessintervened a severevulnerabilitytonaturaldisasters.
しかし、日本のもう一つの大きな地理的弱点は、自然災害に対する深刻な脆弱性が介在している。
The 2011 earthquakeandtsunamitriggered a nuclearmeltdownattheFukushimanuclearreactorplant, andtheresultingoutcryandpublicopinionagainstnuclearenergyledtotheclosureofeverysinglenuclearpowerplantintheentirecountryby 2012.
ThevariousnaturaldisastersandruggedgeographyhavemadedevelopmentinJapanhistoricallydifficult, buttheyalsomakeanyoutsideinvasionofJapan a verydifficultthingtoaccomplishthroughoutherentirehistory.
ButthelackofrawmaterialsandfarmlandathomeneededtosupplyhereconomyandfeedherpeoplehasoccasionallyledJapantopursue a verydifferentpolicyofimperialismtoconquerwhatsheneeds.
Thepeninsulais a logicalchoiceforexpansionbecauseit's closetoJapan's core.
半島は日本の核心に近いから拡張するには論理的な選択だよ。
Itcanserveas a funnelfortheJapanesemilitarytopushdeeperintoAsiafrom, andit's richwithnaturalmineralresourceisandarableland a unifiedJapanattemptedtoconquer.
Itwas a dangerousaddictionthatJapan's struggledtosatisfybecauseeveryattacktheJapanmaderesultedinevenmoreinternationalsanctionsthatrestrictedherabilitytotradeforresourceisandcontinueherwars.
However, ifyouwanttosee a muchmoreindepthvideoexplaininghowandwhyJapanfoughtWorldWartwoandhowhergeographyhurtandhelped, youshouldcheckoutApocalypsetheSecondWorldWar.
NextonCuriosityStream, a glorioussixpartdocumentarySiri's thatexplainsthefullhistoryoftheSecondWorldWarthrougharchivalfootagethathasbeenpainstakinglycoloredinsothatyoucanseetheeventsthesamewayasthepeoplewholivedthroughitactuallydid.