Texarkana Gazette

Welcome to Tokyo

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After a year’s delay because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Games of the XXXII Olympiad will take place in Tokyo, Japan, starting on July 23.

Next week, we’ll look more closely at the games, but this week The Mini Page learns more about this huge Asian city.

Getting to know Japan

Japan is a nation of 6,852 islands in the Pacific Ocean, near the coast of Asia. Most of its land is mountainou­s, and most people live near the coasts.

More than 125 million people live in

Japan, although the country is slightly smaller than the state of California (where about 40 million people live). About 30% of Japanese people live in the capital of Tokyo.

The country lies along the Ring of Fire, an active area of volcanoes and earthquake­s in the Pacific Ocean. Japan has 111 volcanoes and often experience­s tsunamis, or large sea waves caused by an earthquake.

The prime minister and cabinet are the leaders of Japan’s government. There is also an emperor, but he plays a mostly ceremonial role.

The capital city

Tokyo is home to about 37 million people. Centuries ago, it was a fishing village called Edo.

Today, the city is a global business center, with a wide variety of companies headquarte­red there.

Tokyo is also a popular place for tourists, with museums and restaurant­s to visit. Theaters offer Japanese drama and music, and the city is home to many festivals during the year.

People move around the city on trains and subways.

Past Olympics

Tokyo hosted the 1964 Summer Olympics; Nagano, Japan, hosted the 1998 Winter Olympics, and Sapporo hosted the 1972 Winter Olympics.

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photo by Dick Thomas Johnson
 ??  ?? Tokyo has busy, bright, modern city streets, but visitors also enjoy its traditiona­l sights, such as the Hozomon, or Treasure House Gate (below), outside the Senso-ji Buddhist temple, Tokyo’s oldest temple.
Tokyo has busy, bright, modern city streets, but visitors also enjoy its traditiona­l sights, such as the Hozomon, or Treasure House Gate (below), outside the Senso-ji Buddhist temple, Tokyo’s oldest temple.
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 ??  ?? The flag of Japan
The flag of Japan

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