Japan

Answer: True

With recent estimates, Japan's population is near 122.8 million (early 2026), though it's experiencing a steady decline, with figures dropping from peaks around 128 million in 2008-2010, with projections suggesting further decrease due to low birth rates. It remains one of the world's most populous nations, ranking around 12th globally.

Answer: False

Monaco consistently ranks as the country with the highest life expectancy, often around 87-89 years, followed closely by wealthy Asian territories like Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea, and European microstates like San Marino, with factors like good healthcare, diet, and living standards contributing to longevity.

In Japan, recent data shows women living to around 87.13 years and men to about 81.09 years, reflecting strong healthcare, diet (plant-based, fish), lifestyle (walking, moderation), and social cohesion, though future trends face challenges from Westernized diets.

Answer. True

Japan was largely closed to the world from the 1630s until 1853.

Under the Tokugawa Shogunate's sakoku (locked country) policy, which banned most foreigners from entry and Japanese citizens from leaving, limiting foreign trade to a small Dutch and Chinese presence in Nagasaki to preserve control and suppress Christianity. This period of over 200 years ended when U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry's "Black Ships" forced Japan to open for trade.

Answer: True

Japanese woodblocks refer to the woodblock prints (ukiyo-e), a traditional art form where images are carved into wooden blocks, inked, and pressed onto paper to create multiple copies, popular for depicting scenes of everyday life, landscapes, and actors during Japan's Edo period (1603-1868). This complex process involved specialized artists, carvers, and printers, using water-based inks and distinct registration marks for colorful prints, resulting in iconic artworks like Hokusai's The Great Wave.

How They're Made (The Ukiyo-e Process)

Design: An artist draws the image, often on thin paper, which is then glued face-down onto a wooden block (usually cherry wood).

Carving: A skilled carver uses chisels to carve away wood, leaving the design in relief (raised), creating a master block for the lines.

Color Blocks: For multi-colored prints, separate blocks are carved for each color, with special registration marks (ki-zuri) to align them perfectly.

Printing: A printer applies water-based pigments (not oil-based like in the West) to the inked block, places paper over it, and uses a baren (a smooth pad) to rub and transfer the image.

Tokyo Story, 1953

Answer: False

Tokyo Story is a 1953 Japanese drama film directed by Yasujiro Ozu and starring Chishu Ryu and Chieko Higashiyama, about an aging couple who travel to Tokyo to visit their grown children.

Upon release, it did not immediately gain international recognition and was considered "too Japanese" to be marketable by Japanese film exporters. It was screened in 1957 in London, where it won the inaugural Sutherland Trophy the following year, and received praise from U.S. film critics after a 1972 screening in New York City.

Tokyo Story is widely regarded as Ozu's magnum opus and one of the greatest films in the history of cinema. It was voted the greatest film of all time in the 2012 edition of a poll of film directors by Sight and Sound magazine.