japan's official language is Japanese. many Japanese people have some ability in writing and speaking English as it's a mandatory part of the curriculum in the Japanese educational system. Japanese uses four different writing systems: Hiragana (phonetic alphabet for native words), Kanji ( Chinese characters), Katakana ( Phonetic alphabet for foreign words), and romaji ( western alphabet used to write Japanese.) Japanese vocabulary has been strongly influenced by loanwords from other languages, with most loanwords coming from English and Chinese. Japan's customs are : shoes are never worn in someone's home or on Japanese traditional flooring ( tatami mats). you may be expected to take off your shoes in hotels, restaurants, hot spring resorts, etc. when your talking on your phone be quiet. Japanese people don't loud public conversations on their phones. people never talk on the phone in a train or shop. most people keep their phone on vibrate. when your speaking English in Japan - speak slowly and be patient. do not give tips in japan, it's rude. it's rude to blow your nose in public go to the washroom. when your using chopsticks remember this : don't use your chopsticks as a toy. never eat directly form common dishes- put it on your plate first. two people should never pick up the same food with chopsticks ( if someone is struggling to pick up something you can't help them). it reminds people of a funeral ritual in japan. never stab something with your chopsticks or stick them in your rice. avoid putting your chopsticks on a table. use the chopstick holder, greetings are given in the form of a bow. a bow is correctly preformed by standing with your feet together and arms straight at your sides ( women may fold their arms in front of them) and bending at a 45 degrees from the waist. while preforming a bow, people do not look directly into the other person's eyes. workers in the service industry may bow with one palm on their stomach and the other one on their back, with elbows extending straight out. a person wishing to show respect or humility bow lower than the other person. The Japanese shake hands with Westerners. While some appreciate it when Westerners bow, others do not, especially when the two people are not acquainted. Therefore, a handshake is most appropriate for foreign visitors. many Japanese people believe that if a person hiccups a hundred times in a row they will die. they also believe if they don't eat rice during meals they will die. there are two major religions in japan which are Buddhism and Shinto. japan's population is 127,368,088 which was recorded in July 2012 (es). the population growth rate is 0.077% ( recorded in 2012 est), japan's birth rate is 8.39 births/ 1,000 population. japan's GDP is 4.34 trillion dollars ( recorded in 2008). the GDP per capital is $33,800. japan's average life expectancy is 82 , male 78.8, female 85.6. the Japanese work force is well educated and mostly skilled, thanks to the Japanese educational system. some how Japan's common careers are : Fishermen, Hunters, farming on the rice fields, teachers, adult filmmakers, yakuza, manga writers, models, reality tv stars, physical therapists, chefs and engineers. there are three types of family patterns in japan. the Agricultural Age Family/Household Pattern: extended family : several generations living and working together on land. Industrial Age Family/Household Patterns: Nuclear family: father working , mother at home, and approximately two children. the last family pattern is the information age family/household pattern: multiple family: married couples with or without children, unmarried couples living together, single parents, making children part of a different household, divorced parents with children who remarry, single-person households, people living in groups gay and lesbian couples, etc. Traditional Japanese music has three types court music, instrumental, and theatrical. one type of theatrical music is kabuki. kabuki music can be divided into three categories. the first is gidayubushi, which is similar joruri. joruri is a type of native music and uses shamisen and has four styles. the second type of kabuki music is shimoza ongaku. which is played for kuromisu ( lower seats) below the theater stage. the last form of theatrical music is noh. the hayashi-kata play noh music. they use taiko, otsuzumi, and fue instruments to make sound. the oldest Japanese traditional music is gagaku which is a form of court music. gagukki includes songs, dances, and mix of genres of Asian music. there are two styles of gagaku. one style is kigaku, which is a form of instrumental music. the second style is seigaku which is a form of vocal music. japan's government is parliamentary with constitutional monarchy. the executive power is vested in the cabinet, which consists of the prime minister, and not more than 17 ministers of the state that are responsible to the diet. the prime minister, who must be a member of the diet, is designated by the diet. in practice, the prime minister is always a member of the house of representatives.the prime minister has the power to hire and fire the ministers of state, all of them must be civilians and a majority of them must me members of the diet. the prime minister is shinzo abe ( elected December 2012). the government promotes moral education among both students and their parents.