Todays Issues East Asia

Today’s Issues: East Asia

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Physical Forces Japan is part of ring of fire: a chain of

volcanoes that line the Pacific Rim

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Dense oceanic plate meets a less dense continental plate

Oceanic plate moves under the continental plate - subduction; place where oceanic crust is subducted is called a trench; can cause crumpling of continental plate = volcanic action, earthquakes

In Japan - an average of 1,000 quakes per year; 1923 - Great Kanto earthquake left 140,000 dead, Tokyo in ruins

Another threat: tsunamis-earthquakes produce ocean movement - waves as high as 100 feet

How to deal?

-seismographs - detects ground movement

-Japan has established a strict building code

-disaster drills

Global Trade East Asia a economic powerhouse - took many

many years Isolation ended (through diffusion and force)

1853 Commodore Matthew Perry set sail for Japan - intimidation opened doors to Japan for US

After WWII East Asia began industrializing (using some cheap labor - can we really blame them?) “Made in China” “Made in Japan” household items

From mass producing, mass economy a global economy emerged - nations become dependent upon others for goods and resources

World Bank - “economic miracle” - child labor

Powerful Economies Jakota Triangle - Japan, (South) Korea, Taiwan -

very strong during 80s and 90s In mid-90s many banks went bankrupt, recession

began - general decline in business activity; because of interconnectedness of economies, the world was affected

This crisis also led to awareness of human rights issues - sweatshops, cheap labor, child-labor, forced labor

Was this reform genuine or because of a certain agenda

Consequences (?) of an economically expanding

region By 1950 East Asia was one of most least developed regions, stats on health, literacy, fertility, economics were low

Unrestricted population growth strains quality of life and environment = family planning - in China children per women dropped from 6.22 to 1.82 in about 45 years

Other issues: pollution, overcrowding, flooding, assault on human rights (1 child per family)