Chapter 4 Notes 1. The region of East Asia is unique in several ways: 1) there is very little ethnic diversity; 2) there is very little language diversity; and 3) neither Christianity nor Islam are prominent religions here. 2. Depending upon who is doing the counting, East Asia is the first or second most populous region. The statistics in your book (from mid-2008) has East Asia as the most populous region, but by 2025, your book estimates the South Asia region will have more people. The region’s population continues to grow but at a slow rate. Japan’s population is declining rather than growing. 3. The region’s population is strongly concentrated in its eastern regions. 4. China is the nation-state with the world’s largest population – over 1.3 billion currently. China is equally rural and urban, but urbanization is moving forward at a rapid rate. 5. China has some large population cities, but Tokyo in Japan has the largest urban population in both this region and the world. 6. China is a very old nation-state and is approximately the same size as the USA in area. 7. Politically, this region includes 2 Communist nation-states – China and North Korea, and a former Communist nation-state – Mongolia. While China retains a Communist government it has adopted a free market (capitalist) economy. 8. Japan has had a democratic government since WWII ended. Prior to and during WWII the Japanese developed a colonial empire that included much of this region. The other nation-states in this region have not forgotten Japan’s WWII conduct and the colonial control they exercised in this region prior to WWII. 9. China is thought likely to become the next global superpower based upon its economic and military strength 10. Japan and China are global economic giants. South Korea and Taiwan are also economically strong. China’s economy has grown faster than any other nation-state for the last 30 years. China’s economic growth has certainly produced both cultural and economic changes within the nation-state. 11. Economically, Mongolia and North Korea lag behind. North Korea is a very secretive nation-state and its Communist government seems focused almost solely on military power. Both China and North Korea have nuclear weapons in the region and North Korea has threatened to use its nuclear weapons on Japan and South Korea. North Korea also states publically that it fears a USA attack, and will use its nuclear weapons to fend off a USA attack.