DASNR
International
Student of the Week


Home Country: Japan

 

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of China, Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes identified as the "Land of the Rising Sun".

 

Japan comprises over three thousand islands, the largest of which are Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku, together accounting for 97% of land area. Most of the islands are mountainous, many volcanic; for example, Japan’s highest peak, Mount Fuji, is a volcano. Japan has the world's tenth largest population, with about 128 million people. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.

 

Archaeological research indicates that people were living on the islands of Japan as early as the Upper Paleolithic period. The first written mention of Japan begins with brief appearances in Chinese history texts from the first century AD. Influence from the outside world followed by long periods of isolation has characterized Japan's history. Thus, its culture today is a mixture of outside influences and internal developments. Since adopting its constitution in 1947, Japan has maintained a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected parliament, the Diet.

 

A great power, Japan's economy is the world's second largest by nominal GDP after the United States. It is a member of the United Nations, G8, G4 and APEC, with the world's fifth largest defense budget. It is the world's fourth largest exporter and sixth largest importer.

 

 

 

Yumiko Kanke
October 2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences...

In the photo above, Yumiko relaxes with her friends in Japan.

This week’s international student of the week is Yumiko Kanke. She is a Senior student in Plant and Soil Science. She was born in Osaka, Japan. Yumiko speaks Japanese and English.


In the photo above, Yumiko works
on an OSU project in Plant and Soil Sciences

Yumiko is a member of the Water and Soil Conservation Association and Sustainable Stillwater, a Chapter of the Oklahoma Sustainability Network. Yumiko joined the international class to Honduras last spring. She found it a very interesting class. She came back really happy because kids from Honduras were very kind to her. They were playing with her even though she neither spoke Spanish nor they English. They just understood each other with their gestures and smiles. She thinks that the Honduran people need more support with education and technology, otherwise sustainable agriculture will not be possible.


In the photo above, Yumiko is shown in Honduras
on an OSU Ag Study Abroad Program.

Yumiko came to the USA because she likes the University system of the States. She chose OSU because she found a program she likes in the Natural science area, also because tuition is cheap. In her free time Yumiko likes to cook out with friends. She has a younger brother who went to Bolivia for a year, he is currently a college student in Taiwan. Yumiko’s father is an architect and her mother is a house-wife. Yumiko will start graduate school at OSU in May 2008, she is planning to obtain her master's degree from the Plant and Soil Science Department, and her major focus will be soil fertility. She would like to find a job in any of the Asian or African countries to work with local communities in the agricultural field.

Advisor: Dr. Hattey and Dr. Raun

Yumiko's advice students: Study, play, and get enough sleep. If you make a good balance on these you will be able to have great academic achievement in OSU.

 

Interview by Sandra Rodriguez, International Ag Programs Assistant.