International Business & Cultural Environment

India

India is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the

second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most

populous democracy in the world.

Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilization and a region of historic trade

routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its

commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four world

religions--Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism--originated here,

whereas Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived in the 1st millennium CE and

also helped shape the region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by and brought

under the administration of the British East India Company from the early 18th

century and administered directly by the United Kingdom from the mid-19th century,

India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that

was marked by non-violent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi.

The Indian economy is the world's tenth-largest by nominal GDP and third-largest

by purchasing power parity (PPP). Following market-based economic reforms in

1991, India became one of the fastest-growing major economies; it is considered

a newly industrialized country.

India is a federal constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary

system consisting of 28 states and 7 union territories. India is a pluralistic,

multilingual, and multiethnic society. It is also home to a diversity of wildlife in a

variety of protected habitats.

Indian cultural history spans more than 4,500 years. During the Vedic

period (c. 1700-500 BCE), the foundations of Hindu philosophy, mythology,

and literature were laid, and many beliefs and practices which still exist today,

such as dhárma, kárma, yóga, and mokṣa, were established. India is notable

for its religious diversity, with Hinduism, Sikhism, Islam, Christianity, and

Jainism among the nation's major religions. The predominant religion, Hinduism,

has been shaped by various historical schools of thought, including those of

the Upanishads, the Yoga Sutras, the Bhaktimovement,[253] and by Buddhist

philosophy.

According to the World Bank, as of 2011, the Indian economy is nominally worth

US$1.848 trillion; it is the tenth-largest economy by market exchange rates, and is,

at US$4.457 trillion, the third-largest by purchasing power parity, or PPP. With its

average annual GDP growth rate of 5.8% over the past two decades, and reaching

6.1% during 2011-12, India is one of the world's fastest-growing economies.

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the

east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching

from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south.

The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is

sometimes referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun".

Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands. The four largest islands

are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku, which together comprise about ninety-

seven percent of Japan's land area. Japan has the world's tenth-largest population,

with over 127 million people. Honshu's Greater Tokyo Area, which includes

the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest

metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.

Japanese culture has evolved greatly from its origins. Contemporary culture

combines influences from Asia, Europe and North America. Traditional Japanese

arts include crafts such as ceramics, textiles, lacquerware, swords and dolls;

performances of bunraku, kabuki, noh, dance, and rakugo; and other practices, the tea

ceremony, ikebana, martial arts, calligraphy, origami, onsen, Geisha and games.

Japan has a developed system for the protection and promotion of both tangible

and intangible Cultural Properties and National Treasures. Sixteen sites have been

inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, twelve of which are of cultural

significance.

As of 2011, Japan is the third largest national economy in the world, after the United

States and China, in terms of nominal GDP, and the third largest national economy in

the world, after the United States and China, in terms of purchasing power parity. As

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