CHAPTER 2 CURRENT CONDITIONS IN THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
2.1 Natural Conditions
The Republic of South Africa is located on the southern tip of the African continent between south latitude twenty-two and thirty-five degrees. The national land area of 1,221,000 km2 roughly three times that of Japan. In topographical terms, the country is shaped like an overturned tray, with plateaus sharply rising from the eastern and south-eastern coast, running westwards inland and gently sloping down towards the opposite western coastline. The country possesses great topographical variation with mountain ranges, plateaus, low plateaus, desert, forests and coastal plains all to be found.
With respect to climate, most of the country is located within the temperate zone, daytime hours are long and, due to ocean current and altitude factors, the climate is cooler and drier than in other northern hemisphere regions located on the same latitude. The seasons are the exact opposite of those in Japan, however, there are no distinct seasonal changes. The temperature is generally 22℃ in the summer season (December, January, February) and 13℃ in the winter season (June, July, August).
2.2 Socio-economic Conditions
2.2.1 Politics
The history of the Republic of South Africa began in the middle of the 17th Century when the Netherlands established a colony there, and towards the end of the 18th Century Britain also started to colonize.
Relations between the Boers (Dutch colonists) and the British gradually became strained until the so-called Boer Wars broke out two times between 1880 and 1902. After the British won the war, South Africa became a member of the British Commonwealth, and the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910. In 1948 the National Party (Dutch Afrikaner Party) won outright rule and put into effect the policy of Apartheid. South Africa became a republic and withdrew from the Commonwealth in 1961.
In 1991, the end of Apartheid was proclaimed and the lifting of economic sanctions against South Africa was proclaimed in the 1993 United Nations General Assembly. Following the
