Hey! This is the sentence:
Japan’s status as an island country means that they must rely heavily on other countries for the supply of natural resources that are indispensable to national existence
‘‘they’’ is wrong, and should be replaced with ‘‘the Japanese’’. Why? Wouldn’t ‘‘it’’ be correct too?
It is Japan not Japanese. They is vague and wrong because of the possessive noun “Japan’s status”
@Jr2317 is correct–you can’t replace a possessive noun with a non-genitive (possessive) pronoun.
@Jr12317, @marvin100, are you sure? I use the Ultimate Grammar Guide and the answer key suggests that ‘‘the Japanese’’ should be correct.
@WeirdUserName - I’m sorry, in my haste I misread. “The Japanese” is fine, as is “Japan,” but “it” is wrong because the antecedent is a possessive and a non-genitive (possessive) pronoun can’t replace a possessive noun.
@marvin100 thanks for clarifying,