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Japan
Background: While retaining its time-honored culture, Japan rapidly absorbed Western technology during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. After its devastating defeat in World War II, Japan recovered to become the second most powerful economy in the world and a staunch ally of the US. While the emperor retains his throne as a symbol of national unity, actual power rests in networks of powerful politicians, bureaucrats, and business executives. The economy experienced a major slowdown in the 1990s following three decades of unprecedented growth.
Location: Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula Geographic coordinates: 36 00 N, 138 00 E Map references: Asia Area:
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than California Land boundaries: 0 km Coastline: 29,751 km Maritime claims:
Climate: varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north Terrain: mostly rugged and mountainous Elevation extremes:
Natural resources: negligible mineral resources, fish Land use:
Irrigated land: 27,820 sq km (1993 est.) Natural hazards: many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; tsunamis Environment - current issues: air pollution from power plant emissions results in acid rain; acidification of lakes and reservoirs degrading water quality and threatening aquatic life; Japan is one of the largest consumers of fish and tropical timber, contributing to the depletion of these resources in Asia and elsewhere Environment - international agreements:
Geography - note: strategic location in northeast Asia
Population: 126,549,976 (July 2000 est.) Age structure:
Population growth rate: 0.18% (2000 est.) Birth rate: 9.96 births/1,000 population (2000 est.) Death rate: 8.15 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.) Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.) Sex ratio:
Infant mortality rate: 3.91 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.) Life expectancy at birth:
Total fertility rate: 1.41 children born/woman (2000 est.) Nationality:
Ethnic groups: Japanese 99.4%, other 0.6% (mostly Korean) Religions: observe both Shinto and Buddhist 84%, other 16% (including Christian 0.7%) Languages: Japanese Literacy:
Country name:
Data code: JA Government type: constitutional monarchy Capital: Tokyo Administrative divisions: 47 prefectures; Aichi, Akita, Aomori, Chiba, Ehime, Fukui, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Gifu, Gumma, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Hyogo, Ibaraki, Ishikawa, Iwate, Kagawa, Kagoshima, Kanagawa, Kochi, Kumamoto, Kyoto, Mie, Miyagi, Miyazaki, Nagano, Nagasaki, Nara, Niigata, Oita, Okayama, Okinawa, Osaka, Saga, Saitama, Shiga, Shimane, Shizuoka, Tochigi, Tokushima, Tokyo, Tottori, Toyama, Wakayama, Yamagata, Yamaguchi, Yamanashi Independence: 660 BC (traditional founding by Emperor Jimmu) National holiday: Birthday of the Emperor, 23 December (1933) Constitution: 3 May 1947 Legal system: modeled after European civil law system with English-American influence; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations Suffrage: 20 years of age; universal Executive branch:
Legislative branch:
bicameral Diet or Kokkai consists of the House of Councillors or Sangi-in (252 seats; one-half of the members elected every three years - 76 seats of which are elected from the 47 multi-seat prefectural districts and 50 of which are elected from a single nationwide list with voters casting ballots by party; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Shugi-in (500 seats - 200 of which are elected from 11 regional blocks on a proportional representation basis and 300 of which are elected from 300 single-seat districts; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, chief justice is appointed by the monarch after designation by the cabinet, all other justices are appointed by the cabinet Political parties and leaders:
Democratic Party of Japan or DPJ [Yukio HATOYAMA, leader, Tsutomu HATA, secretary general]; Japan Communist Party or JCP [Tetsuzo FUWA, chairman, Kazuo SHII, secretary general]; Komeito [Takenori KANZAKI, president, Tetsuzo FUYUSHIBA, secretary general]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Yoshiro MORI, president, Hiromu NONAKA, secretary general]; Liberal Party [Ichiro OZAWA, president, Hirohisa FUJII, secretary general]; Reform Club [Tatsuo OZAWA, leader, Katsuyuki ISHIDA, secretary general]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Takako DOI, chairperson, Sadao FUCHIGAMI, secretary general]
International organization participation: AfDB, APEC, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE (observer), CERN (observer), CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNRWA, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC Diplomatic representation in the US:
Diplomatic representation from the US:
Flag description: white with a large red disk (representing the sun without rays) in the center
Economy - overview: Government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, and a comparatively small defense allocation (1% of GDP) have helped Japan advance with extraordinary rapidity to the rank of second most technologically powerful economy in the world after the US and third largest economy in the world after the US and China. One notable characteristic of the economy is the working together of manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors in closely knit groups called keiretsu. A second basic feature has been the guarantee of lifetime employment for a substantial portion of the urban labor force. Both features are now eroding. Industry, the most important sector of the economy, is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and fuels. The much smaller agricultural sector is highly subsidized and protected, with crop yields among the highest in the world. Usually self-sufficient in rice, Japan must import about 50% of its requirements of other grain and fodder crops. Japan maintains one of the world's largest fishing fleets and accounts for nearly 15% of the global catch. For three decades overall real economic growth had been spectacular: a 10% average in the 1960s, a 5% average in the 1970s, and a 4% average in the 1980s. Growth slowed markedly in 1992-95 largely because of the aftereffects of overinvestment during the late 1980s and contractionary domestic policies intended to wring speculative excesses from the stock and real estate markets. Growth picked up to 3.9% in 1996, largely a reflection of stimulative fiscal and monetary policies as well as low rates of inflation. But in 1997-98 Japan experienced a wrenching recession, centered about financial difficulties in the banking system and real estate markets and exacerbated by rigidities in corporate structures and labor markets. In 1999 output started to stabilize as emergency government spending began to take hold and business confidence gradually improved. The crowding of habitable land area and the aging of the population are two major long-run problems. Robotics constitutes a key long-term economic strength, with Japan possessing 410,000 of the world's 720,000 "working robots". GDP: purchasing power parity - $2.95 trillion (1999 est.) GDP - real growth rate: 0.3% (1999 est.) GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $23,400 (1999 est.) GDP - composition by sector:
Population below poverty line: NA% Household income or consumption by percentage share:
Inflation rate (consumer prices): -0.8% (1999 est.) Labor force: 67.76 million (November 1999) Labor force - by occupation: trade and services 65%, industry 30%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 5% Unemployment rate: 4.7% (1999 est.) Budget:
Industries: among world's largest and technologically advanced producers of motor vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals; textiles, processed foods Industrial production growth rate: -0.1% (1999 est.) Electricity - production: 995.982 billion kWh (1998) Electricity - production by source:
Electricity - consumption: 926.263 billion kWh (1998) Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1998) Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1998) Agriculture - products: rice, sugar beets, vegetables, fruit; pork, poultry, dairy products, eggs; fish Exports: $413 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.) Exports - commodities: motor vehicles, semiconductors, office machinery, chemicals Exports - partners: US 31%, Taiwan 7%, China 5.5%, South Korea 5.4%, Hong Kong 5.2% (1999) Imports: $306 billion (c.i.f., 1999 est.) Imports - commodities: fuels, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, office machinery Imports - partners: US 22%, China 14%, South Korea 5.1%, Australia 4.2%, Taiwan 4.1% (1999) Debt - external: $NA Economic aid - donor: ODA, $9.1 billion (1999) Currency: yen Exchange rates: yen per US$1 - 105.16 (January 2000), 113.91 (1999), 130.91 (1998), 120.99 (1997), 108.78 (1996), 94.06 (1995) Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
Telephones - main lines in use: 60.3 million (1997) Telephones - mobile cellular: 36.5 million (1998) Telephone system:
excellent domestic and international service
Radio broadcast stations: AM 190, FM 88, shortwave 24 (1999) Radios: 120.5 million (1997) Television broadcast stations: 7,108 (plus 441 repeaters; note - in addition, US Forces are served by 3 TV stations and 2 TV cable services) (1999) Televisions: 86.5 million (1997) Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 357 (1999)
Railways:
Highways:
Waterways: about 1,770 km; seagoing craft ply all coastal inland seas Pipelines: crude oil 84 km; petroleum products 322 km; natural gas 1,800 km Ports and harbors: Akita, Amagasaki, Chiba, Hachinohe, Hakodate, Higashi-Harima, Himeji, Hiroshima, Kawasaki, Kinuura, Kobe, Kushiro, Mizushima, Moji, Nagoya, Osaka, Sakai, Sakaide, Shimizu, Tokyo, Tomakomai Merchant marine:
Airports: 171 (1999 est.) Airports - with paved runways:
Airports - with unpaved runways:
Heliports: 14 (1999 est.)
Military branches: Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (Army), Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (Navy), Japan Air Self-Defense Force (Air Force) Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age Military manpower - availability:
Military manpower - fit for military service:
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $42.9 billion (FY98/99) Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 0.9% (FY98/99)
Disputes - international: islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan, and the Habomai group occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia, claimed by Japan; Liancourt Rocks (Takeshima/Tokdo) disputed with South Korea; Senkaku-shoto (Senkaku Islands) claimed by China and Taiwan Please click here for a guide to the country profiles Click here for all other countries
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