Japan

Japan

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Geography                 Economy                 Defense Forces
 

People                    Transportation          Government



Communications            History      	          Travel

GEOGRAPHY

Location

Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean peninsula

Area

Note: Includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto, Minami-jima, Okinotori-shima, Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto), and Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto)

Land Boundaries

0 km

Coastline

29,751 km

Maritime Claims

International Disputes

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 disputed with South Korea; Senkaku-shoto (Senkaku Islands) claimed by China and Taiwan

Climate

Varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north

Terrain

Mostly rugged and mountainous
lowest point: Hachiro-gata -4 m
highest point: Fujiyama 3,776 m

Natural Resources

Land Use

Irrigated Land

28,680 sq km (1989)

Environment

Note: Strategic location in northeast Asia

PEOPLE

Population

125,449,703 (July 1996 est.)
125,506,492 (July 1995 est.)

Age Structure

0-14 Years

16% (male 10,121,414; female 9,644,243)
16% (male 10,542,973; female 9,955,603)

15-64 Years

69% (male 43,624,464; female 43,359,249)
69% (male 43,843,645; female 43,377,425)

65 Years and Over

15% (male 7,737,781; female 10,962,552) (July 1996 est.)
15% (male 7,272,829; female 10,514,017) (July 1995 est.)

Population Growth Rate

0.21% (1996 est.)
0.32% (1995 est.)

Birth Rate

10.19 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
10.66 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death Rate

7.71 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
7.46 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net Migration Rate

-0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
all ages: 0.96 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant Mortality Rate

4.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
4.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth

Total Fertility Rate

1.46 children born/woman (1996 est.)
1.56 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality

Ethnic Divisions

Religions

Languages

Japanese

Literacy

Age 15 and over can read and write (1970 est.)

Labor Force

65.87 million (December 1994)

By occupation:

GOVERNMENT

Names

Digraph

JA

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 (Kokkai) consists of an upper house or House of Councillors and a lower house or House of Representatives

House of Councillors (Sangi-in)

Half of the members elected every three years to six-year terms; elections last held 23 July 1995 (next to be held NA 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (252 total, with 126 up for election) LDP 110 (49 newly won), Shinshinto 56 (40 newly won), SDP 38 (16 newly won), JCP 14 (8 newly won), Sakigate 3 (3 newly won), others 19 (4 newly won), independents 12 (6 newly won); note - the distribution of seats as of 1 March 1996 is as follows - LDP 111, Heisei-kai 69, SDP 35, JCP 14, Sakigake 3, others and independents 19, vacancies 1

House of Representatives (Shugi-in)

All members elected every four years to four-year terms; elections last held on 18 July 1993 (next to be held by 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (511 total) LDP 223, SDPJ 70, Shinseito 55, Komeito 51, JNP 35, JCP 15, DSP 15, Sakigake 13, others 4, independents 30; note - the distribution of seats as of 1 April 1995 is as follows - LDP 207, Shinshinto 173, SDPJ 70, Sakigake 21, JCP 15, others 19, vacant 6

Judicial Branch

Supreme Court, chief justice is appointed by the emperor after designation by the cabinet, all other justices are appointed by the cabinet

Political Parties and Leaders

Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Ryutaro HASHIMOTO, president and Koichi KATO, secretary general; Social Democratic Party (SDP), Tomiichi MURAYAMA, president and Kanju SATO, secretary general; Sakigake (Harbinger), Masayoshi TAKEMURA, chairman and Yukio HATOYAMA, secretary general; Shinshinto (New Frontier Party, NFP), Ichiro OZAWA, chairman and Takashi YONEZAWA, secretary general; Japan Communist Party (JCP), Tetsuzo FUWA, presidium chairman

Note: Shinshinto was formed in December 1994 by the merger of Shinseito (Japan Renewal Party, JRP), Komeito (Clean Government Party, CGP), Japan New Party (JNP), Democratic Socialist Party (DSP), and several minor groups; Heisei-kai is a joint bloc of Shinshinto and Komei members; Komei is a group formed from what remains of Komeito in the upper house

Member of

AfDB, AG (observer), APEC, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, G- 2, G- 5, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MTCR, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNRWA, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Anthem

Flag

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 (roughly 1% of GDP) have helped Japan advance with extraordinary rapidity to the rank of second most powerful economy in the world. 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; this guarantee is slowly 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 economic growth had been spectacular: a 10% average in the 1960s, a 5% average in the 1970s and 1980s. Growth came to a halt 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. At yearend 1995, the financial structure is shaky with banks holding hundreds of billions of dollars of suspect assets. At the same time, the continued basic strength of the economy has been reflected in substantial trade surpluses, sizable foreign investments, and remarkably low rates of unemployment, inflation, and social disorder. The crowding of the habitable land area and the aging of the population are two major long-run problems.

National Product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $2.6792 trillion (1995 est.), $2.5274 trillion (1994 est.)

National Product Real Growth Rate

2.1% (1997 est.)
3.6% (1996 est.)
0.3% (1995 est.)
0.6% (1994 est.)

National Product Per Capita

$21,300 (1995 est.)
$20,200 (1994 est.)

Inflation Rate (consumer Prices)

-0.1% (1995)
0.7% (1994)

Unemployment Rate

3.1% (1995)
2.9% (1994)

Budget

Exports

$442.84 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
$395.5 billion (f.o.b., 1994)

Commodities:

Partners:

Imports

$336.09 billion (c.i.f., 1995)
$274.3 billion (c.i.f., 1994)

Commodities:

Partners:

External Debt

NA

Industrial Production

Growth rate 3.3% (1995), 1% (1994); accounts for 40.2% of GDP

Electricity

Industries

Agriculture

Accounts for only 2.1% of GDP; highly subsidized and protected sector, with crop yields among highest in world; principal crops - rice, sugar beets, vegetables, fruit; animal products include pork, poultry, dairy and eggs; about 50% self-sufficient in food production; shortages of wheat, corn, soybeans; world's largest fish catch of 10 million metric tons in 1991

Economic Aid

Note: ODA and OOF commitments (1970-95), $143 billion

Currency

Yen (¥)

Exchange Rates

Yen (¥) per US$1 - 105.84 (January 1996), 94.06 (1995), 102.21 (1994), 111.20 (1993), 126.65 (1992), 134.71 (1991), 144.79 (1990)

Fiscal Year

1 April - 31 March

TRANSPORTATION

Railroads

Highways

Inland 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

Akita, Amagasaki, Chiba, Hachinohe, Hakodate, Higashi-Harima, Himeji, Hiroshima, Kawasaki, Kinuura, Kobe, Kushiro, Mizushima, Moji, Nagoya, Osaka, Sakai, Sakaide, Shimizu, Tokyo, Tomakomai

Merchant Marine

Note: Japan owns an additional 1,587 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 50,072,815 DWT that operate under the registries of Panama, Liberia, Vanuatu, The Bahamas, Singapore, Cyprus, Philippines, Hong Kong, and Malta (1995 est.)

Airports

Heliports

11 (1995 est.)

COMMUNICATIONS

Telephone System

64 million telephones (1987 est.); excellent domestic and international service

Radio

Television

DEFENSE FORCES

Branches

Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (Army), Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (Navy), Japan Air Self-Defense Force (Air Force)

Manpower Availability

Males age 15-49 31,833,691; males fit for military service 27,322,517; males reach military age (18) annually 858,912 (1996 est.)

Defense Expenditures

Exchange rate conversion - $50.2 billion, 1% of GDP (FY95/96)

History
World Atlas

last updated: 29 november 1997