| Japan |
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| Background: In 1603, a Tokugawa shogunate (military dictatorship) ushered in a long period of isolation from foreign influence in order to secure its power. For 250 years this policy enabled Japan to enjoy stability and a flowering of its indigenous culture. Following the Treaty of Kanagawa with the US in 1854, Japan opened its ports and began to intensively modernize and industrialize. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Japan became a regional power that was able to defeat the forces of both China and Russia. It occupied Korea, Formosa (Taiwan), and southern Sakhalin Island. In 1931-32 Japan occupied Manchuria, and in 1937 it launched a full-scale invasion of China. Japan attacked US forces in 1941 - triggering America's entry into World War II - and soon occupied much of East and Southeast Asia. After its defeat in World War II, Japan recovered to become an economic power 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 starting in the 1990s following three decades of unprecedented growth, but Japan still remains a major economic power, both in Asia and globally. |
| Geography and Environmental |
Capital: name: Tokyo
geographic coordinates: 35 42 N, 139 46 E
time difference: UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Area Total: 377,835 sq km |
| Area Land: 374,744 sq km |
| Area Water: 3,091 sq km |
| Area Note: includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto, Minami-jima, Okino-tori-shima, Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto), and Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto) |
| Area Comparative: slightly smaller than California |
| Coastline: 29,751 km |
| Climate: varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north |
| Terrain: mostly rugged and mountainous |
| Elevation Extremes Lowest Point: Hachiro-gata -4 m |
| Elevation Extremes Highest Point: Mount Fuji 3,776 m |
| Natural Resources: negligible mineral resources, fish |
| Land Use Arable Land: 11.64% |
| Land Use Permanent Crops: 0.9% |
| Land Use Other: 87.46% (2005) |
| Irrigated Land: 25,920 sq km (2003) |
| Natural Hazards: many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; tsunamis; typhoons |
| 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 |
| Geography Note: strategic location in northeast Asia |
| Population |
| Population: 127,433,494 (July 2007 est.) |
| Age Structure 0 to 14 Years: 13.8% (male 9,024,344/female 8,553,700) |
| Age Structure 15 to 64 Years: 65.2% (male 41,841,760/female 41,253,968) |
| Age Structure 65 Years And Over: 21% (male 11,312,492/female 15,447,230) (2007 est.) |
| Median Age Total: 43.5 years |
| Median Age Male: 41.7 years |
| Median Age Female: 45.3 years (2007 est.) |
| Population Growth Rate: -0.088% (2007 est.) |
| Birth Rate: 8.1 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Death Rate: 8.98 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Sex Ratio At Birth: 1.06 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio Under 15 Years: 1.055 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio 15 to 64 Years: 1.014 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio 65 Years And Over: 0.732 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio Total Population: 0.953 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Infant Mortality Rate Total: 2.8 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Infant Mortality Rate Male: 3 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Infant Mortality Rate Female: 2.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Life Expectancy At BirthTotalPopulation: 82.02 years |
| Life Expectancy At Birth Male: 78.67 years |
| Life Expectancy At Birth Female: 85.56 years (2007 est.) |
| Total Fertility Rate: 1.23 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| HIV AIDS Adult Prevalence Rate: less than 0.1% (2003 est.) |
| HIV AIDS People Living With HIV AIDS: 12,000 (2003 est.) |
| HIV AIDS Deaths: 500 (2003 est.) |
| Religions: observe both Shinto and Buddhist 84%, other 16% (including Christian 0.7%) |
| Languages: Japanese |
| Literacy Definition: age 15 and over can read and write |
| Literacy Total Population: 99% |
| Literacy Male: 99% |
| Literacy Female: 99% (2002) |
| Administrative Divisions: 47 prefectures; Aichi, Akita, Aomori, Chiba, Ehime, Fukui, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Gifu, Gunma, 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 |
| 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 |
| Economy |
| Overview: Government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, and a comparatively small defense allocation (1% of GDP) helped Japan advance with extraordinary rapidity to the rank of second most technologically powerful economy in the world after the US and the third-largest economy in the world after the US and China, measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis. One notable characteristic of the economy has been how manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors have worked together 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 have now eroded. Japan's industrial sector is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and fuels. The tiny 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 60% of its food on a caloric basis. 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 the 1990s, averaging just 1.7%, largely because of the after effects of overinvestment and an asset price bubble during the late 1980s that required a protracted period of time for firms to reduce excess debt, capital, and labor. From 2000 to 2001, government efforts to revive economic growth proved short-lived and were hampered by the slowing of the US, European, and Asian economies. In 2002-06, growth improved and the lingering fears of deflation in prices and economic activity lessened. Japan's huge government debt, which totals 176% of GDP, and the aging of the population are two major long-run problems. Some fear that a rise in taxes could endanger the current economic recovery. Debate also continues on the role of and effects of reform in restructuring the economy, particularly with respect to the 2007-17 privatization of Japan Post, which has functioned not only as the national postal delivery system but also, through its banking and insurance facilities, as Japan's largest financial institution. |
| GDP Purchasing Power Parity: $4.22 trillion (2006 est.) |
| GDP Real Growth Rate: 2.8% (2006 est.) |
| GDP Composition By Sector Agriculture: 1.6% |
| GDP Composition By Sector Industry: 25.3% |
| GDP Composition By Sector Services: 73.1% (2006 est.) |
| Labor Force: 66.44 million (2006 est.) |
Labor Force By Occupation: agriculture: 4.6%
industry: 27.8%
services: 67.7% (2004) |
| Unemployment Rate: 4.1% (2006 est.) |
Household Income Or Consumption By Percentage Share: lowest 10%: 4.8%
highest 10%: 21.7% (1993) |
| Inflation Rate Consumer Prices: 0.3% (2006 est.) |
| 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: 3.3% (2006 est.) |
| Energy |
| Electricity Production: 996 billion kWh (2005) |
| Electricity Production By Source Fossil Fuel: 60% |
| Electricity Production By Source Hydro: 8.4% |
| Electricity Production By Source Nuclear: 29.8% |
| Electricity Production By Source Other: 1.8% (2001) |
| Electricity Consumption: 946.3 billion kWh (2005) |
| Electricity Exports: 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity Imports: 0 kWh (2005) |
| Oil Production: 125,000 bbl/day (2006) |
| Oil Consumption: 5.578 million bbl/day (2005) |
| Oil Proved Reserves: 59 million bbl (1 January 2006) |
| Natural Gas Production: 2.957 billion cu m (2004 est.) |
| Natural Gas Consumption: 83.55 billion cu m (2004 est.) |
| Natural Gas Exports: 0 cu m (2004 est.) |
| Natural Gas Imports: 81.23 billion cu m (2004 est.) |
| Natural Gas Proved Reserves: 39.64 billion cu m (1 January 2005 est.) |
| Exports: $590.3 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) |
| Exports Commodities: transport equipment, motor vehicles, semiconductors, electrical machinery, chemicals |
| Exports Partners: US 22.9%, China 13.4%, South Korea 7.8%, Taiwan 7.3%, Hong Kong 6.1% (2005) |
| Imports: $524.1 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) |
| Imports Commodities: machinery and equipment, fuels, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, raw materials |
| Imports Partners: China 21%, US 12.7%, Saudi Arabia 5.5%, UAE 4.9%, Australia 4.7%, South Korea 4.7%, Indonesia 4% (2005) |
| Debt External: $1.547 trillion (30 June 2006) |
| Communications |
| Telephones Main Lines In Use: 58.78 million (2005) |
| TelephonesMobileCellular: 94.745 million (2005) |
| Telephone System General Assessment: excellent domestic and international service |
| Telephone System Domestic: high level of modern technology and excellent service of every kind |
| Telephone System International: country code - 81; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region), and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean regions); submarine cables to China, Philippines, Russia, and US (via Guam) (1999) |
| Radio Broadcast Stations: AM 215 (plus 370 repeaters), FM 89 (plus 485 repeaters), shortwave 21 (2001) |
| Radios: 120.5 million (1997) |
| Television Broadcast Stations: 211 (plus 7,341 repeaters); 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: 73 (2000) |
| Internet Users: 86.3 million (2005) |
| Transportation |
| Railways Total: 23,556 km |
| Railways Standard Gauge: 3,204 km 1.435-m gauge (3,204 km electrified) |
| Railways Narrow Gauge: 77 km 1.372-m gauge (77 km electrified); 20,264 km 1.067-m gauge (13,280 km electrified); 11 km 0.762-m gauge (11 km electrified) (2005) |
| Waterways: 1,770 km (seagoing vessels use inland seas) (2006) |
| Airports: 175 (2006) |
| Military Expenditures Percent Of GDP: 0.8% (2006) |
| Disputes International: the sovereignty dispute over the islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Shikotan, and the Habomai group, known in Japan as the "Northern Territories" and in Russia as the "Southern Kuril Islands," occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia and claimed by Japan, remains the primary sticking point to signing a peace treaty formally ending World War II hostilities; Japan and South Korea claim Liancourt Rocks (Take-shima/Tok-do) occupied by South Korea since 1954; China and Taiwan dispute both Japan's claims to the uninhabited islands of the Senkaku-shoto (Diaoyu Tai) and Japan's unilaterally declared exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea, the site of intensive hydrocarbon prospecting |