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Background:
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 While
retaining its time-honored culture, Japan rapidly absorbed
Western technology during the late 19th and early 20th
centuries. 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. |
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Location:
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Eastern Asia,
island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of
Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula |
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Geographic coordinates:
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36 00 N, 138 00 E |
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Map references:
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Asia |
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Area:
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total:
377,835 sq km
note: includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto,
Minami-jima, Okino-tori-shima, Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto),
and Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto)
water: 3,091 sq km
land: 374,744 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly smaller
than California |
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Land boundaries:
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0 km |
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Coastline:
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29,751 km |
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Climate:
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varies from
tropical in south to cool temperate in north |
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Terrain:
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mostly rugged and
mountainous |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point:
Hachiro-gata -4 m
highest point: Mount Fuji 3,776 m |
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Natural resources:
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negligible
mineral resources, fish |
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Land use:
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arable land:
12.13%
permanent crops: 1.01%
other: 86.86% (1998 est.) |
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Irrigated land:
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26,790 sq km
(1998 est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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many dormant and
some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly
tremors) every year; tsunamis; typhoons |
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Environment - current issues:
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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 |
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to:
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living
Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical
Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling |
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Geography - note:
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strategic
location in northeast Asia |
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Population:
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127,333,002 (July
2004 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years:
14.3% (male 9,337,867; female 8,876,996)
15-64 years: 66.7% (male 42,697,264; female 42,196,835)
65 years and over: 19% (male 10,169,190; female
14,054,850) (2004 est.) |
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Median age:
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total:
42.3 years
male: 40.5 years
female: 44.1 years (2004 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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0.08% (2004 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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9.56 births/1,000
population (2004 est.) |
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Death rate:
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8.75 deaths/1,000
population (2004 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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0 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2004 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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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: 0.72 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
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Infant mortality rate:
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total:
3.28 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 3 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 3.54 deaths/1,000 live births |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total
population: 81.04 years
male: 77.74 years
female: 84.51 years (2004 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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less than 0.1%
(2001 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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12,000 (2001
est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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430 (2001 est.) |
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Nationality:
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noun:
Japanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Japanese |
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Ethnic groups:
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Japanese 99%,
others 1% (Korean 511,262, Chinese 244,241, Brazilian 182,232,
Filipino 89,851, other 237,914)
note: up to 230,000 Brazilians of Japanese origin
migrated to Japan in the 1990s to work in industries; some
have returned to Brazil (2004) |
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Religions:
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observe both
Shinto and Buddhist 84%, other 16% (including Christian 0.7%) |
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Languages:
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Japanese |
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Literacy:
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definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% (1995 est.)
male: NA%
female: NA% |
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Country name:
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conventional
long form: none
conventional short form: Japan |
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Government type:
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constitutional
monarchy with a parliamentary government |
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Capital:
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Tokyo |
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Administrative divisions:
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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 |
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Independence:
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660 BC
(traditional founding by Emperor Jimmu) |
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National holiday:
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Birthday of
Emperor AKIHITO, 23 December (1933) |
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Constitution:
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3 May 1947 |
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Legal system:
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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 |
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Executive branch:
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chief of
state: Emperor AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989)
note: following the resignation of Prime Minister
Yoshiro MORI, Junichiro KOIZUMI was elected as the new
president of the majority Liberal Democratic Party and soon
thereafter designated by the Diet to become the next prime
minister
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the Diet
designates the prime minister; the constitution requires that
the prime minister must command a parliamentary majority;
therefore, following legislative elections, the leader of the
majority party or leader of a majority coalition in the House
of Representatives usually becomes prime minister
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister
head of government: Prime Minister Junichiro KOIZUMI
(since 26 April 2001) |
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Legislative branch:
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bicameral Diet or
Kokkai consists of the House of Councillors or Sangi-in (247
seats - members elected for six-year terms; half reelected
every three years; 149 members in multi-seat constituencies
and 98 by proportional representation); House of
Representatives or Shugi-in (480 seats - members elected for
four-year terms; 300 in single-seat constituencies; 180
members by proportional representation in 11 regional blocs)
election results: House of Councillors - percent of
vote by party - NA%; seats by party - LDP 110, DPJ 59, Komeito
23, JCP 20, SDP 8, Liberal Party 8, Conservative Party 5,
independents 14; distribution of seats as of July 2001 was:
LDP 115, DPJ 60, Komeito 24, JCP 20, SDP 8, Liberal Party 8
(merged with DPJ in 2003), independents 6, others 6; House of
Representatives - percent of vote by party - LDP 49.38%, DPJ
36.88%, Komeito 7.09%, JCP 1.88%, SDP 1.25%, NCP .84%; seats
by party - LDP 237, DPJ 177, Komeito 34, JCP 9, SDP 6, NCP 4,
others 13; distribution of seats as of 13 November 2003 was:
LDP 244, DPJ 177, Komeito 34, JCP 9, SDP 6, others 10
note: the Liberal Party merged with the Democratic
Party of Japan in September 2003; the New Conservative Party
merged with the Liberal Democratic Party following the
election in November 2003
elections: House of Councillors - last held 29 July
2001 (next to be held in July 2004 - number of seats to be
reduced by five to 242); House of Representatives - last held
9 November 2003 (next election by November 2007) |
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Judicial branch:
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Supreme Court
(chief justice is appointed by the monarch after designation
by the cabinet; all other justices are appointed by the
cabinet) |
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Political parties and leaders:
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Democratic Party
of Japan or DPJ [NA, leader; Katsuya OKADA, secretary
general]; Japan Communist Party or JCP [Kazuo SHII, chairman;
Tadayoshi ICHIDA, secretary general]; Komeito [Takenori
KANZAKI, president; Tetsuzo FUYUSHIBA, secretary general];
Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Junichiro KOIZUMI, president;
Shinzo ABE, secretary general]; Social Democratic Party or SDP
[Mizuho FUKUSHIMA, chairperson; Seiji MATAICHI, secretary
general] |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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NA |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief of
mission: Ambassador Ryozo KATO
FAX: [1] (202) 328-2187
consulate(s): Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands)
consulate(s) general: Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston,
Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Hagatna (Guam), Honolulu, Houston,
Kansas City (Missouri), Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New
York, Portland (Oregon), San Francisco, and Seattle
chancery: 2520 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC
20008
telephone: [1] (202) 238-6700 |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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chief of
mission: Ambassador Howard H. BAKER, Jr.
embassy: 10-5 Akasaka 1-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo
107-8420
mailing address: Unit 45004, Box 258, APO AP 96337-5004
telephone: [81] (03) 3224-5000
FAX: [81] (03) 3505-1862
consulate(s) general: Naha (Okinawa), Osaka-Kobe,
Sapporo
consulate(s): Fukuoka, Nagoya |
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Economy - overview:
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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 third-largest economy 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 the 1990s, averaging just 1.7%, largely because of the
after effects of overinvestment during the late 1980s and
contractionary domestic policies intended to wring speculative
excesses from the stock and real estate markets. Government
efforts to revive economic growth have met with little success
and were further hampered in 2000-2003 by the slowing of the
US, European, and Asian economies. Japan's huge government
debt, which is approaching 150% of GDP, and the ageing 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." Internal conflict over the proper way to reform
the ailing banking system continues. |
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GDP:
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purchasing power
parity - $3.567 trillion (2003 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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2.3% (2003 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power
parity - $28,000 (2003 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture:
1.4%
industry: 30.9%
services: 67.7% (2001 est.) |
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Population below poverty line:
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NA% |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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-0.3% (2003 est.) |
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Labor force:
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66.66 million
(2003) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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services 70%,
industry 25%, agriculture 5% (2002 est.) |
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Unemployment rate:
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5.3% (2003) |
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Budget:
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revenues:
$380 billion
expenditures: $746 billion, including capital
expenditures (public works only) of about $71 billion (FY03/04
est.) |
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Industries:
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among world's
largest and technologically advanced producers of motor
vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and
nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals, textiles, processed foods |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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1.9% (2003 est.) |
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Electricity - production:
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1.037 trillion
kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel:
60%
hydro: 8.4%
other: 1.8% (2001)
nuclear: 29.8% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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964.4 billion kWh
(2001) |
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Oil - production:
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17,330 bbl/day
(2001 est.) |
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Oil - consumption:
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5.29 million
bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - exports:
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93,360 bbl/day
(2001) |
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Oil - imports:
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5.449 million
bbl/day (2001) |
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Oil - proved reserves:
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29.29 million bbl
(1 January 2002) |
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Natural gas - production:
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2.519 billion cu
m (2001 est.) |
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Natural gas - consumption:
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80.42 billion cu
m (2001 est.) |
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Agriculture - products:
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rice, sugar
beets, vegetables, fruit, pork, poultry, dairy products, eggs,
fish |
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Exports:
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$447.1 billion
f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
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Exports - commodities:
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motor vehicles,
semiconductors, office machinery, chemicals |
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Exports - partners:
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US 28.8%, China
9.6%, South Korea 6.9%, Taiwan 6.3%, Hong Kong 6.1% (2002) |
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Imports:
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$346.6 billion
f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
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Imports - commodities:
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machinery and
equipment, fuels, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, raw
materials (2001) |
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Imports - partners:
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China 18.3%, US
17.4%, South Korea 4.6%, Indonesia 4.2%, Australia 4.1% (2002) |
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Debt - external:
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$NA (2002 est.) |
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Economic aid - donor:
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ODA, $7 billion
(FY03/04) |
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Currency:
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yen (JPY) |
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Currency code:
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JPY |
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Exchange rates:
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yen per US dollar
- 115.93 (2003), 125.39 (2002), 121.53 (2001), 107.77 (2000),
113.91 (1999) |
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Fiscal year:
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1 April - 31
March |
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Telephones - main lines in use:
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71.149 million
(2002) |
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Telephones - mobile cellular:
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81,118,400 (2002) |
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Telephone system:
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general
assessment: excellent domestic and international service
domestic: high level of modern technology and excellent
service of every kind
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) |
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Radio broadcast stations:
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AM 215 plus 370
repeaters, FM 89 plus 485 repeaters, shortwave 21 (2001) |
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Television broadcast stations:
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211 plus 7,341
repeaters
note: in addition, US Forces are served by 3 TV
stations and 2 TV cable services (1999) |
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Internet country code:
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.jp |
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Internet hosts:
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9,260,117 (2002) |
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Internet users:
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57.2 million
(2002) |
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Railways:
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total:
23,167 km (15,995 km electrified)
standard gauge: 3,204 km 1.435-m gauge (3,204 km
electrified)
narrow gauge: 77 km 1.372-m gauge (77 km electrified);
19,855 km 1.067-m gauge (12,683 km electrified); 31 km 0.762-m
gauge (31 km electrified) (2002) |
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Highways:
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total:
1,161,894 km
paved: 534,471 km (including 6,455 km of expressways)
unpaved: 627,423 km (1999) |
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Waterways:
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1,770 km
approximately
note: seagoing craft ply all coastal inland seas |
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Pipelines:
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gas 2,719 km; oil
170 km; oil/gas/water 60 km (2003) |
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Ports and harbors:
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Akita, Amagasaki,
Chiba, Hachinohe, Hakodate, Higashi-Harima, Himeji, Hiroshima,
Kawasaki, Kinuura, Kobe, Kushiro, Mizushima, Moji, Nagoya,
Osaka, Sakai, Sakaide, Shimizu, Tokyo, Tomakomai |
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Merchant marine:
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total: 568
ships (1,000 GRT or over) 10,149,196 GRT/12,680,544 DWT
foreign-owned: China 1, Panama 1, Philippines 1,
Singapore 1
registered in other countries: 1,989 (2003 est.)
by type: bulk 113, cargo 39, chemical tanker 18,
combination bulk 31, combination ore/oil 1, container 14,
liquefied gas 53, passenger 8, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum
tanker 170, refrigerated cargo 6, roll on/roll off 58,
short-sea/passenger 7, vehicle carrier 49 |
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Airports:
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174 (2003 est.) |
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Airports - with paved runways:
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total: 143
over 3,047 m: 7
2,438 to 3,047 m: 37
914 to 1,523 m: 28
under 914 m: 32 (2003 est.)
1,524 to 2,437 m: 39 |
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Airports - with unpaved runways:
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total: 31
over 3047 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 26 (2003 est.) |
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Heliports:
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15 (2003 est.) |
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Military branches:
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Ground
Self-Defense Force (Army), Maritime Self-Defense Force (Navy),
Air Self-Defense Force (Air Force), Coast Guard |
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Military manpower - military age:
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18 years of age
(2004 est.) |
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Military manpower - availability:
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males age
15-49: 29,179,095 (2004 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service:
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males age
15-49: 25,189,438 (2004 est.) |
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Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
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males:
700,931 (2004 est.) |
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Military expenditures - dollar figure:
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$42,488.1 million
(2003) |
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Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
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1% (2003) |
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Disputes - international:
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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 Rusia and claimed by Japan, remains the
primary sticking point to signing a peace treaty formally
ending World War II hostilities; intensified media coverage
and protests highlight dispute over the fishing-rich Liancourt
Rocks (Take-shima/Tok-do) also claimed by South Korea; China
and Taiwan have intensified their claims to the Senkaku
Islands (Diaoyu Tai) administered by Japan |
This page was last updated on 11 May, 2004
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