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General Information |
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| Prime
Minister |
Mr.
Naoto Kan |
| Capital |
Tokyo |
| Area |
total:
377,835 sq km
land: 374,744 sq km
water: v3,091 sq km
note: includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto,
Minami-jima, Okino-tori-shima, Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto),
and Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto) |
| Culture |
Culture |
| History |
History
Overview |
| Climate |
There
are a wide range of climates in Japan, ranging from the
freezing conditions of Hokkaido in the north to the
tropical weather in the southern islands of Okinawa. In
the main area of Japan, the four seasons are evident and
similar in time periods to the west coast of North
America. There is a rainy season from mid-June to
mid-July, although the temperaturesare still warm and
the humidity rises to very high levels. The typhoon
season is in September, but it is the southern islands
that are most affected by any typhoons. |
| Food |
Japanese
Food |
| Natural
Resources |
negligible
mineral resources, fish |
| Irrigated
land |
27,820
sq km |
| Natural
hazards |
many
dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic
occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; tsunamis |
| Environment-international
agreements |
party
to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertication, Endangered
Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes,
Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone
Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83,
Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
| Population |
125
million (Approx.) |
| Birth
rate |
10.48
births/1,000 population(Approx.) |
| Death
rate |
8.12
deaths/1,000 population (Approx.) |
| Net
migration rate |
-0.34
migrant(s)/1,000 population (Approx.) |
| 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: 0.72 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (Approx.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth |
total
population: 80.11 years
male: 77.02 years
female: 83.35 years (Approx.) |
| Religions |
observe
both Shinto and Buddhist 84%, other 16% (including Christian 0.7%) |
| Legislative
Body |
:
bicameral Diet or Kokkai consists of the House of Councillors or Sangi-in |
| Official
Language |
Japanese |
| Literacy |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% (1970 est.)
male: NA%
female: NA% (Approx.) |
| Currency |
yen
(¥) |
| Inflation |
1.0%
(CPI) |
| 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 |
| GDP:
Purchasing Power Parity |
-$2.903
trillion (approx.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate |
-2.6%
(approx.) |
| GDP
- per capita |
purchasing
power parity-$23,100 (approx.) |
| GDP
- Composition by sector |
agriculture:
2%
industry: 38%
services: 60% (approx.)
 |
| 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
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
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 early 1999 output has started to stabilize as emergency government
spending begins to take hold. The crowding of habitable land area and
the aging of the population are two major long-run problems. |
| Household
income |
lowest
10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% (approx.) |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices) |
0.9%
(approx.) |
| Industries |
among
world's largest and technologically advanced producers of steel and
nonferrous metallurgy, heavy electrical equipment, construction and
mining equipment, motor vehicles and parts, electronic and
telecommunication equipment, machine tools, automated production
systems, locomotives and railroad rolling stock, ships, chemicals;
textiles, processed foods |
| Industrial
production growth rate |
-6.9%
(approx.) |
| Agriculture-
products |
rice,
sugar beets, vegetables, fruit; pork, poultry, dairy products, eggs;
fish |
| Exports |
$440
billion (approx.) |
| Exports-commodities |
:
manufactures 96% (including machinery 50%, motor vehicles 19%,
consumer electronics 3%) |
| Exports-partners |
US
30%, EU 18%, Southeast Asia 12%, China 5% (approx.) |
| Imports |
$319
billion(approx.) |
| Imports-commodities |
manufactures
54%, foodstuffs and raw materials 28%, fossil fuels 16% |
| Imports-partners |
US
24%, Southeast Asia 14%, EU 14%, China 13% (approx.) |
| Communication |
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| Telephones |
55
per 100 pop |
| Radios |
900
per 1000 pop. |
| Televisions |
610
per 1000 pop. |
| Transportation |
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| Railways |
total:
23,670.7 km
standard gauge: 2,893.1 km 1.435-m gauge (entirely electrified)
narrow gauge: 89.8 km 1.372-m gauge (89.8 km electrified); 20,656.8 km
1.067-m gauge (10,383.6 km electrified); 31 km 0.762-m gauge (3.6 km
electrified) (approx.) |
| Roads |
27,000
km |
| Highways |
total:
1.16 million km
paved: 859,560 km (including 6,070 km of expressways)
unpaved: 300,440 km (approx.) |
| 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 |
| Tax
Structure |
Tax
Structure |
| International
Membership |
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, MTCR, NEA, NSG, OAS
(observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UN Security Council
(temporary), UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNRWA, UNU,
UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
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General Section
