JAPAN
Geography People Government Economy Transportation Communications Defense Forces
JAPAN
@Japan:Geography
Location: Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean
and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean peninsula
Map references: Asia
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
JAPAN - MAJOR CITIES
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Latitude, Internat'l Time
Population Longitude Phone Code Zone
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOKYO 8,324,000 35.40N,139.45E 81-3 GMT+9
Yokohama 3,151,000 35.27N,139.39E 81-45 GMT+9
Osaka 2,645,000 34.40N,135.30E 81-6 GMT+9
Nagoya 2,148,000 35.08N,136.53E 81-52 GMT+9
Sapporo 1,621,000 43.05N,141.21E 81-11 GMT+9
Kyoto 1,475,000 35.02N,135.45E 81-75 GMT+9
Kobe 1,448,000 34.40N,135.12E 81-78 GMT+9
Fukuoka 1,204,000 33.39N,130.21E 81-92 GMT+9
Kawasaki 1,143,000 35.32N,139.41E 81-44 GMT+9
Hiroshima 1,073,000 34.23N,132.27E 81-82 GMT+9
Kitakyushu 1,039,000 33.52N,130.49E 81-93 GMT+9
Sendai 884,000 38.15N,140.53E 81-996 GMT+9
Kagoshima 536,000 31.36N,130.33E 81-992 GMT+9
Niigata 483,000 37.55N,139.03E 81-252 GMT+9
Nagasaki 448,000 32.48N,129.55E 81-958 GMT+9
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Area:
total area: 377,835 sq km
land area: 374,744 sq km
comparative area: slightly smaller than California
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:
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm; 3 nm in the international straits - La Perouse
or Soya, Tsugaru, Osumi, and Eastern and Western Channels of the Korea
or Tsushima Strait
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
Natural resources: negligible mineral resources, fish
Land use:
arable land: 13%
permanent crops: 1%
meadows and pastures: 1%
forest and woodland: 67%
other: 18%
Irrigated land: 28,680 sq km (1989)
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's appetite for fish and
tropical timber is contributing to the depletion of these resources in
Asia and elsewhere
natural hazards: many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500
seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; tsunamis
international agreements: party to - Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94,
Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental
Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea
Note: strategic location in northeast Asia
@Japan:People
Population: 125,506,492 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 16% (female 9,955,603; male 10,542,973)
15-64 years: 69% (female 43,377,425; male 43,843,645)
65 years and over: 15% (female 10,514,017; male 7,272,829) (July 1995
est.)
Population growth rate: 0.32% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 10.66 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 7.46 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 4.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 79.44 years
male: 76.6 years
female: 82.42 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.56 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Japanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Japanese
Ethnic divisions: Japanese 99.4%, other 0.6% (mostly Korean)
Religions: observe both Shinto and Buddhist 84%, other 16% (including
0.7% Christian)
Languages: Japanese
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1970 est.)
total population: 99%
Labor force: 65.87 million (December 1994)
by occupation: trade and services 54%, manufacturing, mining, and
construction 33%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 7%, government 3%
(1988)
@Japan:Government
Names:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Japan
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:
chief of state: Emperor AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989)
head of government: Prime Minister Tomiichi MURAYAMA (since 30 June
1994); Deputy Prime Minister Yohei KONO (since 30 June 1994)
cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the prime minister
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 on 26 July 1992
(next set to be held 23 July 1995); results - percent of vote by party
NA; seats - (252 total) LDP 106, SDPJ 73, Komeito 24, DSP 12, JCP 11,
JNP 4, others 16, independents 6; note - the distribution of seats as
of 1 April 1995 is as follows - LDP 94, SDPJ 68, Heisei-kai 47, Shin
Ryokufu-kai 16, JCP 11, others 15, vacant 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
Political parties and leaders: Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Yohei
KONO, president and Yoshiro MORI, secretary general; Social Democratic
Party of Japan (SDPJ), Tomiichi MURAYAMA; Japan Communist Party (JCP),
Tetsuzo FUWA, Presidium chairman; Sakigake (Harbinger), Masayoshi
TAKEMURA, chairman; Shinshinto (New Frontier Party, NFP), Toshiki
KAIFU, chairman and Ichiro OZAWA, secretary general
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; Shin Ryokufu-kai is a parliamentary alliance
which exists only in the upper house, it includes remnants of
Shinseito, JNP, DSP, and a minor labor group; 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, GATT, IADB, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MTCR, NEA, NSG,
OAS (observer), OECD, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR,
UNOMOZ, UNRWA, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Takakazu KURIYAMA
chancery: 2520 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 939-6700
FAX: [1] (202) 328-2187
consulate(s) general: Agana (Guam), Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston,
Chicago, Detroit, Honolulu, Houston, Kansas City (Missouri), Los
Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Portland (Oregon), San
Francisco, and Seattle
consulate(s): Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands)
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Walter F. MONDALE
embassy: 10-5, Akasaka 1-chome, Minato-ku (107), Tokyo
mailing address: Unit 45004, Box 258, Tokyo; APO AP 96337-0001
telephone: [81] (3) 3224-5000
FAX: [81] (3) 3505-1862
consulate(s) general: Naha (Okinawa), Osaka-Kobe, Sapporo
consulate(s): Fukuoka, Nagoya
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. Industry, the most important sector of the economy, is
heavily dependent on imported raw materials and fuels. 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. Overall economic growth has been spectacular: a 10%
average in the 1960s, a 5% average in the 1970s and 1980s. Economic
growth came to a halt in 1992-93 largely because of contractionary
domestic policies intended to wring speculative excesses from the
stock and real estate markets. Growth resumed at a 0.6% pace in 1994
largely because of consumer demand. As for foreign trade, the stronger
yen and slower global growth are containing export growth.
Unemployment and inflation remain remarkably low in comparison with
the other industrialized nations. Japan continues to run a huge trade
surplus - $121 billion in 1994, roughly the same size as in 1993 -
which supports extensive investment in foreign assets. Prime Minister
MURAYAMA has yet to formalize his government's plans for
administrative and economic reform, including reduction in the trade
surplus. As leader of a coalition government, he has softened his own
socialist positions. 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 - $2.5274 trillion
(1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 0.6% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $20,200 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 0.7% (1994)
Unemployment rate: 2.9% (1994)
Budget:
revenues: $569 billion
expenditures: $671 billion, including capital expenditures (public
works only) of about $126 billion (1994 est.)
Exports: $395.5 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
commodities: manufactures 97% (including machinery 46%, motor vehicles
20%, consumer electronics 10%)
partners: Southeast Asia 33%, US 29%, Western Europe 18%, China 5%
Imports: $274.3 billion (c.i.f., 1994)
commodities: manufactures 52%, fossil fuels 20%, foodstuffs and raw
materials 28%
partners: Southeast Asia 25%, US 23%, Western Europe 15%, China 9%
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate 1% (1994); accounts for 30% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity: 205,140,000 kW
production: 840 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 6,262 kWh (1993)
Industries: steel and non-ferrous metallurgy, heavy electrical
equipment, construction and mining equipment, motor vehicles and
parts, electronic and telecommunication equipment and components,
machine tools and automated production systems, locomotives and
railroad rolling stock, shipbuilding, chemicals, textiles, food
processing
Agriculture: accounts for only 2% 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:
donor: ODA and OOF commitments (1970-94), $132 billion
note: ODA outlay of $9.9 billion in 1994 (est.)
Currency: yen (Y)
Exchange rates: yen (Y) per US$1 - 99.75 (January 1995), 102.21
(1994), 111.20 (1993), 126.65 (1992), 134.71 (1991), 144.79 (1990)
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
@Japan:Transportation
Railroads:
total: 27,327 km (5,724 km double track and multitrack sections)
standard gauge: 2,012 km 1.435-m gauge (2,012 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 25,315 km predominantly 1.067-m gauge (9,038 km
electrified) (1987)
Highways:
total: 1,111,974 km
paved: 754,102 km (including 4,869 km of national expressways)
unpaved: gravel, crushed stone, or earth 357,872 km (1991)
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:
total: 851 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 18,195,386
GRT/27,292,044 DWT
ships by type: bulk 210, cargo 63, chemical tanker 7, combination
ore/oil 7, container 41, liquefied gas tanker 41, multifunction
large-load carrier 1, oil tanker 264, passenger 10, passenger-cargo 5,
refrigerated cargo 48, roll-on/roll-off cargo 43, short-sea passenger
30, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 79
note: Japan owns an additional 1,537 ships (1,000 GRT or over)
totaling 45,490,202 DWT that operate under Panamanian, Liberian,
Vanuatu, Bahamian, Singaporian, Cypriot, Philippines, Hong Kong, and
Maltese registry
Airports:
total: 175
with paved runways over 3,047 m: 6
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 31
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 36
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 30
with paved runways under 914 m: 70
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 2
@Japan:Communications
Telephone system: 64,000,000 telephones; excellent domestic and
international service
local: NA
intercity: NA
international: 5 INTELSAT (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) earth
stations; submarine cables to US (via Guam), Philippines, China, and
Russia
Radio:
broadcast stations: AM 318, FM 58, shortwave 0
radios: 95 million
Television:
broadcast stations: 12,350 (1 kW or greater 196)
televisions: 100 million
@Japan: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 31,947,532; males fit for
military service 27,494,758; males reach military age (18) annually
910,970 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $47.2 billion, 1% of
GDP (FY95/96)
________________________________________________________________________