1994 Edition

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

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

Airports

total: 167 usable: 165 with permanent-surface runways: 137 with runways over 3,659 m: 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 34 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 52

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)

Birth rate

10.49 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Branches

Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (Army), Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (Navy), Japan Air Self-Defense Force (Air Force), Maritime Safety Agency (Coast Guard)

Budget

revenues: $490 billion expenditures: $579 billion, including capital expenditures (public works only) of about $68 billion (FY93)

Capital

Tokyo

Climate

varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north

Coastline

29,751 km

Constitution

3 May 1947

Currency

yen (Y)

Death rate

7.31 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $45.5 billion, less than 1% of GDP (FY94/95 est.)

Digraph

JA

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador Takakazu KURIYAMA chancery: 2520 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 939-6700

Economic aid

donor: ODA and OOF commitments (1970-93), $123 billion note: ODA outlay of $9.9 billion in 1994 (est.)

Electricity

capacity: 196,000,000 kW production: 835 billion kWh consumption per capita: 6,700 kWh (1992)

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 natural hazards: many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; subject to 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, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea

Ethnic divisions

Japanese 99.4%, other 0.6% (mostly Korean)

Exchange rates

yen (Y) per US$1 - 111.51 (January 1994), 111.20 (1993), 126.65 (1992), 134.71 (1991), 144.79 (1990), 137.96 (1989)

Executive branch

chief of state: Emperor AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989) head of government: Prime Minister Tsutomu HATA (since 25 April 1994); Deputy Prime Minister (vacant) cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the prime minister

Exports

$360.9 billion (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: manufactures 97% (including machinery 46%, motor vehicles 20%, consumer electronics 10%) partners: Southeast Asia 33%, US 29%, Western Europe 18%, China 5%

External debt

$NA

FAX

(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)

[81] (3) 3505-1862 consulate(s) general: Naha (Okinawa), Osaka-Kobe, Sapporo consulate(s): Fukuoka

Fiscal year

1 April - 31 March

Flag

white with a large red disk (representing the sun without rays) in the center

Highways

total: 1,115,609 km paved: 782,042 km (including 4,869 km of national expressways) unpaved: gravel, crushed stone, or earth 333,567 km (1991)

House of Councillors (Sangi-in)

elections last held on 26 July 1992 (next to be held NA July 1995); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (252 total) LDP 95, SDPJ 68, Shin Ryoku fu-Kai 37, CGP 24, JCP 11, other 17

House of Representatives (Shugi-in)

elections last held on 18 July 1993 (next to be held by NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (511 total) LDP 206, SDPJ 74, Shinseito 62, CGP 52, JNP 37, DSP 19, JCP 15, Sakigake 15, others 19, independents 10, vacant 2

Imports

$240.7 billion (c.i.f., 1993) commodities: manufactures 52%, fossil fuels 20%, foodstuffs and raw materials 28% partners: Southeast Asia 25%, US 23%, Western Europe 15%, China 9%

Independence

660 BC (traditional founding by Emperor Jimmu)

Industrial production

growth rate -4% (1993); accounts for 30% of GDP

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

Infant mortality rate

4.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

1.3% (1993)

Inland waterways

about 1,770 km; seagoing craft ply all coastal inland seas

International disputes

islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotau, 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

Irrigated land

28,680 sq km (1989)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court

Labor force

63.33 million by occupation: trade and services 54%, manufacturing, mining, and construction 33%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 7%, government 3% (1988)

Land boundaries

0 km

Land use

arable land: 13% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 1% forest and woodland: 67% other: 18%

Languages

Japanese

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

Legislative branch

bicameral Diet (Kokkai)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 79.31 years male: 76.47 years female: 82.28 years (1994 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1970 est.) total population: 99% male: NA% female: NA%

Location

Eastern Asia, off the southeast coast of Russia and east of the Korean peninsula

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 32,044,032; fit for military service 27,597,444; reach military age (18) annually 953,928 (1994 est.)

Map references

Asia, Standard Time Zones of the World

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

Member of

AfDB, AG (observer), Australia Group, APEC, AsDB, BIS, CCC, COCOM, CP, CSCE (observer), EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, G-2, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS, MTCR, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UNTAC, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Merchant marine

926 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 20,383,101 GRT31,007,515 DWT, bulk 225, cargo 76, chemical tanker 9, combination ore/oil 9, container 44, liquefied gas 42, multi-function large load carrier 1, oil tanker 265, passenger 10, passenger cargo 3, refrigerated cargo 66, roll-on/roll-off cargo 44, short-sea passenger 36, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 94 note: Japan also owns a large flag of convenience fleet, including up to 38% of the total number of ships under the Panamanian flag

Names

conventional long form: none conventional short form: Japan

National holiday

Birthday of the Emperor, 23 December (1933)

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $2.549 trillion (1993)

National product per capita

$20,400 (1993)

National product real growth rate

0% (1993)

Nationality

noun: Japanese (singular and plural) adjective: Japanese

Natural resources

negligible mineral resources, fish

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Note

strategic location in northeast Asia

Overview

Government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, and a comparatively small defense allocation 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. 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. At the same time, 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 - $120 billion in 1993, up more than 10% from the year earlier - which supports extensive investment in foreign assets. The new prime minister HATA in early 1994 reiterated previous governments' vows of administrative and economic reform, including reduction in the trade surplus, but his weak coalition government faces strong resistance from traditional interest groups. The crowding of the habitable land area and the aging of the population are two major long-run problems.

Pipelines

crude oil 84 km; petroleum products 322 km; natural gas 1,800 km

Political parties and leaders

Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Yohei KONO, president; Yoshiro MORI, secretary general; Social Democratic Party of Japan (SDPJ), Tomiichi MURAYAMA; Democratic Socialist Party (DSP), Keigo OUCHI, chairman; Japan Communist Party (JCP), Tetsuzo FUWA, Presidium chairman; Komeito (Clean Government Party, CGP), Koshiro ISHIDA, chairman; Japan New Party (JNP), Morihiro HOSOKAWA, chairman; Shinseito (Japan Renewal Party, JRP), Tsutomu HATA, chairman; Ichiro OZAWA, secretary general; Sakigake (Harbinger), Masayoshi TAKEMURA, chairman; Mirai (Future Party), Michihiko KANO, chairman; The Liberal Party, Koji KAKIZAWA, chairman note: Shin Ryoku fu-Kai is a new, upper house only, parliamentary alliance which includes the JRP, JNP, DSP, and a minor labor group

Population

125,106,937 (July 1994 est.)

Population growth rate

0.32% (1994 est.)

Ports

Chiba, Muroran, Kitakyushu, Kobe, Tomakomai, Nagoya, Osaka, Tokyo, Yokkaichi, Yokohama, Kawasaki, Niigata, Fushiki-Toyama, Shimizu, Himeji, Wakayama-Shimozu, Shimonoseki, Tokuyama-Shimomatsu

Railroads

27,327 km total; 2,012 km 1.435-meter standard gauge and 25,315 km predominantly 1.067-meter narrow gauge; 5,724 km doubletrack and multitrack sections, 9,038 km 1.067-meter narrow-gauge electrified, 2,012 km 1.435-meter standard-gauge electrified (1987)

Religions

observe both Shinto and Buddhist 84%, other 16% (including 0.7% Christian)

Suffrage

20 years of age; universal

Telecommunications

excellent domestic and international service; 64,000,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 318 AM, 58 FM, 12,350 TV (196 major - 1 kw or greater); satellite earth stations - 4 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT; submarine cables to US (via Guam), Philippines, China, and Russia

Terrain

mostly rugged and mountainous

Total fertility rate

1.55 children born/woman (1994 est.)

Type

constitutional monarchy

Unemployment rate

2.5% (1993)

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