Map of Japan | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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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 more than two centuries 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 elected politicians - with heavy input from bureaucrats and business executives - wield actual decisionmaking power. 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. In January 2009 Japan assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2009-10 term.


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Location: Eastern Asia island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan east of the Korean Peninsula

Geographic coordinates: 36 00 N 138 00 E

Map reference: Asia

Area
Total: 377,915 km²
Rank: 61
Land: 364,485 km²
Water: 13,430 km²
Note: includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto) Daito-shoto Minami-jima Okino-tori-shima Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto) and Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto)
Comparative: slightly smaller than California

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 29,751 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm; between 3 nm and 12 nm in the international straits - La Perouse or Soya Tsugaru Osumi and Eastern and Western Channels of the Korea or Tsushima Strait
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate: varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north

Terrain: mostly rugged and mountainous

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Hachiro-gata -4 m
Extremes highest point: Mount Fuji 3,776 m

Natural resources: negligible mineral resources fish
Note: with virtually no energy natural resources Japan is the world's largest importer of coal and liquefied natural gas as well as the second largest importer of oil

Land use
Arable land: 11.64%
Permanent crops: 0.9%
Other: 87.46% (2005)

Irrigated land: 25,920 km² (2003)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources: 430 km³ (1999)

Natural hazards: many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; tsunamis; typhoons

Geography
Note: strategic location in northeast Asia


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Population: 127,078,679 (July 2009 est.)
Rank: 10
Growth rate: -0.191% (2009 est.)
Growth rate rank: 218
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: Japanese
Adjective: Japanese

Ethnic groups: Japanese 98.5% Koreans 0.5% Chinese 0.4% other 0.6%
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)

Languages: Japanese

Religions: Shintoism 83.9% Buddhism 71.4% Christianity 2% other 7.8%
Note: total adherents exceeds 100% because many people belong to both Shintoism and Buddhism (2005)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 13.5%
15-64 years: 64.3% (male 41,187,425/female 40,533,876)
65 years and over: 22.2% (male 11,964,694/female 16,243,419) (2009 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 44.2 years
Male: 42.4 years
Female: 46.1 years (2009 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.191% (2009 est.)
Rank: 218

Birth rate: 7.64 births/1000 population (2009 est.)
Rank: 222

Death rate: 9.54 deaths/1000 population (July 2009 est.)
Rank: 71

Net migration rate: NA (2009 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization
Urban population: 66% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 0.2% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

Major urban areas

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
International agreements 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
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 2.79 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 221
Male: 2.99 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 2.58 deaths/1000 live births (2009 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 82.12 years
Rank: 3
Male: 78.8 years
Female: 85.62 years (2009 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.21 children born/woman (2009 est.)
Rank: 217

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% (2003 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 153
People living with hivaids: 9,600 (2007 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 107
Deaths: fewer than 100 (2007 est.)
Deaths rank: 143

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures: 3.5% of GDP (2005)
Rank: 128

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 99%
Male: 99%
Female: 99% (2002)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 15 years
Male: 15 years
Female: 15 years (2006)

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Japan
Local long form: Nihon-koku/Nippon-koku
Local short form: Nihon/Nippon

Government type: a parliamentary government with a constitutional monarchy

Capital
Name: Tokyo
Geographic coordinates: 35 41 N 139 45 E
Time difference: UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington DC during Standard Time)

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

Dependent areas

Independence: 660 B.C. (traditional date of the founding of the nation by Emperor JIMMU; first recognized by Emperor Meiji in 1873)

National holiday: Birthday of Emperor AKIHITO 23 December (1933)

Constitution: 3 May 1947

Legal system: modeled after German civil law system with English-American influence; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 20 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: Emperor AKIHITO
Head of government: Prime Minister Yukio HATOYAMA (since 16 September 2009); Deputy Prime Minister Naoto KAN (since 16 September 2009)
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister
Elections: Diet designates prime minister; constitution requires that prime minister commands parliamentary majority; following legislative elections leader of majority party or leader of majority coalition in House of Representatives usually becomes prime minister; monarch is hereditary

Legislative branch: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party (in single-seat constituencies) - DPJ 42.4% LDP 26.7% Komeito 11.5% JCP 7.0% SDP 4.3% others 8.1%; seats by party - DPJ 308 LDP 119 Komeito 21 JCP 9 SDP 7 others 16 (2009)
Elections: House of Councillors - last held 29 July 2007 (next to be held in July 2010); House of Representatives - last held 30 August 2009 (next to be held by August 2013)
Election results: House of Councillors - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - DPJ 109 LDP 83 Komeito 20 JCP 7 SDP 5 others 18

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the monarch after designation by the cabinet; all other justices are appointed by the cabinet)

Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party of Japan or DPJ [Yukio HATOYAMA]; Japan Communist Party or JCP [Kazuo SHII]; Komeito [Natsuo YAMAGUCHI]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Sadakazu TANIGAKI]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Mizuho FUKUSHIMA]

International organization participation: ADB AfDB (nonregional member) APEC APT ARF ASEAN (dialogue partner) Australia Group BIS CE (observer) CERN (observer) CP EAS EBRD FAO G-20 G-5 G-7 G-8 G-10 IADB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC ICCt ICRM IDA IEA IFAD IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO IMSO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO ITSO ITU ITUC LAIA MIGA NEA NSG OAS (observer) OECD OPCW OSCE (partner) Paris Club PCA PIF (partner) SAARC (observer) SECI (observer) UN UNCTAD UNDOF UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNITAR UNRWA UNWTO UPU WCL WCO WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WTO ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Ichiro FUJISAKI
In the us chancery: 2,520 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 238-6,700
In the us fax: [1] (202) 328-2,187
In the us consulate general: Atlanta Boston Chicago Denver Detroit Agana (Guam) Honolulu Houston Los Angeles Miami New York Portland (Oregon) San Francisco Seattle
In the us consulate: Anchorage Nashville
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador James V. ROOS
From the us embassy: 1-10-5 Akasaka Minato-ku Tokyo 107-8,420
From the us mailing address: Unit 9,800 Box 300 APO AP 96,303-0300
From the us telephone: [81] (03) 3,224-5,000
From the us fax: [81] (03) 3,505-1862
From the us consulate general: Naha (Okinawa) Osaka-Kobe Sapporo
From the us consulate: Fukuoka Nagoya

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

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: In the years following World War II 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 speed to the rank of second most technologically powerful economy in the world after the US. Today measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis Japan is the third-largest economy in the world after the US and China. Two notable characteristic of the post-war economy were the close interlocking structures of manufacturers suppliers and distributors known as keiretsu and the guarantee of lifetime employment for a substantial portion of the urban labor force. Both features are now eroding under the dual pressures of global competition and domestic demographic change. Japan's industrial sector is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and fuels. A tiny agricultural sector is highly subsidized and protected with crop yields among the highest in the world. Usually self sufficient in rice Japan imports 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 inefficient investment and an asset price bubble in the late 1980s that required a protracted period of time for firms to reduce excess debt capital and labor. In October 2007 Japan's longest post-war period of economic expansion ended after 69 months and Japan entered into recession in 2008 with 2009 marking a return to near 0% interest rates. The 10-year 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 was completed in October 2007 marking a major milestone in the process of structural reform. The Japanese financial sector was not heavily exposed to sub-prime mortgages or their derivative instruments and weathered the initial effect of the global credit crunch but a sharp downturn in business investment and global demand for Japan's exports in late 2008 pushed Japan further into a recession. Japan's huge government debt which totals 170% of GDP and the aging of the population are two major long-run problems. Debate continues on the role of and effects of reform in restructuring the economy.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 4
Note: data are in 2008 US dollars

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 204

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 37
Note: data are in 2008 US dollars

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 1.5%
Industry: 26.3%
Services: 72.3% (2008 est.)

Agriculture products: rice sugar beets vegetables fruit; pork poultry dairy products eggs; fish

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: -2% (2008 est.)
Rank: 153

Labor force: 66.5 million (2008 est.)
Rank: 9
By occupation agriculture: 4.4%
By occupation industry: 27.9%
By occupation services: 66.4% (2005)

Unemployment rate: 3.8% (2007 est.)
Rank: 49

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: NA%

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 4.8%
Highest 10: 21.7% (1993)

Distribution of family income gini index: 24.9 (1993)
Rank: 74

Budget
Revenues: $1.72 trillion
Expenditures: $1.788 trillion (2008 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt: 164.3% of GDP (2004 est.)
Rank: 2

Revenue

Fiscal year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 0.1% (2007 est.)
Rank: 10

Central bank discount rate: 0.75% (31 December 2007)
Rank: 135

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 1.91% (31 December 2008)

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit: $9.653 trillion (31 December 2007)
Rank: 3

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 4

Current account balance: $210.5 billion (2007 est.)
Rank: 3

Exports: $678.1 billion (2007 est.)
Rank: 5
Commodities: transport equipment motor vehicles semiconductors electrical machinery chemicals
Partners: US 17.8% China 16% South Korea 7.6% Hong Kong 5.1% (2008)

Imports: $573.3 billion (2007 est.)
Rank: 5
Commodities: machinery and equipment fuels foodstuffs chemicals textiles raw materials
Partners: China 18.9% US 10.4% Saudi Arabia 6.7% Australia 6.2% UAE 6.1% Indonesia 4.3% (2008)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $954.1 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Rank: 2

Debt external: $1.768 trillion (31 December 2007)
Rank: 9

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $110.8 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Rank: 25

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $533.1 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Rank: 8

Exchange rates: yen (JPY) per US dollar - 103.58 (2008 est.) 117.99 (2007) 116.18 (2006) 110.22 (2005) 108.19 (2004)


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Electricity
Production: 1.058 trillion kWh (2007 est.)
Production rank: 4
Consumption: 1.007 trillion kWh (2007 est.)
Consumption rank: 4
Exports: 0 kWh (2008 est.)
Imports: 0 kWh (2008 est.)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas
Production: 5.36 billion m³ (2008 est.)
Production rank: 49
Consumption: 101.1 billion m³ (2008 est.)
Consumption rank: 5
Exports: 0 m³ (2008)
Exports rank: 166
Imports: 95.39 billion m³ (2008 est.)
Imports rank: 2
Proven reserves: 20.9 billion m³ (1 January 2009 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 76

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 47.579 million (2008)
Main lines in use rank: 4
Mobile cellular: 110.395 million (2008)
Mobile cellular rank: 7

Telephone system
General assessment: excellent domestic and international service
Domestic: high level of modern technology and excellent service of every kind
International: country code - 81; numerous submarine cables provide links throughout Asia Australia the Middle East Europe and US; 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

Broadcast media

Internet
Country code: .jp
Hosts: 47.249 million (2009)
Hosts rank: 2
Users: 90.91 million (2008)
Users rank: 3

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures: 0.8% of GDP (2006)
Rank: 150

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary military service (2001)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 176 (2009)
Rank: 34
With paved runways total: 144
With paved runways over 3047 m: 7
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 42
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 40
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 28
With paved runways under 914 m: 27 (2009)
With unpaved runways total: 32
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 4
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 28 (2009)

Heliports: 15 (2009)

Pipelines: gas 3,862 km; oil 167 km; oil/gas/water 53 km (2008)

Railways
Total: 23,506 km
Rank: 11
Standard gauge: 3,437 km 1.435-m gauge (3,319 km electrified)
Narrow gauge: 20,059 km 1.067-m gauge (11,842 km electrified); 11 km 0.762-m gauge (11 km electrified) (2008)

Roadways
Total: 1,196,999 km
Rank: 5
Paved: 949,101 km (includes 7,383 km of expressways)
Unpaved: 247,898 km (2006)

Waterways: 1770 km (seagoing vessels use inland seas) (2007)
Rank: 47

Merchant marine
Total: 683
Rank: 16
By type: bulk carrier 136 cargo 30 carrier 3 chemical tanker 27 container 11 liquefied gas 59 passenger 12 passenger/cargo 135 petroleum tanker 156 refrigerated cargo 2 roll on/roll off 51 vehicle carrier 61
Registered in other countries: 3,074 (Australia 1 Bahamas 87 Belize 8 Bermuda 2 Burma 1 Cambodia 1 Cayman Islands 13 China 2 Cyprus 21 France 1 Honduras 4 Hong Kong 111 Indonesia 6 Isle of Man 6 Italy 1 South Korea 20 Liberia 116 Malaysia 4 Malta 8 Marshall Islands 17 Nigeria 1 Norway 29 Panama 2,335 Philippines 81 Portugal 15 Saint Kitts and Nevis 3 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 3 Singapore 131 Thailand 4 UK 4 US 7 Vanuatu 29 Vietnam 1 unknown 1) (2008)

Ports and terminals: Chiba Kawasaki Kobe Mizushima Moji Nagoya Osaka Tokyo Tomakomai Yohohama


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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/Dokdo) 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

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs