Japan-
conventional long form: none-
Capital:
Type of Government: -
Administrative Divisions: -
Age Structure: -
Agriculture:
Airports: 174 (2004 est.)-
With Paved Runways:
With Unpaved Runways:
Area: total: 377,835 sq km.
slightly smaller than California
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 250 years this policy enabled Japan to enjoy stability and a flowering of its indigenous culture. Following the Treaty of Kanagawa with the United States 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 1933 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, 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, but Japan still remains a major economic power, both in Asia and globally. In 2005, Japan began a two-year term as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.-
Birth rate: -
Budget: -
Coastline: 29,751 km-
Climate: varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north
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Current account balance: $158.3 billion (2005 est.)-
Death rate: -
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Dependency status: -
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Diplomatic representation from the US: -
Diplomatic representation in the US:
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/Tok-do), 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
Distribution of family income: 37.9 (2000)-
Economic aid - donor: -
Economic aid - recipient:
Economy - overview: 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 third largest economy in the world after the US and China, measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis. Japan is the second largest economy, measured on an exchange rate basis. 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. Japan's industrial sector is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and fuels. The tiny 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 and to force a restructuring of the economy. From 2000 to 2003, government efforts to revive economic growth met with little success and were further hampered by the slowing of the US, European, and Asian economies. In 2004 and 2005, growth improved and the lingering fears of deflation in prices and economic activity lessened. Japan's huge government debt, which totals 170% of GDP, and the aging of the population are two major long-run problems. A rise in taxes could be viewed as endangering the revival of growth. Internal conflict over the proper way to reform the financial system will continue as Japan Post's banking, insurance, and delivery services undergo privatization between 2007 and 2017.
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Elevation extremes: lowest point: Hachiro-gata -4 m
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
Environment - 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-
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Exchange rates: -
Executive branch: -
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Flag description: white with a large red disk (representing the sun without rays) in the center-
GDP (official exchange rate): -
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Geographic coordinates: 36 00 N, 138 00 E
Geography - note: strategic location in northeast Asia-
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International organization participation: -
Internet country code: -
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Investment (gross fixed):
Irrigated land: 26,790 sq km (1998 est.)-
Judicial branch: -
Labor force: -
Labor force - by occupation:
Land boundaries: 0 km
Land use: arable land: 12.19%-
Languages:
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-
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Life expectancy at birth: -
Literacy:
Location: Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula-
Major infectious diseases:
Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49: 27,003,112 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 22,234,663 (2005 est.)-
Manpower reaching military service age annually:
Map references: Asia
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-
Median age: -
Merchant marine: -
Military - note:
Military branches: Ground Self-Defense Force (Army), Maritime Self-Defense Force (Navy), Air Self-Defense Force (Air Force)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $45.841 billion (2004)-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: -
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National holiday: -
Nationality:
Natural gas - consumption: 80.42 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
Natural gas - production: 2.519 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves: 20.02 billion cu m (1 January 2002)
Natural hazards: many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; tsunamis; typhoons
Natural resources: negligible mineral resources, fish-
Net migration rate:
Oil - consumption: 5.578 million bbl/day (2003 est.)
Oil - exports: 93,360 bbl/day (2001)
Oil - imports: 5.449 million bbl/day (2001)
Oil - production: 120,700 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Oil - proved reserves: 29.29 million bbl (1 January 2002)-
People - note: -
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Population: 127,417,244 (July 2005 est.)-
Population below poverty line: -
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Ports and terminals: Chiba, Kawasaki, Kiire, Kisarazu, Kobe, Mizushima, Nagoya, Osaka, Tokyo, Yohohama-
Public debt:
Radio broadcast stations: AM 215 plus 370 repeaters, FM 89 plus 485 repeaters, shortwave 21 (2001)-
Railways: -
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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $845 billion (2004)-
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Terrain: mostly rugged and mountainous-
Total fertility rate: -
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