Japan
constitutional monarchyIndependence 660 BC (traditional founding by Emperor Jimmu)
Japan as the 1996 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 89 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Geography
Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific | Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula
15 fieldsLand useshare of 377,835 sq km
Location
Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula
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
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;
- signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Tropical Timber 94
People
15 fieldsPer 1,000 population(1996 est.)
Age structure
- 0-14 years:
- 16% (male 10,121,414; female 9,644,243)
- 15-64 years:
- 69% (male 43,624,464; female 43,359,249)
- 65 years and over:
- 15% (male 7,737,781; female 10,962,552) (July 1996 est.)
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:
- 0.71 male(s)/female
- all ages:
- 0.96 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Government
Constitutional monarchy; Emperor AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989) is a constitutional monarch; Prime Minister Ryutaro HASHIMOTO (since 11 January 1996) and Deputy Prime Minister Wataru KUBO (since 11 January 1996) were designated by the Diet and appointed by the emperor
22 fieldsLegislature, 252 seatsone dot, one seat
Legislature, 511 seatsseats by party
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
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
Executive branch
- chief of state:
- Emperor AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989) is a constitutional monarch
- head of government:
- Prime Minister Ryutaro HASHIMOTO (since 11 January 1996) and Deputy Prime Minister Wataru KUBO (since 11 January 1996) were designated by the Diet and appointed by the emperor
- cabinet:
- Cabinet was appointed by the prime minister
House of Councillors (Sangi-in)
- half of the members elected every three years to six-year terms;
- elections last held 23 July 1995 (next to be held NA 1998);
- results - percent of vote by party NA;
- seats - (252 total, with 126 up for election) LDP 110 (49 newly won), Shinshinto 56 (40 newly won), SDP 38 (16 newly won), JCP 14 (8 newly won), Sakigate 3 (3 newly won), others 19 (4 newly won), independents 12 (6 newly won);
- note - the distribution of seats as of 1 March 1996 is as follows - LDP 111, Heisei-kai 69, SDP 35, JCP 14, Sakigake 3, others and independents 19, vacancies 1
House of Representatives (Shugi-in)
- all members elected every four years to four-year terms;
- elections last held 18 July 1993 (next to be held by July 1997);
- results - percent of vote by party NA;
- seats - (511 total) LDP 223, SDP 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 March 1996 is as follows - LDP 207, Shinshinto 170, SDP 63, Sakigake 22, JCP 15, others and independents 19, vacant 15
Judicial branch
Supreme Court, chief justice is appointed by the emperor after designation by the cabinet, all other justices are appointed by the cabinet
Political parties and leaders
- Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Ryutaro HASHIMOTO, president and Koichi KATO, secretary general;
- Social Democratic Party (SDP), Tomiichi MURAYAMA, president and Kanju SATO, secretary general;
- Sakigake (Harbinger), Masayoshi TAKEMURA, chairman and Yukio HATOYAMA, secretary general;
- Shinshinto (New Frontier Party, NFP), Ichiro OZAWA, chairman and Takashi YONEZAWA, secretary general;
- Japan Communist Party (JCP), Tetsuzo FUWA, presidium chairman
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;
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
International organization participation
AfDB, AG (observer), APEC, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, G- 2, G- 5, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MTCR, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNRWA, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Kunihiko SAITO
- 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, 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
Economy
20 fieldsGDP composition by sector(1994)
Installed generating capacity, 205,140,000 kW(1993)
Economic 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. 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 slowly 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 economic growth had been spectacular: a 10% average in the 1960s, a 5% average in the 1970s and 1980s. Growth came to a halt 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. At yearend 1995, the financial structure is shaky with banks holding hundreds of billions of dollars of suspect assets. At the same time, the continued basic strength of the economy has been reflected in substantial trade surpluses, sizable foreign investments, and remarkably low rates of unemployment, inflation, and social disorder. The crowding of the habitable land area and the aging of the population are two major long-run problems.
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%, other 3% (1988)
Industries
among world's largest and technologically advanced producers of steel and non-ferrous 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
Agriculture
- rice, sugar beets, vegetables, fruit;
- pork, poultry, dairy products, eggs;
- world's largest fish catch of 10 million metric tons in 1991
Exports
$442.84 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
- commodities:
- manufactures 97% (including machinery 46%, motor vehicles 20%, consumer electronics 10%)
- partners:
- Southeast Asia 38%, US 27%, Western Europe 17%, China 5%
Imports
$336.09 billion (c.i.f., 1995)
- commodities:
- manufactures 52%, fossil fuels 20%, foodstuffs and raw materials 28%
- partners:
- Southeast Asia 25%, US 22%, Western Europe 16%, China 11%
Economic aid
donor: ODA, $11.259 billion (1993) note: ODA and OOF commitments (1970-95), $143 billion
Exchange rates
yen (Y) per US$1 - 105.84 (January 1996), 94.06 (1995), 102.21 (1994), 111.20 (1993), 126.65 (1992), 134.71 (1991)
Transportation
8 fieldsAirports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right · 164 in all
Networkskm
Railways
- total:
- 26,506 km
- standard gauge:
- 3,233 km 1.435-m gauge (entirely electrified)
- narrow gauge:
- 72 km 1.372-m gauge (72 km electrified);
- 23,154 km 1.067-m gauge (13,835 km electrified);
- 47 km 0.762-m gauge (47 km electrified) (1994)
Highways
- total:
- 1,112,844 km
- paved:
- 790,119 km (including 5,054 km of expressways)
- unpaved:
- 322,725 km (1992 est.)
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:
- 796 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 15,944,137 GRT/23,662,930 DWT
- ships by type:
- bulk 192, cargo 57, chemical tanker 6, combination bulk 2, combination ore/oil 6, container 38, liquefied gas tanker 39, oil tanker 259, passenger 9, passenger-cargo 3, refrigerated cargo 35, roll-on/roll-off cargo 43, short-sea passenger 28, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 77
note: Japan owns an additional 1,587 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 50,072,815 DWT operating under the registries of Panama, Liberia, Vanuatu, The Bahamas, Singapore, Cyprus, Philippines, Hong Kong, and Malta (1995 est.)
Communications
Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (Army), Japan Maritime | Self-Defense Force (Navy), Japan Air Self-Defense Force (Air Force)
9 fieldsTelephone system
excellent domestic and international service
- domestic:
- NA
- international:
- 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);
- submarine cables to China, Philippines, Russia, and US (via Guam)
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:
- 31,833,691
- males fit for military service:
- 27,322,517
- males reach military age (18) annually:
- 858,912 (1996 est.)
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Japan.” The World Factbook 1996. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/japan/1996.