Japan

constitutional monarchyIndependence 660 BC (traditional founding by Emperor Jimmu)

Japan as the 1997 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 99 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalTokyo
Position36 00 N, 138 00 E
Area377,835 sq km
LocationEastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean
1997

Every edition of Japan

Populationas each edition published it
125.73 million July 1997 est. · 123.64m in 1990
Population growth% a year
0.23% 1997 est. · 0.32% in 1993
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 42 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
80.45 years 1997 est. · 79.18 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
1.44 children per woman 1997 est. · 1.6 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
4 deaths per 1,000 live births 1997 est. · 5 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
$22,700 1996 est. · $19,800 in 1993
GDP real growth% a year
3.6% 1996 · 1.5% in 1993

Geography

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

18 fields

Land useshare of 377,835 sq km

arable land 11%permanent crops 1%permanent pastures 2%forests and woodland 67%other 19% (1993 est.)irrigated 27,820 sq km (1993 est.)
Area
377,835sq km
land: 374,744 sq kmwater: 3,091 sq kmnote: includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto, Minami-jima, Okinotori-shima, Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto), and Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto)slightly smaller than California
Coastline
29,751km
land boundaries: 0 kmexclusive economic zone : 200 nmterritorial 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
Highest point
3,776m
Fujiyamalowest point : Hachiro-gata -4 m

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

Climate

varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north

Terrain

mostly rugged and mountainous

Natural resources

negligible mineral resources, fish

Natural hazards

  • many dormant and some active volcanoes;
  • about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year;
  • tsunamis

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

Environment - international agreements

party to:
Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, 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

Geography - note

strategic location in northeast Asia

People

15 fields
Population
125,732,794
(July 1997 est.)growth rate: 0.23% (1997 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1997 est.)

Birth
10.01Death
7.39Net migration
-0.37
Literacy
99%
(1970 est.)definition: age 15 and over can read and writemale: NA%female: NA%

Age structure

0-14 years:
15% (male 9,931,114; female 9,464,940)
15-64 years:
69% (male 43,577,219; female 43,250,874)
65 years and over:
16% (male 8,089,200; female 11,419,447) (July 1997 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
total population:
0.96 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Infant mortality rate

4 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population:
80.45 years
male:
77.4 years
female:
83.65 years (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.44 children born/woman (1997 est.)

Nationality

noun :
Japanese (singular and plural)
adjective:
Japanese

Ethnic groups

Japanese 99.4%, other 0.6% (mostly Korean)

Religions

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

Languages

Japanese

Government

Constitutional monarchy; Emperor AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989); Prime Minister Ryutaro HASHIMOTO (since 11 January 1996)

20 fields

Country name

conventional long form:
none
conventional short form:
Japan

Government type

constitutional monarchy

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

Suffrage

20 years of age; universal

Executive branch

chief of state:
Emperor AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989)
head of government:
  • Prime Minister Ryutaro HASHIMOTO (since 11 January 1996);
  • note - an acting prime minister - determined upon a rotational basis - serves when Prime Minister HASHIMOTO is out of the country
cabinet:
Cabinet appointed by the prime minister
elections:
  • none;
  • the emperor is a constitutional monarch;
  • the Diet designates the prime minister;
  • the constitution requires that the prime minister must command a parliamentary majority, therefore, following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition in the House of Representatives usually becomes prime minister

Legislative branch

bicameral Diet or Kokkai consists of the House of Councillors or Sangi-in (252 seats; one-half of the members elected every three years - 76 seats of which are elected from the 47 multi-seat prefectural districts and 50 of which are elected from a single nationwide list with voters casting ballots by party; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Shugi-in (500 seats - 200 of which are elected from 11 regional blocks on a proportional representation basis and 300 of which are elected from 300 single-seat districts; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)

elections:
  • House of Councillors - last held 23 July 1995 (next to be held NA July 1998);
  • House of Representatives - last held 20 October 1996 (next to be held by October 2000)
election results :
  • House of Councillors - percent of vote by party - NA;
  • seats by party - LDP 110, NFP 56, SDP 38, JCP 14, Sakigake 3, others 19, independents 12;
  • note - the distribution of seats as of March 1997 is as follows - LDP 112, NFP 61, SDP 23, JCP 14, Sakigake 3, others 39;
  • House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA;
  • seats by party - LDP 240, NFP 142, DPJ 52, JCP 26, SDP 15, Sun Party 10, others and independents 15;
  • note - the distribution of seats as of March 1997 is as follows - LDP 241, NFP 141, DPJ 52, JCP 26, SDP 15, Sun Party 10, others and independents 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, Koichi KATO, secretary general;
  • Social Democratic Party (SDP), Takako DOI, chairman, Shigeru ITO, secretary general;
  • Sakigake (Harbinger), Akiko DOMOTO, acting chairman, Hiroyuki SONODA, secretary general;
  • New Frontier Party or NFP (Shinshinto), Ichiro OZAWA, president, Takeo NISHIOKA, secretary general;
  • Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), coleaders Yukio HATOYAMA and Naoto KAN;
  • Japan Communist Party (JCP), Tetsuzo FUWA, chairman, Kazuo SHII, secretary general;
  • Sun Party, Tsutomu HATA, chairman, Eijiro HATA, secretary general

note: DPJ was formed in September 1996 by former members of SDP and Sakigake; Sun Party was formed in December 1996 by former members of NFP

International organization participation

AfDB, AG (observer), APEC, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE (observer), 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, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MTCR, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNRWA, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the 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)

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant)
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

Flag description

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

Economy

22 fields
Real growth rate
3.6%
(1996)industrial production growth: 2.4% (1996 est.)
Labor force
67.23million
(March 1997)by occupation: trade and services 50%, manufacturing, mining, and construction 33%, utilities and communication 7%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 6%, government 3% (1994)

GDP - composition by sector(1995)

agriculture 2%industry 41.5%services 56.5% (1995)

Budget

Revenues
$528 billionExpenditures
$673 billion
expenditures including capital expenditures (public works only) of about $75 billion (FY97/98 est.)

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. 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 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 considerably 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. Growth picked up in 1996, largely a reflection of stimulative fiscal and monetary policies as well as low rates of inflation and social disorder. As a result of the expansionary fiscal policies and declining tax revenues due to the recession, Japan currently has one of the largest budget deficits as a percent of GDP among the industrialized countries. The crowding of habitable land area and the aging of the population are two other major long-run problems.

GDP

purchasing power parity - $2.85 trillion (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $22,700 (1996 est.)

Industries

among world's largest and technologically advanced producers of steel and nonferrous 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

Electricity - capacity

199.88 million kW (1994)

Electricity - production

992.5 billion kWh (1995)

Agriculture - products

  • rice, sugar beets, vegetables, fruit;
  • pork, poultry, dairy products, eggs;
  • world's largest fish catch of 10 million metric tons in 1991

Exports

total value:
$385 billion (f.o.b., 1996 est.)
commodities :
manufactures 96% (including machinery 50%, motor vehicles 19%, consumer electronics 3%)
partners :
Southeast Asia 37%, US 27%, Western Europe 15%, China 5%

Imports

total value:
$329 billion (c.i.f., 1996 est.)
commodities:
manufactures 54%, foodstuffs and raw materials 28%, fossil fuels 16%
partners:
Southeast Asia 24%, US 22%, Western Europe 15%, China 12%

Economic aid

donor: ODA, $14.7 billion (1995 est.) note: ODA and OOF commitments (1970-94), $174 billion

Currency

yen (¥)

Exchange rates

yen (¥) per US$1 - 118.02 (January 1997), 108.78 (1996), 94.06 (1995), 102.21 (1994), 111.20 (1993), 126.65 (1992)

Fiscal year

1 April - 31 March

Communications

6 fields
Fixed lines
64 million
(1987 est.)

Telephone 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)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 318, FM 58, shortwave 0

Radios

97 million (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations

12,350 (1 kW or greater 196)

Televisions

100 million (1993 est.)

Transportation

10 fields

Merchant marine, 773 ships by typeships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 15,026,322 GRT/21,941,516 DWT

bulk 178cargo 56chemical tanker 7combination bulk 6combination ore/oil 6container 38liquefied gas tanker 39oil tanker 254passenger 8passenger-cargo 2refrigerated cargo 38roll-on/roll-off cargo 43short-sea passenger 23specialized tanker 2vehicle carrier 73note: Japan owns an additional 1,579 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 54,474,380 DWT operating under the registries of The Bahamas, Burma, Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, Honduras, South Korea, Kuwait, Liberia, Malta, Malaysia, Panama, Philippines, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Singapore, Thailand, US, and Vanuatu (1996 est.)

Airports by runway lengthpaved only

total
162under 914 m
60
over 3,047 m: 6 2,438 to 3,047 m: 32 1,524 to 2,437 m: 35 914 to 1,523 m: 29

Networkskm

Highways
1,144,360Railways
23,670.7
Highways: paved : 846,826 km (including 5,860 km of expressways) · unpaved: 297,534 km (1995 est.) · Railways: standard gauge : 2,893.1 km 1.435-m gauge (entirely electrified) · narrow gauge: 89.8 km 1.372-m gauge (89.8 km electrified); 20,656.8 km 1.067-m gauge (10,383.6 km electrified); 31 km 0.762-m gauge (3.6 km electrified) (1994)

Railways

total:
23,670.7 km
standard gauge :
2,893.1 km 1.435-m gauge (entirely electrified)
narrow gauge:
  • 89.8 km 1.372-m gauge (89.8 km electrified);
  • 20,656.8 km 1.067-m gauge (10,383.6 km electrified);
  • 31 km 0.762-m gauge (3.6 km electrified) (1994)

Highways

total:
1,144,360 km
paved :
846,826 km (including 5,860 km of expressways)
unpaved:
297,534 km (1995 est.)

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 and harbors

Akita, Amagasaki, Chiba, Hachinohe, Hakodate, Higashi-Harima, Himeji, Hiroshima, Kawasaki, Kinuura, Kobe, Kushiro, Mizushima, Moji, Nagoya, Osaka, Sakai, Sakaide, Shimizu, Tokyo, Tomakomai

Airports

164 (1996 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (1996 est.)

Heliports

12 (1996 est.)

Military

Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (Army), Japan | Maritime Self-Defense Force (Navy), Japan Air Self-Defense Force (Air | Force)

7 fields

Military branches

Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (Army), Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (Navy), Japan Air Self-Defense Force (Air Force)

Military manpower - availability

males age 15-49: 31,549,081 (1997 est.)

Transnational Issues

1 field

Disputes - international

  • 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 JARVIS ISLAND (territory of the US)

Central Intelligence Agency. “Japan.” The World Factbook 1997. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/japan/1997.

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