Japan
constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary governmentIndependence 660 BC (traditional founding by Emperor JIMMU)
Japan as the 2005 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 127 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
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.
Geography
Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula
18 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
Natural hazards
- many dormant and some active volcanoes;
- about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year;
- tsunamis;
- typhoons
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
People
19 fieldsAge structuremale left, female right · (2005 est.)
Per 1,000 population(2005 est.)
Male · female
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:
- 0.73 male(s)/female
- total population:
- 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Ethnic groups
Japanese 99%, others 1% (Korean 511,262, Chinese 244,241, Brazilian 182,232, Filipino 89,851, other 237,914) 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)
Government
Constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary government; Emperor AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989); Prime Minister Junichiro KOIZUMI (since 26 April 2001)
18 fieldsPresidential electionpercent of vote
House of Councillors, 484 seats, elected 11 July 2004seats by party
Legislature, 480 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)
- head of government:
- Prime Minister Junichiro KOIZUMI (since 26 April 2001)
- 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;
- KOIZUMI's term as leader of the LDP is scheduled to end in September 2006;
- a new prime minister may be chosen at that time;
- monarch is hereditary
Legislative branch
bicameral Diet or Kokkai consists of the House of Councillors or Sangi-in (242 seats - members elected for six-year terms; half reelected every three years; 144 members in multi-seat constituencies and 98 by proportional representation) and the House of Representatives or Shugi-in (480 seats - members elected for four-year terms; 300 in single-seat constituencies; 180 members by proportional representation in 11 regional blocs)
- elections:
- House of Councillors - last held 11 July 2004 (next to be held in July 2007);
- House of Representatives - last held 11 September 2005 (next election by September 2009)
- election results:
- ;
- House of Councillors - percent of vote by party - NA;
- seats by party - LDP 115, DPJ 82, Komeito 24, JCP 9, SDP 5, others 7;
- distribution of seats as of October 2004 - LDP 114, DPJ 84, Komeito 24, JCP 9, SDP 5, others 6
- : House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - LDP 47.8%, DPJ 36.4%, others 15.8%;
- seats by party - LDP 296, DPJ 113, Komeito 31, JCP 9, SDP 7, others 24 (2005)
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 [Seiji MAEHARA, leader; Yukio HATOYAMA, secretary general];
- Japan Communist Party or JCP [Kazuo SHII, chairman; Tadayoshi ICHIDA, secretary general];
- Komeito [Takenori KANZAKI, president; Tetsuzo FUYUSHIBA, secretary general];
- Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Junichiro KOIZUMI, president; Tsutomu TAKEBE, secretary general];
- Social Democratic Party or SDP [Mizuho FUKUSHIMA, chairperson; Seiji MATAICHI, secretary general]
International organization participation
AfDB, APEC, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CE (observer), CERN (observer), CP, EBRD, FAO, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA, MIGA, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), Paris Club, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMOVIC, UNRWA, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Ryozo KATO
- chancery:
- 2520 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
- telephone:
- [1] (202) 238-6700
- FAX:
- [1] (202) 328-2187
- consulate(s) general:
- Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Agana (Guam), Honolulu, Houston, 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 J. Thomas SCHIEFFER
- embassy:
- 10-5 Akasaka 1-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8420
- mailing address:
- Unit 45004, Box 258, APO AP 96337-5004
- telephone:
- [81] (03) 3224-5000
- FAX:
- [81] (03) 3505-1862
- consulate(s) general:
- Naha (Okinawa), Osaka-Kobe, Sapporo
- consulate(s):
- Fukuoka, Nagoya
Economy
45 fieldsGDP - composition by sector(2004 est.)
Trading partnersexports left, imports right
Electricity
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 second most technologically-powerful economy in the world after the US and third-largest economy after the US and China, measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis.
(Using market exhange rates rather than PPP rates, Japan's economy is larger than China's.) 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. Industry, the most important sector of the economy, 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.
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, growth improved and the lingering fears of deflation in prices and economic activity lessened. Japan's huge government debt, which totals more than 160% 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. Robotics constitutes a key long-term economic strength with Japan possessing 410,000 of the world's 720,000 "working robots." Internal conflict over the proper way to reform the ailing banking system continues.
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
Exports - commodities
transport equipment, motor vehicles, semiconductors, electrical machinery, chemicals
Imports - commodities
machinery and equipment, fuels, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, raw materials (2001)
Exchange rates
yen per US dollar - 108.19 (2004), 115.93 (2003), 125.39 (2002), 121.53 (2001), 107.77 (2000)
Communications
8 fieldsTelephone system
- general assessment:
- excellent domestic and international service
- domestic:
- high level of modern technology and excellent service of every kind
- international:
- country code - 81;
- 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) (1999)
Television broadcast stations
211 plus 7,341 repeaters note: in addition, US Forces are served by 3 TV stations and 2 TV cable services (1999)
Transportation
10 fieldsAirports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right
Networkskm
Railways
- total:
- 23,577 km (16,519 km electrified)
- standard gauge:
- 3,204 km 1.435-m gauge (3,204 km electrified)
- narrow gauge:
- 77 km 1.372-m gauge (77 km electrified);
- 20,265 km 1.067-m gauge (13,227 km electrified);
- 11 km 0.762-m gauge (11 km electrified) (2004)
Highways
- total:
- 1,171,647 km
- paved:
- 903,340 km (including 6,851 km of expressways)
- unpaved:
- 268,307 km (2001)
Merchant marine
- total:
- 702 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 10,149,196 GRT/12,680,544 DWT
- by type:
- bulk carrier 136, cargo 29, chemical tanker 23, container 13, liquefied gas 53, passenger 16, passenger/cargo 157, petroleum tanker 160, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 52, vehicle carrier 59
- registered in other countries:
- 2,233 (2005)
Military
Ground Self-Defense Force (Army), Maritime Self-Defense Force (Navy), Air Self-Defense Force (Air Force)
7 fieldsMilitary branches
Ground Self-Defense Force (Army), Maritime Self-Defense Force (Navy), Air Self-Defense Force (Air Force)
Transnational Issues
1 fieldDisputes - 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
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Japan.” The World Factbook 2005. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/japan/2005.