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 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, 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.
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 references
Asia
Area
total
377,835 sq km
land
374,744 sq km
water
3,091 sq km
note
includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto, Minami-jima, Okino-tori-shima, Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto), and Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto)
Area - 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
highest point
Mount Fuji 3,776 m
Natural resources
negligible mineral resources, fish
Land use
arable land
11.64%
permanent crops
0.9%
other
87.46% (2005)
Irrigated land
25,920 sq km (2003)
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
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
Suffrage
20 years of age; universal
Executive branch
chief of state
Emperor AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989)
head of government
Prime Minister Shinzo ABE (since 26 September 2006)
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
election results
ABE was elected prime minister with 339 of 476 votes cast in the House of Representatives and 136 of 240 votes cast in the House of Councillors.
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; 146 members in multi-seat constituencies and 96 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 on 29 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
: 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 [Ichiro OZAWA]; Japan Communist Party or JCP [Kazuo SHII]; Komeito [Akihoro OTA]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Shinzo ABE]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Mizuho FUKUSHIMA]
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, Seattle
Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission
Ambassador J. Thomas SCHIEFFER
embassy
1-10-5 Akasaka, 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
Flag description
white with a large red disk (representing the sun without rays) in the center
Economy - overview
GDP (purchasing power parity)
$4.218 trillion (2006 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate)
$4.883 trillion (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate
2.2% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP)
$33,100 (2006 est.)
GDP - composition by sector
agriculture
1.6%
industry
25.3%
services
73.1% (2006 est.)
Labor force
66.44 million (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation
agriculture
4.6%
industry
27.8%
services
67.7% (2004)
Unemployment rate
4.1% (2006 est.)
Population below poverty line
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share
lowest 10%
4.8%
highest 10%
21.7% (1993)
Distribution of family income - Gini index
38.1 (2002)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
0.3% (2006 est.)
Investment (gross fixed)
23.7% of GDP (2006 est.)
Budget
revenues
$1.411 trillion
expenditures
$1.639 trillion; including capital expenditures (public works only) of about $71 billion (2006 est.)
Public debt
176.2% of GDP (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products
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
3.3% (2006 est.)
Electricity - production
996 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - production by source
fossil fuel
60%
hydro
8.4%
nuclear
29.8%
other
1.8% (2001)
Electricity - consumption
946.3 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports
0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports
0 kWh (2005)
Oil - production
125,000 bbl/day (2006)
Oil - consumption
5.578 million bbl/day (2005)
Oil - exports
93,360 bbl/day (2001)
Oil - imports
5.449 million bbl/day (2001)
Oil - proved reserves
59 million bbl (1 January 2006)
Natural gas - production
2.957 billion cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - consumption
83.55 billion cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - exports
0 cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - imports
81.23 billion cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves
39.64 billion cu m (1 January 2005 est.)
Current account balance
$174.4 billion (2006 est.)
Exports
$590.3 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Exports - commodities
transport equipment, motor vehicles, semiconductors, electrical machinery, chemicals
Exports - partners
US 22.8%, China 14.3%, South Korea 7.8%, Taiwan 6.8%, Hong Kong 5.6% (2006)
Imports
$524.1 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Imports - commodities
machinery and equipment, fuels, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, raw materials
Imports - partners
China 20.5%, US 12%, Saudi Arabia 6.4%, UAE 5.5%, Australia 4.8%, South Korea 4.7%, Indonesia 4.2% (2006)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
$864.7 billion (August 2006 est.)
Debt - external
$1.547 trillion (30 June 2006)
Economic aid - donor
ODA, $8.9 billion (2004)
Currency (code)
yen (JPY)
Currency code
JPY
Exchange rates
yen per US dollar - 116.18 (2006), 110.22 (2005), 108.19 (2004), 115.93 (2003), 125.39 (2002)
Fiscal year
1 April - 31 March
Telephones - main lines in use
58.78 million (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular
94.745 million (2005)
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; 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)
Radio broadcast stations
AM 215 (plus 370 repeaters), FM 89 (plus 485 repeaters), shortwave 21 (2001)
Radios
120.5 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations
211 (plus 7,341 repeaters); in addition, US Forces are served by 3 TV stations and 2 TV cable services (1999)
Televisions
86.5 million (1997)
Internet country code
.jp
Internet hosts
28.322 million (2006)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
73 (2000)
Internet users
86.3 million (2005)
Airports
175 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways
total
145
over 3,047 m
7
2,438 to 3,047 m
41
1,524 to 2,437 m
39
914 to 1,523 m
28
under 914 m
30 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways
total
30
914 to 1,523 m
4
under 914 m
26 (2006)
Heliports
15 (2006)
Pipelines
gas 8,015 km; oil 170 km; oil/gas/water 60 km (2006)
Railways
total
23,556 km
standard gauge
3,204 km 1.435-m gauge (3,204 km electrified)
narrow gauge
77 km 1.372-m gauge (77 km electrified); 20,264 km 1.067-m gauge (13,280 km electrified); 11 km 0.762-m gauge (11 km electrified) (2005)
Roadways
total
1.183 million km
paved
925,000 km (includes 6,946 km of expressways)
unpaved
258,000 km (2003)
Waterways
1,770 km (seagoing vessels use inland seas) (2007)
Merchant marine
total
683 ships (1000 GRT or over) 10,415,892 GRT/11,765,038 DWT
by type
bulk carrier 134, cargo 30, chemical tanker 20, container 11, liquefied gas 59, passenger 14, passenger/cargo 149, petroleum tanker 156, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll off 51, vehicle carrier 56
registered in other countries
2,459 (Australia 1, Bahamas 51, Belize 2, Burma 4, Cambodia 4, Cayman Islands 1, China 3, Cyprus 17, French Southern and Antarctic Lands 4, Honduras 4, Hong Kong 67, Indonesia 3, Isle of Man 4, South Korea 1, Liberia 102, Malaysia 4, Malta 1, Marshall Islands 7, Mongolia 1, Norway 1, Panama 2007, Philippines 26, Portugal 9, Singapore 100, Sweden 2, Thailand 4, Vanuatu 28, unknown 1) (2006)
Ports and terminals
Chiba, Kawasaki, Kiire, Kisarazu, Kobe, Mizushima, Nagoya, Osaka, Tokyo, Yohohama
Military branches
Japanese Defense Agency (JDA): Ground Self-Defense Force (Rikujou Jietai, GSDF), Maritime Self-Defense Force (Kaijou Jietai, MSDF), Air Self-Defense Force (Nihon Koku-Jieitai, ASDF) (2006)
Military service age and obligation
18 years of age for voluntary military service (2001)
Manpower available for military service
males age 18-49
27,003,112
females age 18-49
26,153,482 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service
males age 18-49
22,234,663
females age 18-49
21,494,947 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually
males age 18-49
683,147
females age 18-49
650,157 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP
0.8% (2006)
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
