Note: defense is the responsibility of Norway
:Japan Geography
Total area:
377,835 km2
Land area:
374,744 km2; includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto,
Minami-jima, Okinotori-shima, Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto), and Volcano
Islands (Kazan-retto)
Comparative area:
slightly smaller than California
Land boundaries:
none
Coastline:
29,751 km
Maritime claims:
Exclusive fishing zone:
200 nm
Territorial sea:
12 nm (3 nm in international straits - La Perouse or Soya, Tsugaru, Osumi,
and Eastern and Western channels of the Korea or Tsushima Strait)
Disputes:
Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Shikotan Islands and the Habomai island 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
Climate:
varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north
Terrain:
mostly rugged and mountainous
Natural resources:
negligible mineral resources, fish
Land use:
arable land 13%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 1%; forest and
woodland 67%; other 18%; includes irrigated 9%
Environment:
many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences
(mostly tremors) every year; subject to tsunamis
Note:
strategic location in northeast Asia
:Japan People
Population:
124,460,481 (July 1992), growth rate 0.4% (1992)
Birth rate:
10 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
7 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
0 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
4 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
77 years male, 82 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
1.6 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Japanese (singular and plural); adjective - Japanese
Ethnic divisions:
Japanese 99.4%, other (mostly Korean) 0.6%
Religions:
most Japanese observe both Shinto and Buddhist rites so the percentages add
to more than 100% - Shinto 95.8%, Buddhist 76.3%, Christian 1.4%, other 12%
(1985)
Languages:
Japanese
Literacy:
99% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can read and write (1970 est.)
Labor force:
63,330,000; trade and services 54%; manufacturing, mining, and construction
33%; agriculture, forestry, and fishing 7%; government 3% (1988)
Organized labor:
about 29% of employed workers; public service 76.4%, transportation and
telecommunications 57.9%, mining 48.7%, manufacturing 33.7%, services 18.2%,
wholesale, retail, and restaurant 9.3%
:Japan Government
Long-form name:
none
Type:
constitutional monarchy
Capital:
Tokyo
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
Constitution:
3 May 1947
Legal system:
civil law system with English-American influence; judicial review of
legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction,
with reservations
National holiday:
Birthday of the Emperor, 23 December (1933)
Executive branch:
Emperor, prime minister, Cabinet
Legislative branch:
bicameral Diet (Kokkai) consists of an upper house or House of Councillors
(Sangi-in) and a lower house or House of Representatives (Shugi-in)
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State:
Emperor AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989)
Head of Government:
Prime Minister Kiichi MIYAZAWA (since 5 November 1991)
Political parties and leaders:
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Kiichi MIYAZAWA, president; Tamisuke
WATANUKI, secretary general; Social Democratic Party of Japan (SDPJ), Makoto
TANABE, Chairman; Democratic Socialist Party (DSP), Keizo OUCHI, chairman;
Japan Communist Party (JCP), Tetsuzo FUWA, Presidium chairman; Komeito
(Clean Government Party, CGP), Koshiro ISHIDA, chairman
Suffrage:
universal at age 20
Elections:
House of Councillors:
last held on 23 July 1989 (next to be held 26 July 1992); results - percent
of vote by party NA; seats - (263 total) LDP 114, SDPJ 71, CGP 20, JCP 14,
other 33
House of Representatives:
last held on 18 February 1990 (next to be held by February 1993); results -
percent of vote by party NA; seats - (512 total) LDP 278, SDPJ 137, CGP 46,
JCP 16, DSP 13, others 5, independents 6, vacant 11
Communists:
about 490,000 registered Communist party members
:Japan Government
Member of:
AfDB, AG (observer), Australia Group, APEC, AsDB, BIS, CCC, COCOM, CP, EBRD,
ESCAP, FAO, G-2, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC,
ICFTU, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL,
IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS, MTCR, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD,
PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation:
Ambassador Takakazu KURIYAMA; Chancery at 2520 Massachusetts Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20008; telephone (202) 939-6700; there are Japanese
Consulates General in Agana (Guam), Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago,
Honolulu, Houston, Kansas City (Missouri), Los Angeles, New Orleans, New
York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland (Oregon), and a Consulate in
Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands)
US:
Ambassador Michael H. ARMACOST; Embassy at 10-5, Akasaka 1-chome, Minato-ku
(107), Tokyo (mailing address is APO AP 96337-0001); telephone [81] (3)
3224-5000; FAX [81] (3) 3505-1862; there are US Consulates General in Naha
(Okinawa), Osaka-Kobe, and Sapporo and a Consulate in Fukuoka
Flag:
white with a large red disk (representing the sun without rays) in the
center
:Japan Economy