*Japan, People
Population:
124,711,551 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.32% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
10.31 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
7.17 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
4.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
79.18 years
male:
76.35 years
female:
82.15 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.54 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Japanese (singular and plural)
adjective:
Japanese
Ethnic divisions:
Japanese 99.4%, other 0.6% (mostly Korean)
Religions:
Shinto 95.8%, Buddhist 76.3%, Christian 1.4%, other 12%
note:
most Japanese observe both Shinto and Buddhist rites so the percentages add
to more than 100%
Languages:
Japanese
Literacy:
age 15 and over can read and write (1970)
total population:
99%
male:
NA%
female:
NA%
Labor force:
63.33 million
by occupation:
trade and services 54%, manufacturing, mining, and construction 33%,
agriculture, forestry, and fishing 7%, government 3% (1988)
*Japan, Government
Names:
conventional long form:
none
conventional short form:
Japan
Digraph:
JA
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:
modled after European 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)
Political parties and leaders:
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Kiichi MIYAZAWA, president; Seiroku
KAJIYAMA, secretary general; Social Democratic Party of Japan (SDPJ), Sadao
YAMAHANA, Chairman; Democratic Socialist Party (DSP), Keizo OUCHI, chairman;
Japan Communist Party (JCP), Tetsuzo FUWA, Presidium chairman; Komeito
(Clean Government Party, CGP), Koshiro ISHIDA, chairman; Japan New Party
(JNP), Morihiro HOSOKAWA, chairman
Suffrage:
20 years of age; universal
Elections:
House of Councillors:
last held on 26 July 1992 (next to be held NA July 1995); results - percent
of vote by party NA; seats - (252 total) LDP 106, SDPJ 73, CGP 24, DSP 12,
JCP 11, JNP 4, other 22
House of Representatives:
last held on 18 February 1990 (next to be held by NA February 1994); results
- percent of vote by party NA; seats - (512 total) LDP 274, SDPJ 137, CGP
46, JCP 16, DSP 13, others 5, independents 6, vacant 15
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)
*Japan, Government
Member of:
AfDB, AG (observer), Australia Group, APEC, AsDB, BIS, CCC, COCOM, CP, CSCE
(observer), 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, UNOMOZ, UNRWA,
UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Takakazu KURIYAMA
chancery:
2520 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
(202) 939-6700
consulates general: Agana (Guam), Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Kansas
City (Missouri), Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, Seattle,
and Portland (Oregon)
consulates:
Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands)
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Michael H. ARMACOST
embassy:
10-5, Akasaka 1-chome, Minato-ku (107), Tokyo
mailing address:
APO AP 96337-0001
telephone:
[81] (3) 3224-5000
FAX:
[81] (3) 3505-1862
consulates general:
Naha (Okinawa), Osaka-Kobe, Sapporo
consulate:
Fukuoka
Flag:
white with a large red disk (representing the sun without rays) in the
center
*Japan, Economy
Overview:
Government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, and a comparatively
small defense allocation have helped Japan advance with extraordinary
rapidity, notably in high-technology fields. Industry, the most important
sector of the economy, is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and
fuels. 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. Overall economic growth has been spectacular: a 10% average in the
1960s, a 5% average in the 1970s and 1980s. Economic growth slowed markedly
in 1992 largely because of contractionary domestic policies intended to
wring speculative excesses from the stock and real estate markets. At the
same time, the stronger yen and slower global growth are containing export
growth. Unemployment and inflation remain low at 2%. Japan continues to run
a huge trade surplus - $107 billion in 1992, up nearly 40% from the year
earlier - which supports extensive investment in foreign assets. The
crowding of its habitable land area and the aging of its population are two
major long-run problems.
National product:
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $2.468 trillion (1992)
National product real growth rate:
1.5% (1992)
National product per capita:
$19,800 (1992)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2.1% (1992)
Unemployment rate:
2.2% (1992)
Budget:
revenues $490 billion; expenditures $579 billion, including capital
expenditures (public works only) of about $68 billion (FY93)
Exports:
$339.7 billion (f.o.b., 1992)
commodities:
manufactures 97% (including machinery 40%, motor vehicles 18%, consumer
electronics 10%)
partners:
Southeast Asia 31%, US 29%, Western Europe 23%, Communist countries 4%,
Middle East 3%
Imports:
$232.7 billion (c.i.f., 1992)
commodities:
manufactures 44%, fossil fuels 33%, foodstuffs and raw materials 23%
partners:
Southeast Asia 25%, US 22%, Western Europe 17%, Middle East 12%, former
Communist countries and China 8%
External debt:
$NA
Industrial production:
growth rate -6.0% (1992); accounts for 30% of GDP
Electricity:
196,000,000 kW capacity; 835,000 million kWh produced, 6,700 kWh per capita
(1992)
Industries:
steel and non-ferrous metallurgy, heavy electrical equipment, construction
and mining equipment, motor vehicles and parts, electronic and
telecommunication equipment and components, machine tools and automated
production systems, locomotives and railroad rolling stock, shipbuilding,
chemicals, textiles, food processing
*Japan, Economy
Agriculture:
accounts for only 2% of GDP; highly subsidized and protected sector, with
crop yields among highest in world; principal crops - rice, sugar beets,
vegetables, fruit; animal products include pork, poultry, dairy and eggs;
about 50% self-sufficient in food production; shortages of wheat, corn,
soybeans; world's largest fish catch of 10 million metric tons in 1991
Economic aid:
donor - ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $83.2 billion; ODA outlay of $9.1
billion in 1990 (est.)
Currency:
1 yen (Y) = 100 sen
Exchange rates:
yen (Y) per US$1 - 125.01 (January 1993), 126.65 (1992), 134.71 (1991),
144.79 (1990), 137.96 (1989), 128.15 (1988)
Fiscal year:
1 April - 31 March