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Japan
BACKGROUND
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.
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.
POPULATION
Population:
127,433,494 (July 2007 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years:
13.8% (male 9,024,344/female 8,553,700)
15-64 years:
65.2% (male 41,841,760/female 41,253,968)
65 years and over: 21% (male 11,312,492/female 15,447,230)
Population growth:
-0.088%
Ethnic groups:
Japanese 98.5%, Koreans 0.5%, Chinese 0.4%, other 0.7%
Languages:
Japanese
GEOGRAPHY
Geographic note:
slightly smaller than California
Climate:
varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north
Natural resources: negligible mineral resources, fish
Environmental 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
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ECONOMY
Currency:
Yen
Exchange rate:
£1 = 238 yen
$1 = 115 yen (Oct 2007)
Economy overview:
Government-industry cooperation, a strong
work ethic, mastery of high technology, and a comparatively small defence
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 the third-largest economy in the world after the US and
China, measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis.
One notable characteristic of the economy has been how manufacturers,
suppliers, and distributors have worked together in closely-knit groups
called keiretsu. A second basic feature has been the guarantee of lifetime
employment for a substantial portion of the urban labour force. Both
features have now eroded. Japan's industrial sector is heavily dependent
on imported raw materials and fuels.
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 over-investment and an asset price
bubble during the late 1980s that required a protracted period of time for
firms to reduce excess debt, capital, and labour.
In 2002-06, growth improved and the lingering fears of deflation in prices
and economic activity lessened. Japan's huge government debt, which
totals 176% of GDP, and the aging of the population are two major longrun problems.
GDP:
$4.218 trillion (2006 est.)
Purchasing power parity
GDP growth:
2.2%
GDP composition: agriculture: 1.5%
industry: 25.6%
services: 73%
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
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TRANSPORTATION
Paved Airports:
176
Merchant marine: Total: 676 ships (1000 GRT or over) 10,386,894 GRT/11,689,142
DWT
by type: bulk carrier 131, cargo 29, carrier 3, chemical tanker 23,
container 10, liquefied gas 58, passenger 14, passenger/cargo 142,
petroleum tanker 157, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 52,
vehicle carrier 55
registered in other countries: 2,692 (Bahamas 62, Belize 2,
Bermuda 1, Burma 3, Cambodia 3, Cayman Islands 6, China 2,
Cyprus 19, France 5, Honduras 4, Hong Kong 78, Indonesia 5, Isle
of Man 4, South Korea 1, Liberia 111, Malaysia 4, Malta 3, Marshall
Islands 5, Mongolia 1, Norway 1, Panama 2,151, Philippines 69,
Portugal 10, Singapore 108, Sweden 1, Thailand 4, UK 1, Vanuatu
28, unknown 2) 106, Thailand 1, Turkey 1, Tuvalu 25, unknown 33)
Ports:
Chiba, Kawasaki, Kiire, Kisarazu, Kobe, Mizushima, Nagoya, Osaka,
Tokyo, Yohohama
TRADE
Exports:
$615.8 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Export 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:
$534.5 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Import 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)
Japan is the UK’s largest export market outside Europe and
the USA. It represents 12 percent of world GDP and took
£8.0bn of UK goods and services in 2005
Main exports 2006
%
Transport equipment
Electrical machinery
Non-electrical machinery
Chemicals
Metals
of total
24.2
21.4
19.7
9.0
4.6
Main imports 2006
%
Mineral fuels
Electrical machinery
Non-electrical machinery
Food
Chemicals
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of total
27.8
12.9
9.3
8.5
7.3
FURTHER INFORMATION
• Internet domain:
• International dialling code:
.jp
00 81
British Embassy Japan
1 Ichiban-cho,
Chiyoda-ku,
Tokyo, 102-8381
Tel: 03 5211 1100
UK Trade & Investment
Tel: 03 5211 1214
EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation,
Round-Cross Ichibanchou 4F,
13-3 Ichibancho,
Chiyoda-ku,
Tokyo 102-0082,
Japan.
Tel: +81 (3) 3221 6161
JETRO
Ark Mori Building,
6F 12-32,
Akasaka 1-chome,
Minato-ku,
Tokyo 107-6006
TEL: 03-3582-5511
Bank of Japan
Japan Today
JETRO
London,
MidCity Place,
71 High Holborn,
London,
WC1V6AL, U.K.
TEL: 0207421 8300
www.boj.or.jp/en/
www.japantoday.com/
Business Vantage Ltd
14 Park Street, Windsor. SL4 1LU