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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 Business Vantage Ltd 14 Park Street, Windsor. SL4 1LU 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 Business Vantage Ltd 14 Park Street, Windsor. SL4 1LU 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 Business Vantage Ltd 14 Park Street, Windsor. SL4 1LU 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