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Japan
Background :
In 1603, after decades of civil warfare, the Tokugawa shogunate (a military-led, dynastic government) ushered in a long period of relative political stability and isolation from foreign influence. For more than two centuries this policy enabled Japan to enjoy a flowering of its indigenous culture. Japan opened its ports after signing the Treaty of Kanagawa with the US in 1854 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 an ally of the US. While the emperor retains his throne as a symbol of national unity, elected politicians hold actual decision-making power. Following three decades of unprecedented growth, Japan's economy experienced a major slowdown starting in the 1990s, but the country remains a major economic power. In January 2009, Japan assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2009-10 term.
Location :
Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula
Geographic Coordinates Center :
36 00 N, 138 00 E (Latitude, Longtitude)
Geographic Coordinates Rectangle :
| West | 122.94 |
| North | 45.52 |
| East | 145.82 |
| South | 24.25 |
Map references :
Asia
Area :
| total | 377 915 | square km |
| land | 364 485 | square km |
| water | 13 430 | square km |
Coastline :
29751.00 km
Climate :
varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north
Terrain :
mostly rugged and mountainous
Elevation extremes :
| lowest point | 4 | metres |
| highest point | 3 776 | metres |
Land use :
| arable land | 11.64 | % |
| permanent crops | 0.90 | % |
| other | 87.46 | % |
Irrigated land :
25 920 square km
Total renewable water resources :
430 cubic km
Natural hazards :
| active volcanoes | seismic occurrences |
| tsunamis | typhoons |
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
international agreements :
| Antarctic Seals | Antarctic Treaty |
| Antarctic-Environmental Protocol | Antarctic-Marine Living Resources |
| 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 |
Population :
127 078 679
Indicators :
| Growth rate | -0.19 | % |
| Birth rate | 7.64 | births/1,000 population |
| Total fertility rate | 1.21 | children born/woman |
| Death rate | 9.54 | deaths/1,000 population |
Age structure :
| 0-14 years | 13.50 | % |
| 15-64 years | 64.30 | % |
| 65 years and over | 22.20 | % |
Median age :
| total | 44.20 | years |
| male | 42.40 | years |
| female | 46.10 | years |
Sex ratio :
| at birth | 1.06 | male(s)/female |
| under 15 years | 1.06 | male(s)/female |
| 15-64 years | 1.02 | male(s)/female |
| 65 years and over | 0.74 | male(s)/female |
| total population | 0.95 | male(s)/female |
Health :
| Infant mortality rate | 2.79 | deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life expectancy at birth - total population | 82.12 | years |
| Life expectancy at birth - male | 78.80 | years |
| Life expectancy at birth - female | 85.62 | years |
| HIV-AIDS adult prevalence rate | 0.10 | % |
| HIV-AIDS people living with HIV-AIDS | 9 600 | |
| HIV-AIDS deaths | 100 |
Religions :
| Shintoism | 83.90 | % |
| Buddhism | 71.40 | % |
| Christianity | 2.00 | % |
| other | 7.80 | % |
Languages :
| Japanese |
Literacy :
| total population | 99.00 | % |
| male | 99.00 | % |
| female | 99.00 | % |
Country name :
| conventional short form | Japan |
| local long form | Nihon-koku/Nippon-koku |
| local short form | Nihon/Nippon |
Country Codes :
| ISO 3166 | JP |
| ISO Numeric | 392 |
| ISO3 | JPN |
| FIPS | JA |
| ccTLD | jp |
| English | Japan |
Administrative divisions :
47 prefectures; Aichi, Akita, Aomori, Chiba, Ehime, Fukui, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Gifu, Gunma, 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
Capital :
| name | Tokyo |
| geographic coordinates | 35 41 N, 139 45 E |
| time difference | 9.00 |
International organization participation :
| ADB | APEC |
| APT | ARF |
| ASEAN (dialogue partner) | AfDB (nonregional member) |
| Australia Group | BIS |
| CE (observer) | CERN (observer) |
| CICA (observer) | CP |
| EAS | EBRD |
| FAO | FATF |
| G-10 | G-20 |
| G-5 | G-7 |
| G-8 | IADB |
| IAEA | IBRD |
| ICAO | ICC |
| ICCt | ICRM |
| IDA | IEA |
| IFAD | IFC |
| IFRCS | IHO |
| ILO | IMF |
| IMO | IMSO |
| IOC | IOM |
| IPU | ISO |
| ITSO | ITU |
| ITUC | Interpol |
| LAIA | MIGA |
| NEA | NSG |
| OAS (observer) | OECD |
| OPCW | OSCE (partner) |
| PCA | PIF (partner) |
| Paris Club | SAARC (observer) |
| SECI (observer) | UN |
| UN Security Council (temporary) | UNCTAD |
| UNDOF | UNESCO |
| UNHCR | UNIDO |
| UNMIS | UNRWA |
| UNWTO | UPU |
| WCO | WFTU |
| WHO | WIPO |
| WMO | WTO |
| ZC |
National holiday :
Birthday of Emperor AKIHITO
1933-12-23
Executive branch :
| Emperor AKIHITO | Prime Minister Yukio HATOYAMA |
Legislative branch :
| LDP | 26.70 | % |
| Komeito | 11.50 | % |
| JCP | 7.00 | % |
| SDP | 4.30 | % |
| others | 8.10 | % |
GDP - Gross Domestic product :
| PPP - Purchasing Power Parity | 4 141 000 000 000 | $ |
| Official Exchange Rate | 5 049 000 000 000 | |
| RGR - Real Growth rate | -5.70 | % |
| PPP - per capita | 32 600 | $ |
GDP Composition by sector :
| agriculture | 1.60 | % |
| industry | 23.10 | % |
| services | 75.40 | % |
Labor force - by occupation :
| agriculture | 4.00 | % |
| industry | 28.00 | % |
| services | 68.00 | % |
Other Indicators :
| Labor force | 65 930 000 | people |
| Unemployment rate | 5.60 | % |
| Distribution of family income - Gini index | 38.10 | |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -1.30 | % |
| Investment (gross fixed) | 20.20 | % of GDP |
| Current account balance | 131 199 999 999 | $ |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | 1 010 999 999 999 | $ |
| Debt external | 2 132 000 000 000 | $ |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad | 726 500 000 000 | $ |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - at home | 205 400 000 000 | $ |
| Market value of publicly traded shares | 4 453 000 000 000 | $ |
| Military expenditures | 0.80 | % of GDP |
| Public debt | 192.10 | % of GDP |
Household income or consumption by percentage share :
| lowest 10% | 4.80 | % |
| highest 10% | 21.70 | % |
Budget :
| revenues | 1 614 000 000 000 | $ |
| expenditures | 1 997 000 000 000 | $ |
Agriculture - products :
| dairy | eggs |
| fish | fruits |
| pork | poultry |
| rice | sugar beets |
| vegetables |
Industries :
| chemicals | electronic equipment |
| machine tools | motor vehicles |
| processed foods | ships |
| steel and nonferrous metals | textiles |
Industrial production growth rate :
-17.00 %
Energy :
| Electricity Production | 957 900 000 000 | kWh |
| Electricity Consumption | 925 500 000 000 | kWh |
| Oil Production | 133 100 | bbl/day |
| Oil Consumption | 4 785 000 | bbl/day |
| Oil Exports | 268 300 | bbl/day |
| Oil Imports | 5 263 000 | bbl/day |
| Oil Proved reserves | 44 120 000 | bbl |
| Natural gas Production | 5 360 000 000 | cubic metres |
| Natural gas Consumption | 101 100 000 000 | cubic metres |
| Natural gas Imports | 95 390 000 000 | cubic metres |
| Electricity Exports | 20 900 000 000 | cubic metres |
Value :
516 299 999 999 $
Partners :
| United States (us) | 17.80 | % |
| China (cn) | 16.00 | % |
| South Korea | 7.60 | % |
| Tawian | 5.90 | % |
| Hong Kong (hk) | 5.10 | % |
Commodities :
| chemicals | electrical machinery |
| motor vehicles | semiconductors |
| transportation equipment |
Value :
490 600 000 000 $
Partners :
| China (cn) | 18.80 | % |
| United States (us) | 10.40 | % |
| Saudi Arabia (sa) | 6.70 | % |
| Australia (au) | 6.20 | % |
| UAE | 6.10 | % |
| Indonesia (id) | 4.30 | % |
Commodities :
| chemicals | foodstuffs |
| fuels | machinery and equipment |
| raw materials | textiles |
Currency-code :
JPY
Currency-name :
yen
Communications :
| Telephons Main lines in use | 47 579 000 | |
| Telephons Mobile, Cellular | 110 395 000 | |
| FM Radio broadcast stations | 89 | |
| Television broadcast stations | 211 | |
| Internet Country code (ccTLD) | jp | |
| Internet Hosts | 47 249 000 | |
| Internet Users | 90 910 000 |
Transportation :
| Airports with paved runways | 144 | |
| Heliports | 15 | |
| Pipelines - gas | 3 879 | km |
| Pipelines - oil | 167 | km |
| Roadways - total | 1 203 777 | km |
| Roadways - expressways | 7 560 | km |
| Roadways - paved | 961 366 | km |
| Roadways - unpaved | 242 411 | km |
| Railways | 26 435 | km |
| Waterways | 1 770 | km |
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