June 20, 2018
Country Profile - Japan
Geography
Location:
Japan is an island nation located in the northeastern region of Asia. The archipelagic
nature of Japan’s geography is a result of the movements of the tectonic plates between Asia, the
Pacific, and the Philippines.
Countries neighboring the archipelagic country are North and South Korea, China,
Russia, Taiwan. The country has more than six thousand islands, including its four major islands:
Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku.
Geographic coordinates:
● 36 00 N, 138 00 E
Area:
● Total: 377,915 sq km
● Land: 364,485 sq km
● Water: 13,430 sq km
note: includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto, Minami-jima, Okino-tori-shima,
Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto), and Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto)
Coastline:
● 29,751 km
Maritime claims:
● Territorial sea: 12 nm; between 3 nm and 12 nm in the international straits - La Perouse
or Soya, Tsugaru, Osumi, and Eastern and Western Channels of the Korea or Tsushima
Strait.
● Contiguous zone: 24 nm
● Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate
The climate in Japan ranges from a relatively subarctic in the northern regions and
subtropical in the southern regions. This difference in climates within the country results from its
neighboring ocean, the Pacific Ocean.
Terrain
● Mostly rugged and mountainous
Natural resources:
● Negligible mineral resources, fish
note: with virtually no natural energy resources, Japan is the world's largest importer of coal and
liquefied natural gas, as well as the second largest importer of oil
Land use:
● Agricultural land - 12.5%
● Arable land - 11.7%
● Forest - 68.5%
● Other - 19% (2011 est.)
Irrigated land:
● 24,690 sq km (2012)
Population - distribution:
All primary and secondary regions of high population density lie on the coast. One-third
of the population resides in and around Tokyo on the central plain (Kanto Plain)
Natural hazards:
Many dormant and some active volcanoes, bout 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly
tremors but occasional severe earthquakes) every year, tsunamis and typhoons
Environment - 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;
● In 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, Japan originally planned to phase out nuclear power,
but it has now implemented a new policy of seeking to restart nuclear power plants that
meet strict new safety standards;
● waste management;
● Japanese municipal facilities used to burn high volumes of trash, but air pollution issues
forced the government to adopt an aggressive recycling policy.
Environment - international agreements:
● Party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources,
Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, 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
● Signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
People and Society
Population:
● 126,451,398 (July 2017 est.)
Nationality:
● Japanese
Languages:
● Japanese
Religions:
● Shintoism - 79.2%
● Buddhism - 66.8%
● Christianity - 1.5%
● Others - 7.1%
note: total adherents exceeds 100% because many people practice both Shintoism and Buddhism
(2012 est.)
Urbanization:
urban population: 91.6% of total population (2018)
● rate of urbanization: -0.14% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)
Government
Government type:
● Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy
● Power is held chiefly by the Prime Minister and other elected members of Diet, while
Sovereignty is vested in Japanese People.
Legal system:
● Civil law system based on German model; system also reflects Anglo-American
influence and Japanese traditions; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court
Suffrage:
● 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
● Chief of State: Emperor AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989); note - The Imperial Council
ruled on 2 December 2017 that the Emperor will be allowed to abdicate in April 2019
● Head of Government: Prime Minister Shinzo ABE (since 26 December 2012); Deputy
Prime Minister Taro ASO (since 26 December 2012)
● Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister
● Elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; the leader of the majority party or
majority coalition in the House of Representatives usually becomes prime minister
Legislative branch:
● Japan’s legislative organ is the National Diet, seated in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The Diet is a
bicameral body, consisting of a House of Representatives with 480 seats, elected by
popular vote every four years or when dissolved, and a House of Councilors of 242 seats,
whose popularly elected members serve six-year terms.
● Both Houses have the power to enact laws, decide on the budget and other matters related
to national finance, decide regarding the approval for the conclusion of international
treaties, and the designation of the Prime Minister.
● If the House of Councillors rejects a bill passed by the House of Representatives, the bill
will only become a law if it passed again by the House of Representatives in a two-thirds
vote.
● House of Councillors or Sangi-in (242 seats; 146 members directly elected in multi-seat
districts by simple majority vote and 96 directly elected in a single national constituency
by proportional representation vote; members serve 6-year terms with half the
membership renewed every 3 years).
● House of Representatives or Shugi-in (475 seats; 295 members directly elected in
single-seat districts by simple majority vote and 180 directly elected in multi-seat districts
by party-list proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms).
● Japan's amended electoral law, changed in May 2017, reducing the total number of House
seats to 465. The number of House of Representatives seats in single-seat districts is
reduced to 289 and the number of House of Representatives seats in multi-seat districts
reduced to 176; the change is effective for the December 2018 House of Representatives
election.
note: the Diet in June 2017 redrew Japan's electoral district boundaries and reduced the current
275 seats in the House of Representatives to 265; the law, which cuts 6 seats in single-seat
districts and 4 in multi-seat districts, was reportedly intended to reduce voting disparities
between densely and sparsely populated voting districts
● Elections: House of Councillors - last held on 10 July 2016 (next to be held in July
2019); House of Representatives - last held on 22 October 2017 (next to be held by 21
October 2021)
Judicial branch:
● Highest court(s): Supreme Court or Saiko Saibansho which consists of the chief justice
and 14 associate justices. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over constitutional issues.
● Judge selection and term of office: The Supreme Court chief justice is designated by
the Cabinet and appointed by the monarch. The associate justices is appointed by the
Cabinet and confirmed by the monarch. All justices are reviewed in a popular referendum
at the first general election of the House of Representatives following each judge's
appointment and every 10 years afterward
● Subordinate courts: 8 High Courts (Koto-saiban-sho), each with a Family Court
(Katei-saiban-sho); 50 District Courts (Chiho saibansho), with 203 additional branches;
438 Summary Courts (Kani saibansho)
Economy
Japan in 2017 stood as the fourth-largest economy. Japan, being a free economy, is one of
the most developed economy in the world. The World War II had taken a toll on the economy of
Japan and was revived between the years of 1960’s to the 1980’s. The Ministry of International
Trade and Industry (MITI) was established in Japan after World War II which helped recover
Japan’s economy post-war.
ABENOMICS is a program created in 2012 to revive the economy of Japan while
maintaining fiscal discipline. It aims to boost productivity, pursue regulatory reforms, build on
international opportunities and improve business environment to drive inward FDI. The three
arrows of ABENOMICS explain the key points of the program.
(1) Monetary Easing - this means that the Japanese government is pressuring the
World Bank to provide the market money.
(2) A “Robust” Fiscal Policy - the Japanese government is to spend more money to
boost the economy. The government spending is focused on welfare, servicing the
debt and public works.
(3) Policies for growth to spur private investment - the government is achieving this
through the implementation of lowering corporation tax, increasing the labor
participation of women, more open to foreigners in society, increase tourism and
lowering of regulations/barriers of trade.
Exports:
$683.3 billion (2017 est.)
Exports - partners: (2016)
US 20.2%
China 17.7%
South Korea 7.2%
Hong Kong 5.2%
Thailand 4.3%
Top exports of Japan
1. Cars ($100B) - 15%
2. Integrated Circuits ($33.7B) - 4.9%
3. Vehicle Parts ($33.5B) - 4.9%
4. Industrial Printers ($12.5B) - 1.8%
5. Passenger and Cargo Ships($12.5B) - 1.8%
Imports:
$625.7 billion (2017 est.)
Imports - partners: (2016)
China 25.8%
US 11.4%
Australia 5%
South Korea 4.1%
Top imports of Japan
1. Crude Petroleum ($46.5B) - 8.1%
2. Petroleum Gas($31.7B) - 5.5%
3. Integrated Circuits ($16.7B) - 2.9%
4. Packaged Medicaments ($16.5B) - 2.9%
5. Computers ($15.5B) - 2.7%
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$5.405 trillion (2017 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):
$4.884 trillion (2017 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
1.5% (2017 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$42,700 (2017 est.)
Gross national saving:
27% of GDP (2017 est.)
Agriculture - products:
● vegetables, rice, fish, poultry, fruit, dairy products, pork, beef, flowers,
potatoes/taros/yams, sugarcane, tea, legumes, wheat and barley
Industrial production growth rate:
1.4% (2017 est.)
Labor force:
67.77 million (2017 est.)
Unemployment rate:
2.9% (2017 est.)
3.1% (2016 est.)
Population below poverty line:
16.1% (2013 est.)
Budget:
Revenues: $1.678 trillion
Expenditures: $1.902 trillion (2017 est.)
Military
The Japanese Ministry of Defense (MOD) was recognized in January 9, 2007, after the
establishment of Defense Agency in 1954. The cabinet-level ministry is headquartered in
Ichigaya, Shinjuku, Tokyo and is currently headed by Tomomi Inada as the Minister of Defense.
It is composed of three military branches, namely: Ground Self-Defense Force (Rikujou Jieitai,
GSDF), Maritime Self-Defense Force (Kaijou Jieitai, MSDF), and Air Self-Defense Force
(Koukuu Jieitai, ASDF). The Ministry of Defense (MOD) is responsible in safeguarding the
lives, property, and freedom of the Japanese citizens as well as its territorial land, water, and
airspace.
Alongside the heightening military defense, the Cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe seeks to boost military budget annually. It has increased 1.5 % from the levels in
2015 as he approved a 5.05 trillion yen (US$41.90 billion) military budget for fiscal 2016, for its
fourth successive time defense spending. Furthermore, it has projected to fuel its defense budget
by expanding it to 5.1 trillion yen (about US$44.9 billion) for fiscal 2017, effective 1 April 2017
– 31 March 2018. As of 2016, Japan has allotted 0.93% of its GDP to the military expenditures.
Japanese citizens can voluntarily commit to military service at the age of 18, and should
mandatorily retire at the age of 53 for senior enlisted personnel, and at 62 years old for senior
service officers. Japan is ranked as 7 out of 126 states in military capability. It has a GFP Power
Index rating of 0.2466, and has a total of 126,919,659 population for its manpower.
Issues Japan may raise:
1. Economic Partnership
2. Philippines and China’s relationship
