Japan Economy
Japan Economy - overview
- Government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high
technology, and a comparatively small defence allocation (1% of GDP) have
helped Japan advance with extraordinary rapidity to the rank of second
most technologically powerful economy in the world after the US and third
largest economy in the world after the US and China. One notable
characteristic of the economy is the working together of manufacturers,
suppliers, and distributors in closely-knit groups called keiretsu. A
second basic feature has been the guarantee of lifetime employment for a
substantial portion of the urban labor force. Both features are now
eroding. Industry, the most important sector of the economy, is heavily
dependent on imported raw materials and fuels. The much smaller
agricultural sector is highly subsidized and protected, with crop yields
among the highest in the world. Usually 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. 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 largely because of the aftereffects of overinvestment during the
late 1980s and contractionary domestic policies intended to wring
speculative excesses from the stock and real estate markets. Government
efforts to revive economic growth have met with little success and were
further hampered in 2000-02 by the slowing of the US and Asian economies.
The crowding of habitable land area and the aging of the population are
two major long-run problems. Robotics constitutes a key long-term economic
strength, with Japan possessing 410,000 of the world's 720,000 "working
robots". Internal conflict over the proper means to reform the ailing
banking system will continue in 2003.
Japan Economy - Currency
- yen (JPY)
- Currency code
- JPY
- Exchange rates
- yen per US dollar - 132.66 (January 2002), 121.53 (2001), 107.77
(2000), 113.91 (1999), 130.91 (1998), 120.99 (1997)
- Fiscal year
- 1 April - 31 March
- Telephones - land lines
- Phone boxes used to be ubiquitous but are slowly disappearing since
Japan has an extremely high rate of cellphone penetration. Public phones
take either special cards or coins. It is also possible to use foreign
calling cards such as AT&T from most phones.
- Telephones - mobile cellular
- You cannot use GSM phones in Japan (nor CDMA ?), however it is
generally possible to rent a cell phone from an operator that has some
reciprocal arrangement with your own carrier. Japan does have a 3G (WCDMA
or 3GSM) network so if you have a 3G phone then that will work.
- Telephone system
- general assessment: excellent domestic and international
service
domestic: high level of modern technology and excellent service
of every kind
international: satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Pacific
Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region), and 1
Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean regions); submarine cables to China,
Philippines, Russia, and US (via Guam) (1999)
- Television broadcast stations
- 211 plus 7,341 repeaters
note: in addition, US Forces are served by 3 TV stations and 2 TV
cable services (1999)
- Internet country code
- .jp
- Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
- 73 (2000)
- Internet users
- 56 million (2002)
- Railways
- total: 23,654 km (15,895 km electrified)
standard gauge: 3,059 km 1.435-m gauge (entirely electrified)
narrow gauge: 77 km 1.372-m gauge (entirely electrified); 20,491
km 1.067-m gauge (12,732 km electrified); 27 km 0.762-m gauge (entirely
electrified) (2000)
- Highways
- total: 1,152,207 km
paved: 863,003 km (including 6,114 km of expressways)
unpaved: 289,204 km (1997 est.)
- Waterways
- 1,770 km approximately
note: seagoing craft ply all coastal inland seas
- Pipelines
- crude oil 84 km; petroleum products 322 km; natural gas 1,800 km
- Ports and harbors
- Akita, Amagasaki, Chiba, Hachinohe, Hakodate, Higashi-Harima, Himeji,
Hiroshima, Kawasaki, Kinuura, Kobe, Kushiro, Mizushima, Moji, Nagoya,
Osaka, Sakai, Sakaide, Shimizu, Tokyo, Tomakomai
- Airports
- 173 (2001)
- Airports - with paved runways
- total: 141
over 3,047 m: 7
2,438 to 3,047 m: 37
914 to 1,523 m: 27
under 914 m: 32 (2002)
1,524 to 2,437 m: 38
- Airports - with unpaved runways
- total: 31 31
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 1
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 1 27 (2002)
- Heliports
- 15 (2002)
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