Country Fast Facts:Japan

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.

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 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.

Source: CIA World Fact Book

Population: 126,475,664 (July 2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 10

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Age structure: 0-14 years: 13.1% (male 8,521,571/female 8,076,173) 15-64 years: 64% (male 40,815,840/female 40,128,235) 65 years and over: 22.9% (male 12,275,829/female 16,658,016) (2011 est.)

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Median age: total: 44.8 years male: 43.2 years female: 46.7 years (2011 est.)

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Population growth rate: -0.278% (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 216

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Birth rate: 7.31 births/1,000 population (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 222

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Death rate: 10.09 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 55

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Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 84

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Urbanization: urban population: 67% of total population (2010) rate of urbanization: 0.2% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

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Major cities - population: TOKYO (capital) 36.507 million; Osaka-Kobe 11.325 million; Nagoya 3.257 million; Fukuoka-Kitakyushu 2.809 million; Sapporo 2.673 million (2009)

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Sex ratio: at birth: 1.056 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 (2011 est.)

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Infant mortality rate: total: 2.78 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 219 male: 2.98 deaths/1,000 live births female: 2.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2011 est.)

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Life expectancy at birth: total population: 82.25 years country comparison to the world: 5 male: 78.96 years female: 85.72 years (2011 est.)

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Total fertility rate: 1.21 children born/woman (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 220

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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 156

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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 8,100 (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 108

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HIV/AIDS - deaths: fewer than 100 (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 138

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Nationality: noun: Japanese (singular and plural) adjective: Japanese

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Ethnic groups: Japanese 98.5%, Koreans 0.5%, Chinese 0.4%, other 0.6% note: up to 230,000 Brazilians of Japanese origin migrated to Japan in the 1990s to work in industries; some have returned to Brazil (2004)

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Religions: Shintoism 83.9%, Buddhism 71.4%, Christianity 2%, other 7.8% note: total adherents exceeds 100% because many people belong to both Shintoism and Buddhism (2005)

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Languages: Japanese

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Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2002)

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School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education): total: 15 years male: 15 years female: 15 years (2008)

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Education expenditures: 3.7% of GDP (2007) country comparison to the world: 126

In the years following World War II, government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, and a comparatively small defense allocation (1% of GDP) helped Japan develop a technologically advanced economy.

Two notable characteristics of the post-war economy were the close interlocking structures of manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors, known as keiretsu, and the guarantee of lifetime employment for a substantial portion of the urban labor force. Both features are now eroding under the dual pressures of global competition and domestic demographic change. Japan's industrial sector is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and fuels.

A tiny agricultural sector is highly subsidized and protected, with crop yields among the highest in the world. Usually self sufficient in rice, Japan imports about 60% of its food on a caloric basis. 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, averaging just 1.7%, largely because of the after effects of inefficient investment and an asset price bubble in the late 1980s that required a protracted period of time for firms to reduce excess debt, capital, and labor. Measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis that adjusts for price differences, Japan in 2010 stood as the third-largest economy in the world after China, which surpassed Japan in 2001.

The Japanese financial sector was not heavily exposed to sub-prime mortgages or their derivative instruments and weathered the initial effect of the recent global credit crunch, but a sharp downturn in business investment and global demand for Japan's exports in late 2008 pushed Japan further into recession. Government stimulus spending helped the economy recover in late 2009 and 2010, but Tokyo is warning that GDP growth will slow in 2011. Prime Minister Kan's government has proposed opening the agricultural and services sectors to greater foreign competition and boosting exports through free-trade agreements, but debate continues on restructuring the economy and funding new stimulus programs in the face of a tight fiscal situation.

Japan's huge government debt, which exceeds 200% of GDP, persistent deflation, reliance on exports to drive growth, and an aging and shrinking population are major complications for the economy.

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GDP (purchasing power parity): $4.338 trillion (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 4 $4.211 trillion (2009 est.) $4.442 trillion (2008 est.) note: data are in 2010 US dollars

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GDP (official exchange rate): $5.391 trillion (2010 est.)

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GDP - real growth rate: 3% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 124 -5.2% (2009 est.) -1.2% (2008 est.)

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GDP - per capita (PPP): $34,200 (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 38 $33,100 (2009 est.) $34,900 (2008 est.) note: data are in 2010 US dollars

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GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 1.1% industry: 23% services: 75.9% (2010 est.)

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Labor force: 65.7 million (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 9

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Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 3.9% industry: 26.2% services: 69.8% (2010 est.)

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Unemployment rate: 5.1% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 49 5.1% (2009 est.)

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Population below poverty line: 15.7% (2007) note: Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) press release, 20 October 2009

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Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 1.9% highest 10%: 27.5% (2008)

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Distribution of family income - Gini index: 37.6 (2008) country comparison to the world: 74 24.9 (1993)

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Investment (gross fixed): 20.3% of GDP (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 84

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Budget: revenues: $1.638 trillion expenditures: $2.16 trillion (2010 est.)

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Public debt: 225.8% of GDP (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 2 217.6% of GDP (2009 est.)

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Inflation rate (consumer prices): -0.7% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 7 -1.4% (2009 est.)

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Central bank discount rate: 0.3% (31 December 2009) country comparison to the world: 139 0.3% (31 December 2008)

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Commercial bank prime lending rate: 1.6% (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 155 1.65% (31 December 2009 est.)

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Stock of narrow money: $5.541 trillion (31 December 2010 est) country comparison to the world: 3 $5.162 trillion (31 December 2009 est)

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Stock of broad money: $18.3 trillion (31 December 2009) country comparison to the world: 2 $14.56 trillion (31 December 2008)

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Stock of domestic credit: $16.39 trillion (31 December 2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 3 $13.32 trillion (31 December 2007 est.)

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Market value of publicly traded shares: $3.537 trillion (31 December 2010) country comparison to the world: 3 $3.29 trillion (31 December 2009) $3.22 trillion (31 December 2008)

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Agriculture - products: rice, sugar beets, vegetables, fruit; pork, poultry, dairy products, eggs; fish

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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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Industrial production growth rate: 15.5% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 8

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Electricity - production: 956.5 billion kWh (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 4

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Electricity - consumption: 858.5 billion kWh (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 4

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Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2009 est.)

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Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2009 est.)

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Oil - production: 132,700 bbl/day (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 49

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Oil - consumption: 4.363 million bbl/day (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 4

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Oil - exports: 380,900 bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 34

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Oil - imports: 5.033 million bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 3

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Oil - proved reserves: 44.12 million bbl (1 January 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 79

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Natural gas - production: 3.539 billion cu m (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 50

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Natural gas - consumption: 94.67 billion cu m (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 6

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Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 84

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Natural gas - imports: 90.29 billion cu m (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 3

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Natural gas - proved reserves: 20.9 billion cu m (1 January 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 77

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Current account balance: $166.5 billion (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 2 $141.8 billion (2009 est.)

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Exports: $765.2 billion (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 5 $580.8 billion (2009 est.)

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Exports - commodities: transport equipment, motor vehicles, semiconductors, electrical machinery, chemicals

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Exports - partners: China 18.88%, US 16.42%, South Korea 8.13%, Taiwan 6.27%, Hong Kong 5.49% (2009)

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Imports: $636.8 billion (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 5 $501.6 billion (2009 est.)

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Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, fuels, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, raw materials

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Imports - partners: China 22.2%, US 10.96%, Australia 6.29%, Saudi Arabia 5.29%, UAE 4.12%, South Korea 3.98%, Indonesia 3.95% (2009)

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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $1.096 trillion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 2 $1.049 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)

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Debt - external: $2.441 trillion (30 September 2010) country comparison to the world: 6 $2.053 trillion (31 December 2009)

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Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: $199.4 billion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 21 $199.9 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

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Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad: $719.9 billion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 8 $740.4 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

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Exchange rates: yen (JPY) per US dollar - 87.78 (2010), 93.57 (2009), 103.58 (2008), 117.99 (2007), 116.18 (2006)