tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23027786675610867422024-03-08T17:25:45.910-08:00Economy of Japanounhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17955798294040398093noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2302778667561086742.post-68132195751814474832011-06-23T00:06:00.001-07:002011-06-23T00:06:24.994-07:00Economy of Japan<table cellspacing="5" class="infobox"><tbody>
<tr><th class="adr" colspan="2" style="background: lightblue; font-size: 125%; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;">Economy of <span class="country-name">Japan</span></th> </tr>
<tr class=""> <td class="" colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Skyscrapers_of_Shinjuku_2_7_Desember_2003.jpg"><img alt="Skyscrapers of Shinjuku 2 7 Desember 2003.jpg" height="224" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Skyscrapers_of_Shinjuku_2_7_Desember_2003.jpg/300px-Skyscrapers_of_Shinjuku_2_7_Desember_2003.jpg" width="300" /></a></td> </tr>
<tr class=""> <th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><b>Rank</b></th> <td class="">3rd</td> </tr>
<tr class=""> <th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><b>Currency</b></th> <td class=""><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Yen" title="Japanese Yen">Japanese Yen</a> (JPY)</td> </tr>
<tr class=""> <th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiscal_year" title="Fiscal year">Fiscal year</a></b></th> <td class="">1 April - 31 March</td> </tr>
<tr class=""> <th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><b>Trade organisations</b></th> <td class=""><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia-Pacific_Economic_Cooperation" title="Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation">APEC</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization" title="World Trade Organization">WTO</a>, <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organization_for_Economic_Cooperation_and_Development" title="Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development">OECD</a>, <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G20_major_economies" title="G20 major economies">G-20</a>, <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_of_Eight" title="Group of Eight">G8</a> and others</td> </tr>
<tr> <th class="" colspan="2" style="background: lightblue; text-align: center;">Statistics</th> </tr>
<tr class=""> <th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_domestic_product" title="Gross domestic product">GDP</a></b></th> <td class=""> $5.458 trillion (2010 est.) (2010) (nominal; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28nominal%29" title="List of countries by GDP (nominal)">3rd</a>)<br />
$4.309 trillion (2010 est.) (PPP; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28PPP%29" title="List of countries by GDP (PPP)">3rd</a>)</td> </tr>
<tr class=""> <th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><b>GDP growth</b></th> <td class="">3.9% (2010) -3.5% (2011 Q1)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Japan#cite_note-0"><span>[</span>1<span>]</span></a></sup></td> </tr>
<tr class=""> <th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><b>GDP per capita</b></th> <td class=""> $42,500 (2010 est.) (nominal; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28nominal%29_per_capita" title="List of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita">18th</a>)<br />
$34,200 (2010 est.) (PPP; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28PPP%29_per_capita" title="List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita">28th</a>)</td> </tr>
<tr class=""> <th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><b>GDP by sector</b></th> <td class="">agriculture: 1.5%, industry: 22.8%, services: 75.7% (2010 est.)</td> </tr>
<tr class=""> <th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflation" title="Inflation">Inflation</a></b> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_price_index" title="Consumer price index">CPI</a>)</th> <td class="">0.3% (April 2011)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-latest_indicators_1-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Japan#cite_note-latest_indicators-1"><span>[</span>2<span>]</span></a></sup></td> </tr>
<tr class=""> <th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><b>Population<br />
below <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_line" title="Poverty line">poverty line</a></b></th> <td class="">NA%<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Japan#cite_note-2"><span>[</span>3<span>]</span></a></sup></td> </tr>
<tr class=""> <th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><b><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gini_index" title="Gini index">Gini index</a></b></th> <td class="">38.1 (2002)</td> </tr>
<tr class=""> <th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><b>Labour force</b></th> <td class="">65.64 million (2010 est.)</td> </tr>
<tr class=""> <th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><b>Labour force<br />
by occupation</b></th> <td class="">agriculture: 4%, industry: 28%, services: 68% (2009 est.)</td> </tr>
<tr class=""> <th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unemployment" title="Unemployment">Unemployment</a></b></th> <td class="">4.7% (April 2011)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-latest_indicators_1-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Japan#cite_note-latest_indicators-1"><span>[</span>2<span>]</span></a></sup></td> </tr>
<tr class=""> <th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><b>Main industries</b></th> <td class=""><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_vehicles" title="Motor vehicles">motor vehicles</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industry" title="Industry">industrial</a> and transportation equipment, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronics" title="Electronics">electronics</a>, <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemicals" title="Chemicals">chemicals</a>, steel, <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_tools" title="Machine tools">machine tools</a>, processed foods, non-ferrous metals</td> </tr>
<tr class=""> <th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ease_of_Doing_Business_Index" title="Ease of Doing Business Index">Ease of Doing Business Rank</a></b></th> <td class="">18th<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-World_Bank_and_International_Financial_Corporation_3-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Japan#cite_note-World_Bank_and_International_Financial_Corporation-3"><span>[</span>4<span>]</span></a></sup></td> </tr>
<tr> <th class="" colspan="2" style="background: lightblue; text-align: center;">External</th> </tr>
<tr class=""> <th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><b>Exports</b></th> <td class="">$765.2 billion (2010 est.)</td> </tr>
<tr class=""> <th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><b>Main export partners</b></th> <td class=""><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Republic_of_China" title="People's Republic of China">China</a> 18.88%, USA 16.42%, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Korea" title="South Korea">South Korea</a> 8.13%, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_China" title="Republic of China">Taiwan</a> 6.27%, Hong Kong 5.49% (2009)</td> </tr>
<tr class=""> <th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><b>Imports</b></th> <td class="">$636.8 billion (2010 est.)</td> </tr>
<tr class=""> <th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><b>Main import partners</b></th> <td class=""><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Republic_of_China" title="People's Republic of China">China</a> 22.2%, USA 10.96%, Australia 6.29%, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Arabia" title="Saudi Arabia">Saudi Arabia</a> 5.29%, <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UAE" title="UAE">UAE</a> 4.12%, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Korea" title="South Korea">South Korea</a> 3.98%, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesia" title="Indonesia">Indonesia</a> 3.95% (2009)</td> </tr>
<tr class=""> <th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_direct_investment" title="Foreign direct investment">FDI</a> stock</b></th> <td class="">$161.4 billion (31 December 2010 est.)</td> </tr>
<tr class=""> <th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><b>Gross external debt</b></th> <td class="">$2.246 trillion (30 June 2010)</td> </tr>
<tr> <th class="" colspan="2" style="background: lightblue; text-align: center;">Public finances</th> </tr>
<tr class=""> <th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><b>Public debt</b></th> <td class="">225.80% of GDP (2010 est.)</td> </tr>
<tr class=""> <th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><b>Revenues</b></th> <td class="">$1.638 trillion (2010 est.)</td> </tr>
<tr class=""> <th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><b>Expenses</b></th> <td class="">$2.16 trillion (2010 est.)</td> </tr>
<tr class=""> <th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><b>Economic aid</b></th> <td class="">$9.7 billion <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Official_Development_Assistance" title="Official Development Assistance">ODA</a> (February 2007)</td> </tr>
<tr class=""> <th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><b>Credit rating</b></th> <td class=""><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_%26_Poor%27s" title="Standard & Poor's">Standard & Poor's</a>:<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-4"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Japan#cite_note-4"><span>[</span>5<span>]</span></a></sup><br />
AA- (Domestic)<br />
AA- (Foreign)<br />
AAA (T&C Assessment)<br />
Outlook: Stable<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-guardian_5-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Japan#cite_note-guardian-5"><span>[</span>6<span>]</span></a></sup><br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moody%27s" title="Moody's">Moody's</a>:<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-guardian_5-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Japan#cite_note-guardian-5"><span>[</span>6<span>]</span></a></sup><br />
Aa2<br />
Outlook: Negative<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fitch_Group" title="Fitch Group">Fitch</a>:<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-guardian_5-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Japan#cite_note-guardian-5"><span>[</span>6<span>]</span></a></sup><br />
AA<br />
Outlook: Stable</td> </tr>
<tr class=""> <th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><b>Foreign reserves</b></th> <td class="">US$1.154 trillion (April 2011)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-6"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Japan#cite_note-6"><span>[</span>7<span>]</span></a></sup></td></tr>
</tbody></table>ounhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17955798294040398093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2302778667561086742.post-39495154013333552782011-06-23T00:05:00.001-07:002011-06-23T00:05:23.168-07:00Economy of JapanThe <b>economy of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan" title="Japan">Japan</a></b> is the third largest in the world<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-cnns_7-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Japan#cite_note-cnns-7"><span>[</span>8<span>]</span></a></sup> after the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_United_States" title="Economy of the United States">United States</a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China" title="Economy of the People's Republic of China">People's Republic of China</a> but ahead of <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany_economy" title="Germany economy">Germany</a> at 4th. According to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Monetary_Fund" title="International Monetary Fund">International Monetary Fund</a>, the country's per capita GDP was at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28PPP%29_per_capita" title="List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita">$32,608</a> or the 23rd highest in 2009.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>For three decades from 1960, Japan experienced rapid economic growth, which was referred to as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_post-war_economic_miracle" title="Japanese post-war economic miracle">Japanese post-war economic miracle</a>. With average growth rates of 10% in the 1960s, 5% in the 1970s, and 4% in the 1980s, Japan was able to establish and maintain itself as the world's second largest economy from 1968 until 2010, when it was supplanted by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Republic_of_China" title="People's Republic of China">People's Republic of China</a>. However, in the second half of the 1980s, rising stock and real estate prices caused the Japanese economy to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overheating_%28economics%29" title="Overheating (economics)">overheat</a> in what was later to be known as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_asset_price_bubble" title="Japanese asset price bubble">Japanese asset price bubble</a>. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_bubble" title="Economic bubble">economic bubble</a> came to an abrupt end as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Stock_Exchange" title="Tokyo Stock Exchange">Tokyo Stock Exchange</a> crashed in 1990–92 and real estate prices peaked in 1991. Growth in Japan throughout the 1990s at 1.5% was slower than growth in other major developed economies, giving rise to the term <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Decade_%28Japan%29" title="Lost Decade (Japan)">Lost Decade</a>.<br />
The problems of the 1990s may have been exacerbated by domestic policies intended to wring speculative excesses from the stock and real estate markets. With government efforts to revive economic growth throughout the 1990s unsuccessful, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junichiro_Koizumi" title="Junichiro Koizumi">Junichiro Koizumi</a> adopted policies to promote exports, effectively raising GDP on an average of 2.1% annually from 2003 to 2007. Subsequently, the global financial crisis and a collapse in domestic demand saw the economy shrink 1.2% in 2008 and 5.0% in 2009. Japan has the highest gross <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_debt" title="Public debt">public debt</a> in the world with 225% of GDP.<br />
A <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountainous" title="Mountainous">mountainous</a>, volcanic <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_country" title="Island country">island country</a>, Japan has inadequate <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_resources" title="Natural resources">natural resources</a> to support its growing economy and large population. Although many kinds of minerals were extracted throughout the country, most mineral resources had to be imported in the postwar era. Local deposits of metal-bearing ores were difficult to process because they were low grade. The nation's large and varied forest resources, which covered 70 percent of the country in the late 1980s, were not utilized extensively. Because of political decisions on local, prefectural, and nation levels, Japan decided not to exploit its forest resources for economic gain. Domestic sources only supplied between 25 and 30 percent of the nation's timber needs. Agriculture and fishing were the best developed resources, but only through years of painstaking investment and toil. The nation therefore built up the manufacturing and processing industries to convert raw materials imported from abroad. This strategy of economic development necessitated the establishment of a strong economic infrastructure to provide the needed energy, transportation, communications, and technological know-how.<br />
Deposits of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold" title="Gold">gold</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnesium" title="Magnesium">magnesium</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver" title="Silver">silver</a> meet current industrial demands, but Japan is dependent on foreign sources for many of the minerals essential to modern industry. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_ore" title="Iron ore">Iron ore</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper" title="Copper">copper</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bauxite" title="Bauxite">bauxite</a>, and <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alumina" title="Alumina">alumina</a> must be imported, as well as many forest products.<br />
In 2010 GDP Growth in the final three months was -1.5% but in all the total GDP Growth for 2010 was 3.9% it was one of the highest GDP Growth for about 20 years. But Japan's economy was disrupted in March 2011 due to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_T%C5%8Dhoku_earthquake_and_tsunami" title="2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami">the earthquake and the effect of the tsunami</a>. The GDP Growth had contracted by 3.5% in Q1 of 2011 after a 2010 growth of 3.9%. As Japan's Economy had suffered two quarterly contractions in a row, Japan had entered reccesion after leaving in 2009, when in 2008-2009 Japans economy had contracted 6.4%. However, output will likely bounce back in the second half of 2011, as supply constraints ease and reconstruction accelerates. <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-8"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Japan#cite_note-8"><span>[</span>9<span>]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-9"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Japan#cite_note-9"><span>[</span>10<span>]</span></a></sup>From 1992 up until now Japan has had economic problems with a average GDP growth of 1%-2% growth. 2011 GDP Growth expected to be 0.8%, 2012 GDP Growth expected to be at 2.9%, according to OECD's projections.ounhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17955798294040398093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2302778667561086742.post-20703953516796214482011-06-23T00:03:00.001-07:002011-06-23T00:03:54.606-07:00Infrastructure<div class="thumb tleft"> <div class="thumbinner" style="width: 202px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:JRC_N700_series_Z28.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="136" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/JRC_N700_series_Z28.jpg/200px-JRC_N700_series_Z28.jpg" width="200" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"> <div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:JRC_N700_series_Z28.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.17/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15" /></a></div><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinkansen" title="Shinkansen">Shinkansen</a></div></div></div><div class="rellink relarticle mainarticle">Main articles: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_in_Japan" title="Energy in Japan">Energy in Japan</a> and <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transportation_in_Japan" title="Transportation in Japan">Transportation in Japan</a></div>As of 2005, one half of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_in_Japan" title="Energy in Japan">energy in Japan</a> is produced from petroleum, a fifth from coal, and 14% from natural gas.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-17"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Japan#cite_note-17"><span>[</span>18<span>]</span></a></sup> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_Japan" title="Nuclear power in Japan">Nuclear power in Japan</a> makes a quarter of electricity production and Japan would like to double it in the next decades.<br />
Japan's road spending has been large.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-18"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Japan#cite_note-18"><span>[</span>19<span>]</span></a></sup> The 1.2 million kilometers of paved road are the main means of transportation.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-19"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Japan#cite_note-19"><span>[</span>20<span>]</span></a></sup> Japan has <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-_and_left-hand_traffic" title="Right- and left-hand traffic">left-hand traffic</a>. A single network of speed, divided, limited-access toll roads connects major cities and are operated by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_toll" title="Road toll">toll-collecting enterprises</a>. New and used cars are inexpensive. Car ownership fees and fuel levies are used to promote energy-efficiency.<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_railway_companies_in_Japan" title="List of railway companies in Japan">Dozens of Japanese railway companies</a> compete in regional and local passenger transportation markets; for instance, 7 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Railways_Group" title="Japan Railways Group">JR</a> enterprises, <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kintetsu_Corporation" title="Kintetsu Corporation">Kintetsu Corporation</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seibu_Railway" title="Seibu Railway">Seibu Railway</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keio_Corporation" title="Keio Corporation">Keio Corporation</a>. Often, strategies of these enterprises contain <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_estate" title="Real estate">real estate</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Department_stores_in_Japan" title="Department stores in Japan">department stores next to stations</a>. Some 250 high-speed <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinkansen" title="Shinkansen">Shinkansen</a> trains connect major cities. All trains are known for punctuality.<br />
There are 176 airports and flying is a popular way to travel between cities. The largest domestic airport, <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_International_Airport" title="Tokyo International Airport">Tokyo International Airport</a>, is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World%27s_busiest_airports_by_passenger_traffic" title="World's busiest airports by passenger traffic">Asia's busiest airport</a>. The largest international gateways are <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narita_International_Airport" title="Narita International Airport">Narita International Airport</a> (Tokyo area), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansai_International_Airport" title="Kansai International Airport">Kansai International Airport</a> (Osaka/Kobe/Kyoto area), and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C5%ABbu_Centrair_International_Airport" title="Chūbu Centrair International Airport">Chūbu Centrair International Airport</a> (Nagoya area). The largest ports include <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagoya_Port" title="Nagoya Port">Nagoya Port</a>.<br />
Given its heavy dependence on imported energy, Japan has aimed to diversify its sources. Since the oil shocks of the 1970s, Japan has reduced dependence on petroleum as a source of energy from more than 75% in 1973 to about 57% at present. Other important energy sources are coal, liquefied natural gas, nuclear power, and hydropower. Demand for oil is also dampened by higher government taxes on automobile engines over 2000 cc, as well as on gasoline itself, currently 54 yen per liter sold retail. Kerosene is also used extensively for home heating in portable heaters, especially farther north. Many taxi companies run their fleets on liquefied gas with tanks in the car trunks. A recent success towards greater <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_economy_in_automobiles" title="Fuel economy in automobiles">fuel economy</a> was the introduction of mass-produced <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_vehicle" title="Hybrid vehicle">Hybrid vehicles</a>. Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was working on Japan's economic revival, signed a treaty with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Arabia" title="Saudi Arabia">Saudi Arabia</a> and <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UAE" title="UAE">UAE</a> about the rising prices of oil.ounhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17955798294040398093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2302778667561086742.post-57584648461381584882011-06-23T00:02:00.000-07:002011-06-23T00:02:48.233-07:00Macro-economic trendThis is a chart of trend of gross domestic product of Japan at market prices estimated by the International Monetary Fund with figures in millions of Japanese Yen. See also[<br />
<br />
<table class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><b>Year</b></td> <td><b>Gross Domestic Product</b></td> <td><b>US Dollar Exchange</b></td> <td><b>Inflation Index<br />
(2000=100)</b></td> <td><b>Nominal Per Capita GDP<br />
(as % of USA)</b></td> <td><b>PPP Capita GDP<br />
(as % of USA)</b></td> </tr>
<tr> <td>1955</td> <td>8,369,500</td> <td>¥360.00</td> <td><br />
</td> <td>10.31</td> <td>-</td> </tr>
<tr> <td>1960</td> <td>16,009,700</td> <td>¥360.00</td> <td><br />
</td> <td>16.22</td> <td>-</td> </tr>
<tr> <td>1965</td> <td>32,866,000</td> <td>¥360.00</td> <td><br />
</td> <td>24.95</td> <td>-</td> </tr>
<tr> <td>1970</td> <td>73,344,900</td> <td>¥360.00</td> <td><br />
</td> <td>38.56</td> <td>-</td> </tr>
<tr> <td>1975</td> <td>148,327,100</td> <td>¥297.26</td> <td><br />
</td> <td>59.00</td> <td>-</td> </tr>
<tr> <td>1980</td> <td>240,707,315</td> <td>¥225.82</td> <td>75</td> <td>74.04</td> <td>68.30</td> </tr>
<tr> <td>1985</td> <td>323,541,300</td> <td>¥236.79</td> <td>86</td> <td>63.44</td> <td>72.78</td> </tr>
<tr> <td>1990</td> <td>440,124,900</td> <td>¥144.15</td> <td>92</td> <td>105.82</td> <td>81.27</td> </tr>
<tr> <td>1995</td> <td>493,271,700</td> <td>¥122.78</td> <td>98</td> <td>151.55</td> <td>80.73</td> </tr>
<tr> <td>2000</td> <td>501,068,100</td> <td>¥107.73</td> <td>100</td> <td>105.85</td> <td>71.87</td> </tr>
<tr> <td>2005</td> <td>502,905,400</td> <td>¥110.01</td> <td>97</td> <td>85.04</td> <td>71.03</td> </tr>
<tr> <td>2010</td> <td>477,327,134</td> <td>¥88.54</td> <td>98</td> <td>89.8</td> <td>71.49</td> </tr>
</tbody></table>For purchasing power parity comparisons, the US Dollar is exchanged at ¥110.784 in 2010.ounhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17955798294040398093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2302778667561086742.post-34587254756321404392011-06-22T23:58:00.001-07:002011-06-22T23:58:46.108-07:00Economy<table border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" style="width: 605px;"><tbody>
<tr bgcolor="aa2211"><td><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>Economy</b></span></b></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="ffffff"><td align="right"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><b><span><br />
</span></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" style="width: 605px;"><tbody>
<tr><td bgcolor="ffffff"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"> The Japanese economy is one of the third largest in the world. Only the USA and China have a higher GNP. The Japanese currency is the Yen. <b>Exports</b>: Japan's main export goods are cars, electronic devices and computers. Most important trade partners are China and the USA, followed by South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and Germany. <br />
<b>Imports</b>: Japan has a surplus in its export/import balance. The most important import goods are raw materials such as oil, foodstuffs and wood. Major supplier is China, followed by the USA, Australia, Saudia Arabia, South Korea, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates. </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><b>Industries</b>: Manufacturing, construction, distribution, real estate, services, and communication are Japan's major industries today. Agriculture makes up only about two percent of the GNP. Most important agricultural product is rice. Resources of raw materials are very limited and the mining industry rather small. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>ounhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17955798294040398093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2302778667561086742.post-61057438635216405952011-06-22T23:54:00.001-07:002011-06-22T23:54:30.459-07:00Japan’s Consumer confidence up for third consecutive month in March<h1><br />
</h1><div class="date"> April 19, 2010 <br />
By Ken Worsley<br />
</div><br clear="all" /> According to data released today by the Cabinet Office, <a href="http://www.esri.cao.go.jp/en/stat/shouhi/1003shouhi-e.html" target="_blank">Japan’s Consumer Confidence Index rose by 1.1 point to 40.9 in March</a>, showing an increase for the third consecutive month<small><sup>1</sup></small>. The 40.9 score was the highest seen since October 2007, when the index stood at 42.8. The index also crossed the 40 point mark for the first time since October of last year, after this past winter’s dip below 40.<br />
The consumer confidence index itself contains five scores, each of which is considered positive when above 50, and pessimistic when below the 50 mark. Here’s a breakdown for March figures, with the change from the previous month: <span id="more-955"></span><br />
<ul><li>Consumer Confidence Index: 40.9 (+1.1)</li>
<li>Overall Livelihood: 41.2 (+0.5)</li>
<li>Income Growth: 39.5 (+0.7)</li>
<li>Employment: 35.9 (+1.7)</li>
<li>Willingness to buy durable goods: 46.8 (+1.4)</li>
</ul>As in January and February, the index showed an increase in all five categories, and the large gain in willingness to buy durable goods ensured that it retained the highest score of any category.<br />
The largest jump was seen in employment, as also happened in February. Although this is a bright spot in the CCI data, and the employment score is now 17.6 points higher than a year ago, it remains the lowest of the five categories.<br />
Rising confidence in employment seems to be buttressed in part by increased demand for exports to other Asian nations. Whether or not this demand can be sustained will remain an important factor in how consumer sentiment data plays out over the middle and later part of this year. <br />
<small><sup>1</sup> As far as we know, the Cabinet Office still allows links to their website.</small>ounhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17955798294040398093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2302778667561086742.post-6087983549459866692011-06-22T23:53:00.001-07:002011-06-22T23:53:10.549-07:00Gender equality still an issue in Japan?<div class="date"> June 22, 2011 <br />
By Ken Worsley<br />
</div><br clear="all" /> A government paper published on Tuesday said that women make up 11% of lower house members and 1% of corporate leaders. While figures from various media sources vary, it seems clear that Japan has a very low percentage of women in positions of power. Foreign critics, predictably, seem to have no solutions to propose, but only criticism of Japan to put forth. <br />
The Straits Times said this:<br />
‘Japan is behind the international standard in terms of female presence in the political sector,’ the paper said, suggesting that the country introduce quotas like Sweden, Germany and South Korea have done in the pastounhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17955798294040398093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2302778667561086742.post-71234106322546470222011-06-22T23:52:00.000-07:002011-06-22T23:52:02.257-07:00IMF: Japan’s national debt to hit 250% of GDP in 2015<div class="date"> May 14, 2010 <br />
By Ken Worsley<br />
</div><br clear="all" /> A report released today by the International Monetary Fund asserts that <a href="http://www.imf.org/external/index.htm" target="_blank">Japan’s government debt will reach 250% of GDP in 2015</a>. The IMF suggests that Japan increase its consumption tax by 5% as a step towards reducing its public debt. <span id="more-967"></span><br />
Of course, consumption tax hikes tend to spell political disaster in Japan, as Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita learned after introducing the consumption tax in 1989 and PM Ryutaro Hashimoto discovered after raising the tax to 5% in 1997. While both the former and current ruling parties have acknowledged that consumption taxes need to be increased, neither party has shown a willingness to say so in their election manifestos. <br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Until now. Today it was reported that a DPJ joint election panel agreed to include language <a href="http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20100514a3.html" target="_blank">promising to increase consumption taxes as part of the DPJ’s Upper House campaign</a>. However, it was also agreed that the tax should not be raised until after the next Lower House election, which would be as far away as 2013. And there was no discussion of just how much the tax should be increased.<br />
If that seems vague, the leading opposition party’s stance is not much better. The LDP has called for an increase in consumption taxes in its election manifesto, but does not say when or by how much.ounhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17955798294040398093noreply@blogger.com0