Japan

Official name: Nihon, or Nippon (Japan).Form of government: constitutional monarchywith a national Diet consisting of two legislativehouses (House of Councillors [242]; House ofRepresentatives [475]).

Symbol of state: Emperor Akihito.Head of government: Prime Minister Abe Shinzo.Capital: Tokyo.Official language: none1.Official religion: none.Monetary unit: yen (¥); valuation (Sept. 1, 2016)1 U.S.$ = ¥103.21; 1 £ = ¥137.26.

DemographyPopulation (2016): 126,915,000.Density (2016): persons per sq mi 869.9,persons per sq km 335.9.

Sex distribution (20152): male 48.63%;female 51.37%.

Population projection: (2020)125,624,000; (2030) 120,689,000.

Immigration/Emigration (20143): perma-nent immigrants/registered aliens inJapan 2,121,831. Japanese nationals

living abroad (20134) 1,258,263, in the U.S. 32.8%, in China 10.7%, in Australia6.5%, in the U.K. 5.3%, in Canada 5.0%, in Thailand 4.7%, in Brazil 4.5%, other 30.5%. Permanent expatri-ates (including those with dual nationality; 20134) 418,747, of which living in the U.S. 39.4%, in Brazil12.6%, in Australia 11.0%, in Canada 9.0%.

Major cities (20154): Tokyo 9,272,565; Yokohama 3,726,167; −saka 2,691,742; Nagoya 2,296,014; Sapporo1,953,784; Fukuoka 1,538,510; Kobe 1,537,860; Kawasaki 1,475,300; Kyoto 1,474,750; Saitama 1,264,253;Hiroshima 1,194,507; Sendai 1,082,185.

Major metropolitan areas (2011): Tokyo 37,217,000; −saka-Kobe 11,494,000; Nagoya 3,328,000; Fukuoka–Kita-Kyushu 2,868,000; Sapporo 2,742,000; Sendai 2,428,000; Hiroshima 2,119,000; Kyoto 1,804,000.

Households (2010). Total households 51,842,000; average household size (2012) 2.6; composition of house-holds: 1 person 32.4%, 2 persons 27.2%, 3 persons 18.2%, 4 persons 14.4%, 5 persons 5.0%, 6 or more per-sons 2.8%. Family households (2009) 32,823,000 (68.4%); nonfamily 15,189,000 (31.6%).

Mobility (2013). Percentage of total population moving: within a prefecture 2.1%; between prefectures 1.8%.

Urban-rural (2014):In April 2016, two major earthquakes hit Japan’s island

of KyÜshÜ, killing at least 44 people and displacingsome 100,000. Japan hosted the G7 summit in May;

U.S. Pres. Barack Obama attended and paid a historic visitto Hiroshima, site of the U.S. atomic-bomb attack in 1945.Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s Liberal Democratic Partygarnered a landslide victory in the July legislative elec-tions. Rare and shocking for Japan, a mass murder tookplace that same month: 19 people were killed in a knifeattack by a lone man at a care centre for the disabled. InAugust, having reigned since 1989, 82-year-old EmperorAkihito hinted at his future abdication.

Area and populationarea population area population

Regions 20155 Regions 20155

Prefectures Capitals sq mi sq km census Prefectures Capitals sq mi sq km census

Chubu 25,786 66,786 21,466,155Aichi Nagoya 1,991 5,156 7,484,094Fukui Fukui 1,617 4,189 787,099Gifu Gifu 4,092 10,598 2,032,533Ishikawa Kanazawa 1,616 4,185 1,154,343Nagano Nagano 5,245 13,585 2,099,759Niigata Niigata 4,858 12,582 2,305,098Shizuoka Shizuoka 3,003 7,779 3,701,181Toyama Toyama 1,640 4,247 1,066,883Yamanashi Kofu 1,724 4,465 835,165

Chugoku 12,322 31,913 7,439,987Hiroshima Hiroshima 3,273 8,477 2,844,963Okayama Okayama 2,746 7,112 1,922,181Shimane Matsue 2,590 6,707 694,188Tottori Tottori 1,354 3,507 573,648Yamaguchi Yamaguchi 2,359 6,110 1,405,007

Hokkaido 32,221 83,453 5,383,579Hokkaido Sapporo 32,221 83,453 5,383,579

Kanto 12,522 32,432 42,992,359Chiba Chiba 1,991 5,156 6,224,027Gumma Maebashi 2,457 6,363 1,973,476Ibaraki Mito 2,354 6,096 2,917,857Kanagawa Yokohama 932 2,415 9,127,323Saitama Saitama 1,466 3,797 7,261,271Tochigi Utsunomiya 2,474 6,408 1,974,671Tokyo-to Tokyo 848 2,197 13,513,734

Kinki 12,783 33,108 22,543,906Hyogo Kobe 3,240 8,392 5,536,989

Kyoto-fu Kyoto 1,781 4,613 2,610,140Mie Tsu 2,230 5,776 1,815,827Nara Nara 1,425 3,691 1,365,008Osaka-fu Osaka 731 1,893 8,838,908Shiga Otsu 1,551 4,017 1,413,184Wakayama Wakayama 1,825 4,726 963,850

Kyushu 17,157 44,436 14,454,861Fukuoka Fukuoka 1,919 4,971 5,102,871Kagoshima Kagoshima 3,547 9,187 1,648,752Kumamoto Kumamoto 2,859 7,404 1,786,969Miyazaki Miyazaki 2,986 7,734 1,104,377Nagasaki Nagasaki 1,580 4,092 1,377,780Oita Oita 2,447 6,338 1,166,729Okinawa Naha 877 2,271 1,434,138Saga Saga 942 2,439 833,245

Shikoku 7,259 18,802 3,847,120Ehime Matsuyama 2,192 5,676 1,385,840Kagawa Takamatsu 724 1,876 976,756Kochi Kochi 2,743 7,105 728,461Tokushima Tokushima 1,600 4,145 756,063

Tohoku 25,825 66,886 8,982,080Akita Akita 4,483 11,612 1,022,839Aomori Aomori 3,709 9,606 1,308,649Fukushima Fukushima 5,321 13,782 1,913,606Iwate Morioka 5,899 15,278 1,279,814Miyagi Sendai 2,813 7,285 2,334,215Yamagata Yamagata 3,600 9,323 1,122,957

TOTAL 145,8986 377,8736 127,110,047

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Age breakdown (20152):

Religious affiliation (2012):

Social indicatorsQuality of working life. Average hours worked per month (2014): 149.0. Annual rate of deaths/nonfatal injuries per

100,000 workers (2008): 1.9/177.5. Proportion of labour force insured for damages or income loss resulting from injury,permanent disability, and death (2005): 53.1%. Average man-days lost to labour stoppages per 1,000 workdays (2012): 3.1.Average duration of journey to work (2008): 27.8 minutes.

Access to services (2004). Proportion of households having access to: safe public water supply 96.9%; public sewage systemc. 68%.

Social participation. Eligible voters participating in last national election (July 2013): 53%. Adult population working asvolunteers at least once in the year (2006) 26.2%. Trade union membership in total workforce (2012): 15.0%.

Social deviance (2012). Offense rate per 100,000 population for: homicide 0.8; robbery 2.9; larceny and theft 815.9.Incidence in general population of: alcoholism per 100,000 population, n.a.; drug and substance abuse (2005) 0.1. Rate ofsuicide per 100,000 population: 21.0.

Favourite sports according to the rates of participation (2012): males—jogging/marathon 31.9%, gymnastics 18.2%, bowling17.3%, cycling 14.3%, fishing 12.8%, golf 12.8%, baseball 12.5%, swimming in pool 11.1%; females—gymnastics 26.3%,jogging/marathon 16.4%, swimming in pool 12.1%, bowling 11.1%, table tennis 8.2%, badminton 7.5%, cycling 7.1%.

Favourite amusements according to the rates of participation (2012): males—lotteries 37.8%, karaoke 35.2%, home videogames 34.5%; females—karaoke 36.6%, card games 32.2%, lotteries 31.6%.

Favourite hobbies according to the rates of participation (2012): average for both sexes—personal computer–related activi-ties c. 68%, listening to music c. 39%, gardening c. 30%.

Favourite excursions according to the rates of participation (2012): average for both sexes—taking part in domestic sight-seeing tours c. 56%, going for a drive c. 51%, visiting zoos, museums, aquariums, or botanical gardens c. 36%, visitingamusement parks c. 22%, picnicking/hiking c. 21%.

Material well-being. Households possessing: automobile (2003–04) 81.6%; air conditioner (2002) 87.2%; personal computer(2007) 85.0%.

Permanent immigrants/registered aliens (20143):

Vital statisticsBirth rate per 1,000 population (2014):7.9 (world avg. 19.5).

Death rate per 1,000 population(2014): 10.0 (world avg. 8.1).

Natural increase rate per 1,000 popula-tion (2014): –2.1 (world avg. 11.4).

Life expectancy at birth (2013): male80.2 years; female 86.6 years.

Other principal cities (20154)population population population

Akita 315,374Amagasaki 452,571Asahikawa 339,797Chiba 972,639Fujisawa 424,103Fukuyama 465,004Funabashi 622,823Gifu 406,866Hachioji 576,526Hamamatsu 798,252Higashi-Osaka 502,605Himeji 535,807Hirakata 403,893Ichikawa 481,492Ichinomiya 379,954Iwaki 349,344Kagoshima 600,008Kanazawa 465,810Kashiwa 414,054Kasugai 306,599Kawagoe 350,327

Kawaguchi 578,245Kita-Kyushu 961,815Kochi 337,360Koriyama 335,608Koshigaya 337,562Kumamoto 741,115Kurashiki 477,435Kurume 304,499Machida 432,516Maebashi 336,199Matsudo 483,238Matsuyama 515,092Miyazaki 401,156Morioka 297,669Nagano 377,803Nagasaki 429,644Naha 319,449Nara 360,439Niigata 810,514Nishinomiya 488,147Oita 478,335

Okayama 719,584Okazaki 381,031Otsu 340,972Sagamihara 720,914Sakai 839,891Shizuoka 705,238Suita 374,526Takamatsu 420,923Takasaki 370,751Takatsuki 351,831Tokorozawa 335,875Toyama 418,900Toyohashi 374,883Toyonaka 394,495Toyota 422,780Utsunomiya 518,761Wakayama 364,285Yokkaichi 311,089Yokosuka 406,686

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National economyBudget (2013–14)8. Revenue: ¥95,882,000,000,000 (tax andstamp revenues 52.1%, government bonds 43.0%).Expenditures: ¥95,882,000,000,000 (social security 31.8%,debt service 24.3%, transfers to local governments 16.8%,public works 6.2%, national defense 5.1%).

Gross national income (GNI; 2015): U.S.$4,656,384,000,000(U.S.$36,680 per capita); purchasing power parity GNI (U.S.$38,870 per capita).

Public debt (February 2012): U.S.$12,511,900,000,000.Population economically active (2015): total 61,990,000; participation rates: age 15 and over, male 70.0%; female 50.0%; unem-

ployed 3.0%, of which youth (ages 15–24; 2014) 6.2%.Production (metric tons except as noted). Agriculture, forestry, fishing (2013): rice (2014) 10,549,000, sugar beets (2014)3,567,000, potatoes (2014) 2,452,000, cabbages and other brassicas 2,356,862, sugarcane (2014) 1,159,000, dry onions 1,070,000,tangerines and mandarin oranges 895,900, sweet potatoes (2014) 886,500, wheat (2014) 852,400, tomatoes 748,300, apples741,700, carrots and turnips 600,500, cucumbers 574,900, lettuce and chicory 565,401, green onions and shallots 545,600, eggplant321,200, pears 294,400, spinach 258,427, soybeans (2014) 231,700, persimmons 214,700, grapes 189,700, taro (2014) 166,000, yams

(2014) 164,900, strawberries 160,237, chilies and peppers145,100, peaches and nectarines 124,700, apricots 123,700,tea 84,800, mushrooms and truffles 61,500, ginger 57,835,string beans 39,857, kiwi fruit 29,225, asparagus 28,409,chestnuts 21,000, garlic 20,600, cherries 18,100; cut flowers(number of flowers) 4,066,000; livestock (number of liveanimals; 2014) 9,537,000 pigs, 3,962,000 cattle, 310,553,000chickens, 190,0009 beehives; roundwood (2014) 15,313,000cu m, of which fuelwood 0.5%; fisheries production10

(2014) 4,789,000, of which mackerel 502,000, bonito258,000, squid 206,000, pollack 198,000, tuna 187,000 (fromaquaculture [including aquatic plants] 21% [of which laver267,000, oysters 184,000, yellowtail 136,000, wakame (sea-

weed) 44,000, pearls 20,000]); whales caught (2013) 73. Mining and quarrying (2014): iodine 9,814 (world rank: 2); gypsum4,674,000 (world rank: 7); silica (industrial sand and gravel) 2,932,000 (world rank: 11); limestone 148,008,000; dolomite3,446,000; gold 7,115 kg; silver 3,541 kg; platinum 1,724 kg.

Energy production (consumption): electricity (kW-hr; 2013) 1,090,723,000,000 (992,627,000,000); coal (metric tons; 2012) 700,000([2011] 174,000,000); crude petroleum (barrels; 2013–14) 4,120,000 ([2012] 1,460,000,000); petroleum products (metric tons; 2012)173,507,000 ([2011] 147,533,000); natural gas (cu m; 2013–14) 2,866,000,000 ([2011] 112,600,000,000). Composition of energy sup-ply by source (2012): fossil fuels 85.8%; nuclear power 1.8%; renewable energy 12.4%.

Land use as % of total land area (2011): in temporary crops or leftfallow 11.7%, in permanent crops 0.8%, in pasture (2007) 1.7%, for-est area 68.6%.

Structure of gross domestic product and labour force2013 20134

in value % of total labour % of labour¥’000,000,000 value force force

Agriculture, forestry, fishing 5,730.1 1.2 2,370,000 3.6Mining and quarrying 306.2 0.1 … …Manufacturing 85,637.3 18.1 10,410,000 15.7Construction 26,653.1 5.6 5,100,000 7.7Public utilities 8,083.8 1.7 … …Transportation andcommunications 49,970.7 10.5 5,400,000 8.1

Trade, hotels 68,122.2 14.4 14,810,000 22.3Finance, real estate 78,430.5 16.6 2,620,000 4.0Pub. admin., defense 43,497.2 9.2 2,130,000 3.2Services 104,922.9 22.1 19,390,000 29.3Other 2,423.011 0.511 4,060,00012 6.112

TOTAL 473,777.213 100.0 66,290,000 100.0

Financial aggregates2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Exchange rate3, ¥ per:U.S. dollar 118.95 114.00 90.75 92.06 81.45 77.72 86.55£ 233.50 228.39 132.30 149.09 127.51 120.16 136.58SDR 178.95 180.15 139.78 144.32 125.44 119.32 133.02

Gold (’000,000 fine troy oz) 24.60 24.60 24.60 24.60 24.60 24.60 24.60% world reserves 2.5 2.6 2.6 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.4

Interest and pricesCentral bank discount (%)3 0.40 0.75 0.30 0.30 0.30 0.30 0.30Govt. bond yield (%) 1.73 1.65 1.45 1.34 1.15 1.12 0.84Share prices (2005 = 100) 128.2 131.1 93.5 68.4 69.8 64.8 60.6

Manufacturing enterprises (2005)annual

avg. no. wages as aof persons % of avg. of value addedengaged all mfg. wages (U.S.$’000,000)

Food products 1,067,940 60.5 80,059Paints, soaps, and pharmaceuticals 203,164 148.4 65,407

Motor vehicle parts 533,865 142.9 61,424Special purpose machinery 481,666 101.0 58,629Motor vehicles 157,138 220.1 56,461Iron and steel 136,210 167.6 47,941General purpose machinery 376,192 117.2 45,210Plastics 393,660 79.3 39,458Fabricated metal products(not structural) 433,195 77.8 39,340

Electronic valves and tubes 247,858 148.4 37,958Television and radio receivers,sound or video equipment 268,461 128.0 36,464

Base chemicals 105,820 174.1 33,896Printing 328,159 76.0 29,260Publishing … … …Structural metal products 259,709 66.5 24,878Bricks, cement, and ceramics 220,148 63.8 24,306Paper and paper products 197,817 90.7 23,363Medical appliances and instruments 155,601 117.2 19,779

Beverages 64,097 97.0 18,609Office machines and computers 118,012 142.7 15,170Domestic appliances 83,741 115.5 12,493Rubber products 108,272 108.8 11,985Electricity distribution and control apparatus 114,290 107.8 10,216

Education and healthLiteracy: percentage of total population age 15 and overliterate, virtually 100%.

Health (2012): physicians 303,268 (1 per 421 persons); den-tists 102,551 (1 per 1,244 persons); nurses and assistantnurses 1,373,521 (1 per 93 persons); pharmacists 280,052(1 per 455 persons); midwives 31,835 (1 per 4,007 per-sons); hospital beds 1,703,853 (1 per 75 persons); infantmortality rate per 1,000 live births 2.2; undernourishedpopulation (2006–08) less than 5% of total population.

MilitaryTotal active duty personnel (November 2015): 247,150 (army61.1%, navy 18.4%, air force 19.1%, central staff 1.4%).U.S. troops 50,00014. Military expenditure as percentage ofGDP (2015): 1.0%; per capita expenditure U.S.$323.

Breakdown of 12.4% renewable energy by source (2012)

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Foreign trade15

Imports (2014): ¥85,909,000,000,000 (mineral fuels32.2%, of which crude petroleum 16.1%, LNG9.1%; machinery and apparatus 21.3%, of whichnonelectrical machinery and apparatus 7.9%,microcircuits, transistors, and photosensitivedevices 3.3%; manufactured goods 8.1%; chemi-cals and chemical products 8.0%; food and foodproducts 7.8%; wearing apparel and accessories3.8%; transportation equipment 3.6%). Major import sources:

Exports (2014): ¥73,093,000,000,000 (machinery andapparatus 36.8%, of which microcircuits, transistors,and photosensitive devices 5.0%, power-generatingmachinery 3.5%; transportation equipment 23.1%, ofwhich road vehicles 14.9%, parts for road vehicles4.8%; chemicals and chemical products 10.7%; ironand steel products 5.4%; professional, scientific, andcontrolling instruments 3.3%). Major export destinations:

Transport and communicationsTransport. Railroads (2013): route length (2009) 16,426 mi, 26,435km; passengers carried 23,606,000,000; passenger-km 414,387,000,-000; metric ton-km cargo 21,071,000,000. Roads (2012): total length(2013) 756,208 mi, 1,217,000 km (paved 81%); passenger-km75,200,000,00016; metric ton-km cargo 210,000,000,000. Vehicles(2011–12): passenger cars 59,357,223; trucks/buses 15,077,713.

Urban transport (2000)17: passengers carried 57,719,000, of which byrail 34,020,000, by road 19,466,000, by subway 4,233,000.

Radio and television broadcasting (2007): total radio stations 1,703,of which commercial 807; total television stations 15,386, of whichcommercial 8,115. Commercial broadcasting hours (by percentageof programs; 2010): reports—radio 11.7%, television 19.8%; educa-tion—radio 2.5%, television 11.7%; culture—radio 13.8%, televi-sion 24.8%; entertainment—radio 69.2%, television 38.2%.

1Japanese is the national language. 2April. 3End of year. 4October 1. 5Preliminary.6Region areas do not sum to total given because of particular excluded inland waterareas; total area in 2013 per Statistical Handbook of Japan 2015 equals 145,932 sqmi (377,962 sq km). 7Many Japanese practice both Shintoism and Buddhism.8Budgeted funds for General Account. 92013. 10Excludes production in Iwate,Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures. Total aquatic plants production (metric tons;2014) 454,900 (from aquaculture 80%). 11Statistical discrepancy and import dutiesless imputed bank service charges and less consumption taxes for gross capital for-mation. 12Includes 1,430,000 not adequately defined and 2,630,000 unemployed.13Detail does not add to total given because of rounding. 14As of June 2015 therewere no Japanese troops deployed in Afghanistan. 15Imports c.i.f.; exports f.o.b.16Passenger cars 7,200,000,000; trucks and buses 68,000,000,000. 17Tokyo, Nagoya,and −saka metropolis traffic range only. 18Subscribers.

Internet resources for further information:• Statistics Bureau www.stat.go.jp/english/• Bank of Japan www.boj.or.jp/en

Trade by commodity group (2012)

imports exports

SITC group ¥’000,000,000 % ¥’000,000,000 %

00 Food andlive animals 5,852 8.3 355 0.6

01 Beverages and tobacco … … … …02 Crude materials,

excluding fuels 4,768 6.7 1,060 1.703 Mineral fuels, lubricants,

and related materials 24,088 34.1 1,026 1.604 Animal and vegetable

oils, fats, and waxes … … … …05 Chemicals and

related products, n.e.s. 5,926 8.4 6,365 10.006 Basic manufactures 5,508 7.8 8,442 13.207 Machinery and transport

equipment 15,754 22.3 39,243 61.508 Miscellaneous manufactured

articles … … … …09 Goods not classified

by kind/remainder 8,793 12.4 7,258 11.4TOTAL 70,689 100.0 63,74813 100.0

Direction of trade (2014) imports exports

¥’000,000,000 % ¥’000,000,000 %

Africa 1,783 2.1 1,106 1.5Asia 54,529 63.5 42,669 58.4Eastern Asia … … … …Southeastern Asia … … … …Western Asia … … … …

Oceania 5,706 6.6 1,958 2.7Europe (excl. Russia) 9,334 10.9 8,329 11.4Russia 2,619 3.0 972 1.3North America 9,466 11.0 16,892 23.1South America 2,471 2.9 1,166 1.6TOTAL 85,90913 100.0 73,09313 100.0

Distribution of traffic (2013)cargo % of passengers % of

carried national carried national(’000,000 tons) total (’000,000) total

Road 4,346 91.1 6,153 20.6Rail (intercity) 44 0.9 23,606 79.1Inland water 378 7.9 … …Air 1 0.0 92 0.3TOTAL 4,769 100.013 29,851 100.0

Other communications mediatitles titles

Print (2012–13) Cinema (2012–13)Books (new) 82,589 Feature films 1,117

of which Domestic 591Social sciences 16,457 Foreign 526Fiction 13,635Arts 13,223 trafficEngineering 9,067 (’000)Natural sciences 7,140 Post (2011–12)History 4,741 Postal offices 24,514Philosophy 4,289 Mail 18,398,300

Magazines/journals 3,800 Domestic 18,351,700Weekly 101 International 46,600Monthly 2,115 Parcels 3,484,800

Domestic 3,483,500International 1,300

Communications units unitsnumber per 1,000 number per 1,000

Medium date in ’000s persons Medium date in ’000s persons

TelephonesCellular 2015 158,59118 1,25118

Landline 2015 63,633 502

Internet users 2009 99,144 780Broadband 2015 38,66318 30518

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