NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Economy of Japan

Japan's industrialized, free-market economy is the world's third-largest, adjusted to purchasing power parity (PPP), after the United States, and People's Republic of China. It is the second-largest by market exchange rates. Its economy is highly efficient and competitive in areas linked to international trade although productivity is lower in areas such as agriculture, distribution, and services. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... This article is about the country in East Asia. ... A free market is a market where the prices of goods and services is arranged completely by the mutual non-coerced consent of sellers and buyers, determined generally by the supply and demand law with no government interference in the regulation of costs, supply and demand. ... There are three lists of countries of the world sorted by their gross domestic product (GDP) (the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year). ... PPP The purchasing power parity (PPP) theory was developed by Gustav Cassel in 1920. ... Countries by nominal GDP. Source: IMF (2005) This article includes a list of countries of the world sorted by their gross domestic product (GDP), the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year. ... Look up Market in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, and a comparatively small defense allocation have helped Japan advance with extraordinary speed to become one of the largest economies in the world. Its reservoir of industrial leadership and technicians, well-educated and industrious work force, high savings and investment rates, and intensive promotion of industrial development and foreign trade have produced a mature industrial economy. Japan has few natural resources, and trade helps it earn the foreign exchange needed to purchase raw materials for its economy. Work ethic is a set of values based on the moral virtues of hard work and diligence. ... High tech refers to high technology, technology that is at the cutting-edge and the most advanced currently available. ... Portions of this article or section may be outdated. ...

Distinguishing characteristics of the Japanese economy include the cooperation of manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, and banks in closely-knit groups called keiretsu; the powerful enterprise unions and shuntō; cozy relations with government bureaucrats, and the guarantee of lifetime employment (shushin koyo) in big corporations and highly unionized blue-collar factories. Recently, Japanese companies have begun to gradually move away from some of these norms in an attempt to increase their global competitiveness and profitability (the latter due mostly to their increased reliance on equity rather than debt financing). A keiretsu lit. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Lifetime employment or Permanent employment (jap. ... A union (labor union in American English; trade union, sometimes trades union, in British English; either labour union or trade union in Canadian English) is a legal entity consisting of employees or workers having a common interest, such as all the assembly workers for one employer, or all the workers... A blue-collar worker is a working class employee who performs manual or technical labor, such as in a factory or in technical maintenance trades, in contrast to a white-collar worker, who does non-manual work generally at a desk. ...

For three decades, Japan's 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.^[1] Japanese Post-War Economic Miracle is the name given to the historical phenomenon of Japans record period of economic growth following World War II, spurred both by US investment and Japanese government economic interventionism in particular through their Ministry of International Trade and Industry. ...

Growth slowed markedly in the 1990s largely due to the after-effects of over-investment during the late 1980s and 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 to 2001 by the slowing of the global economy.^[2] However, GDP per worker has increased steadily even through the nineties, given that from 1993 to 2007, 10% of the population distribution moved from the "working age" to "elderly age".

Sliding stock and real estate prices marked the end of the "bubble economy" of the late 1980s, and ushered in a decade of stagnant economic growth. Real GDP in Japan grew at an average of roughly 1.5% yearly between 1991-1999, compared to growth in the 1980s of about 4% per year. Growth in Japan throughout the 1990s was slower than growth in other major industrial nations, and the same as France and Germany. Japan endured periods of recession around the turn of the millennium, exacerbated by recession in the United States, but from 2003 began to grow strongly again at 2.0% and this rate has held steady through 2004. The economy saw signs of strong recovery in 2005. GDP growth for the year was 2.8%, with an annualized fourth quarter expansion of 5.5%, surpassing the growth rate of the US and European Union during the same period.^[3] Unlike previous recovery trends, domestic consumption has been the dominant factor in leading the growth. As predicted, the economical recovery continued in 2006 and 2007. Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was working on Japan's economic revival, signed a treaty with Saudi Arabia and UAE about the rising prices of oil. Inflation-adjusted house prices in Japan (1980â€“2005) compared to house price appreciation the United States, Britain, and Australia (1995â€“2005). ... UAE redirects here; for other uses of that term, see UAE (disambiguation) The United Arab Emirates is an oil-rich country situated in the south-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia, comprising seven emirates: Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al-Quwain. ... Synthetic motor oil An oil is any substance that is in a viscous liquid state (oily) at ambient temperatures or slightly warmer, and is both hydrophobic (immiscible with water, literally water fearing) and lipophilic (miscible with other oils, literally fat loving). This general definition includes compound classes with otherwise unrelated...

Natural resources

A mountainous, island country, Japan has inadequate natural resources 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 the terrain, underdeveloped road network, and high percentage of young trees, domestic sources were only able to supply 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. Mount Cook, a mountain in New Zealand A mountain is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain in a limited area. ... Island countries in the world An island country is a country that is wholly confined to an island or island group, and has no territory on the mainland of a continent. ... This article is about a community of trees. ...

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 fuel economy was the introduction of mass-produced Hybrid vehicles. Fuel efficiency, sometimes also referred to as fuel economy and commonly gas mileage in the United States, is a numeric measure often used to describe the amount of fuel consumed with regard to the distance travelled in a transportation vehicle, such as an automobile. ... For other types of Hybrid Transportation, see Hybrid (disambiguation)#Transportation. ...

Deposits of gold, magnesium, and silver meet current industrial demands, but Japan is dependent on foreign sources for many of the minerals essential to modern industry. Iron ore, coke, copper, and bauxite must be imported, as must many forest products. This heap of iron ore pellets will be used in steel production. ... Coke Coke is a solid carbonaceous material derived from destructive distillation of low-ash, low-sulfur bituminous coal. ... For other uses, see Copper (disambiguation). ... Bauxite with penny Bauxite with core of unweathered rock Bauxite is an aluminium ore. ...

Macro-economic trend

This 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 [1] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

For purchasing power parity comparisons, the US Dollar is exchanged at ￥125.16.

Agriculture and fishery

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing form the Primary sector of industry of the Japanese economy, together with the Japanese mining industry, but together they account for only 1. ...

Agriculture

Only 12% of Japan's land is suitable for cultivation. Due to this lack of arable land, a system of terraces is used to farm in small areas. This results in one of the world's highest levels of crop yields per unit area, with an overall agricultural self-sufficiency rate of about 50% on fewer than 56,000 km² (14 million acres) cultivated. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 888 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Wakayanagi, Miyagi Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create or digitize it. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 888 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Wakayanagi, Miyagi Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create or digitize it. ...

Japan's small agricultural sector, however, is also highly subsidized and protected, with government regulations that favor small-scale cultivation instead of large-scale agriculture as practiced in North America.

Imported rice, the most protected crop, is subject to tariffs of 490% and was restricted to a quota of only 7.2% of average rice consumption from 1968 to 1988. Imports beyond the quota are unrestricted in legal terms, but subject to a 341 yen per kilogram tariff. This tariff is now estimated at 490%, but the rate will soar to a massive 778% under new calculation rules to be introduced as part of the Doha Round.^[4] For other uses, see Rice (disambiguation). ... The Doha Development Round of World Trade Organization negotiations aims to lower trade barriers around the world, permitting free trade between countries of varying prosperity. ...

Although Japan is usually self-sufficient in rice (except for its use in making rice crackers and processed foods) and wheat, the country must import about 50% ^[5] of its requirements of other grain and fodder crops and relies on imports for most of its supply of meat. Japan imports large quantities of wheat, sorghum, and soybeans, primarily from the United States. Japan is the largest market for EU agricultural exports. Apples are also grown, where mostly in Tohoku and Hokkaidō; Pears and Oranges are also in Shikoku and in Kyushu. Pears and Oranges were first introduced by Dutch traders, in Nagasaki in the late 18th century. This article is about cereals in general. ... This article is about the food. ... Species T. aestivum T. boeoticum T. dicoccoides T. dicoccon T. durum T. monococcum T. spelta T. sphaerococcum T. timopheevii References: ITIS 42236 2002-09-22 Wheat Wheat For the indie rock group, see Wheat (band). ... Species About 30 species, see text Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, some of which are raised for grain and many of which are utilised as fodder plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. ... Binomial name (L.) Merr. ... This article is about a region of Japan. ... literally North Sea Circuit, Ainu: Mosir), formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japans second largest island and the largest of its 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. ... Nagasaki ) ( ) is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan. ...

Fishery

Japan ranked second in the world behind the People's Republic of China in tonnage of fish caught—11.9 million tons in 1989, up slightly from 11.1 million tons in 1980. After the 1973 energy crisis, deep-sea fishing in Japan declined, with the annual catch in the 1980s averaging 2 million tons. Offshore fisheries accounted for an average of 50 % of the nation's total fish catches in the late 1980s although they experienced repeated ups and downs during that period

Coastal fishing by small boats, set nets, or breeding techniques accounts for about one third of the industry's total production, while offshore fishing by medium-sized boats makes up for more than half the total production. Deep-sea fishing from larger vessels makes up the rest. Among the many fish species caught are sardines, skipjack tuna, crab, shrimp, salmon, pollock, squid, clams, mackerel, sea bream, saury, tuna and Japanese amberjack. Sardines in the Pacific An open Sardines can Sardines on a plate grilled Sardines For the hide and seek-like game, see Hide and seek. ... Binomial name (Linnaeus, 1758) The skipjack tuna, Katsuwonus pelamis, is a medium-sized perciform fish in the tuna family, Scombridae. ... Superfamilies Dromiacea Homolodromioidea Dromioidea Homoloidea Eubrachyura Raninoidea Cyclodorippoidea Dorippoidea Calappoidea Leucosioidea Majoidea Hymenosomatoidea Parthenopoidea Retroplumoidea Cancroidea Portunoidea Bythograeoidea Xanthoidea Bellioidea Potamoidea Pseudothelphusoidea Gecarcinucoidea Cryptochiroidea Pinnotheroidea * Ocypodoidea * Grapsoidea * An asterisk (*) marks the crabs included in the clade Thoracotremata. ... Superfamilies Alpheoidea Atyoidea Bresilioidea Campylonotoidea Crangonoidea Galatheacaridoidea Nematocarcinoidea Oplophoroidea Palaemonoidea Pandaloidea Pasiphaeoidea Procaridoidea Processoidea Psalidopodoidea Stylodactyloidea True shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. ... For other uses, see Salmon (disambiguation). ... Species Pollachius pollachius Pollachius virens Pollock (or pollack, pronounced the same and listed first in most UK and US dictionaries) is the common name used for either of the two species of marine fish in the Pollachius genus. ... For other uses, see Squid (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Clam (disambiguation). ... Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of fish, mostly, but not exclusively, from the family Scombridae. ... The Japanese black porgy or sea bream, Mylio macrocephalus or Acanthopagrus schlegelii is a fish often farmed for food in Japan. ... Genera The Sauries are the fish classified in the family Scomberesocidae (Greek, skombros = tunny/mackerel, esox = nursery of salmon). ... For other uses, see Tuna (disambiguation). ... Binomial name Seriola quinqueradiata Temminck & Schlegel, 1845 The Japanese amberjack or yellowtail, Seriola quinqueradiata, is a fish in the family Carangidae. ...

Japan maintains one of the world's largest fishing fleets and accounts for nearly 15% of the global catch ^[6], prompting some claims that Japan's fishing is leading to depletion in fish stocks such as tuna.^[7] Japan has also sparked controversy by supporting quasi-commercial whaling.^[8] Fishing is the activity of hunting for fish by hooking, trapping, or gathering. ... For other uses, see Fish (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Tuna (disambiguation). ... Japan has a long history of whaling. ...

Industry

The nation's industrial activities (including mining, manufacturing, and power, gas, and water utilities) contributed 46.6% of total domestic industrial production in 1989, up slightly from 45.8 percent in 1975. This steady performance of the industrial sector in the 1970s and 1980s was a result of the growth of high-technology industries. During this period, some of the older heavy industries, such as steel and shipbuilding, either declined or simply held stable. Together with the construction industry, those older heavy industries employed 34.9% of the work force in 1989 (relatively unchanged from 34.8 percent in 1980). The service industry sector grew the fastest in the 1980s in terms of GNP, while the greatest losses occurred in agriculture, forestry, mining, and transportation. Most industry catered to the domestic market, but exports were important for several key commodities. In general, industries relatively geared toward exports over imports in 1988 were transportation equipment (with a 24.8 percent ratio of exports over imports), motor vehicles (54 percent), electrical machinery (23.4 percent), general machinery (21.2 percent), and metal products (8.2 percent). Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Among Japans manufacturing industries, the major export industries include automobiles, consumer electronics (see Japanese consumer electronics industry), computers, semiconductors, and iron and steel. ... Among Japans manufacturing industries, the major export industries include automobiles, consumer electronics (see Japanese consumer electronics industry), computers, semiconductors, and iron and steel. ... Mining was a rapidly declining industry in Japan in the 1980s. ... Heavy industry does not have a single fixed meaning compared to light industry. ... In Japan, as in every other country, the mainstay of infrastructure development is the construction industry, which employed 9. ...

Industry is concentrated in several regions, in the following order of importance: the Kantō region surrounding Tokyo, especially the prefectures of Chiba, Kanagawa, Saitama and Tokyo (the Keihin industrial region); the Tōkai region , including Aichi, Gifu, Mie, and Shizuoka prefectures (the Chukyo-Tokai industrial region); Kinki (Kansai), including Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, ( the Hanshin industrial region); the southwestern part of Honshū and northern Shikoku around the Inland Sea (the Setouchi industrial region); and the northern part of Kyūshū (Kitakyushu). In addition, a long narrow belt of industrial centers is found between Tokyo and Fukuoka, established by particular industries, that have developed as mill towns. KantÅ region, Japan. ... For other uses, see Tokyo (disambiguation). ... Chiba Prefecture ) is located in the Greater Tokyo Area of Honshu Island, Japan. ... Kanagawa Prefecture ) is a prefecture located in the southern KantÅ region of HonshÅ«, Japan. ... Saitama Prefecture (åŸ¼çŽ‰çœŒ; Saitama-ken) is located on Honshu island, Japan. ... The Keihin region (keihin chihÅ äº¬æµœåœ°æ–¹) consists of the Japanese cities TÅkyÅ and Yokohama. ... The TÅkai region (æ±æµ·, literally East Sea) is a subregion of Chubu, Japan along the Pacific Ocean. ... For the company, see Aichi Steel Corporation. ... Gifu Prefecture (å²é˜œçœŒ Gifu-ken), is located in the Chubu region of central Japan. ... Mie Prefecture (ä¸‰é‡çœŒ; Mie-ken) is part of the Kinki region on Honshu island, Japan. ... Shizuoka Prefecture ) is located in the ChÅ«bu region on HonshÅ« island, Japan. ... The Chukyo-Tokai industrial region (chÅ«kyÅ tÅkai kÅgyÅ chitai ä¸äº¬æ±æµ·å·¥æ¥åœ°å¸¯) is another name for the Nagoya metropolitan area and the surrounding prefectures, which have strong economic links to it. ... The Kansai (Japanese: é–¢è¥¿) region of Japan, also known as the Kinki region (è¿‘ç•¿åœ°æ–¹, Kinki-chihÅ), lies in the Southern-Central region of Japans main island, Honshu. ... Osaka Castle (ÅŒsaka-jÅ) Location in Japan Osaka Aquarium (Kaiyukan) Osaka railway station The Osaka Tower (TsÅ«tenkaku) Osaka City listen? (å¤§é˜ªå¸‚; ÅŒsaka-shi) is the third-largest city in Japan, with a population of 2. ... This page is about the city Kyoto. ... Port Tower at night For the basketball star Kobe Bryant go here. ... The Hanshin Industrial Region ) is one of the largest industrial region in Japan. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the island. ... An inland sea is a shallow sea that covers central areas of continents during high stands of sea level that result in marine transgressions. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Kitakyushu , literally North KyÅ«shÅ«) is a city located in Fukuoka prefecture, KyÅ«shÅ«, Japan. ... For other uses, see Tokyo (disambiguation). ... This article is about a city in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. ...

The fields in which Japan enjoys relatively high technological development include semiconductor manufacturing, optical fibers, optoelectronics, optical media, facsimile and copy machines, and fermentation processes in food and biochemistry. Japan lags slightly in such fields as satellites, rockets, and large aircraft, where advanced engineering capabilities are required but they made headway through their aerospace exploration agency, JAXA with possible manned independent mission to moon, and in such fields as computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM), and databases, where basic software capabilities are required, and natural resources exploitation, due to the lack of them. A semiconductor is a solid whose electrical conductivity is in between that of a conductor and that of an insulator, and can be controlled over a wide range, either permanently or dynamically. ... Optical fibers An optical fiber (or fibre) is a glass or plastic fiber designed to guide light along its length. ... Optoelectronics is the study and application of electronic devices that interact with light, and thus is usually considered a sub-field of photonics. ... In computing, sound reproduction, and video, an optical disc is flat, circular, usually polycarbonate disc whereon data is stored. ... A Samsung fax machine Fax (short for facsimile, from Latin fac simile, make similar, i. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see Fermentation. ... For other uses, see Satellite (disambiguation). ... This article is about vehicles powered by rocket engines. ... Flying machine redirects here. ... The Japan Aerospace eXploration Agency (JAXA) is Japans aerospace agency. ... CAD/CAM is an abbrieviation of computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing. ...

Services

Japan's service sector accounts for about three-fourths of its total economic output. banking, insurance, real estate, retailing, transportation, and telecommunications are all major industries such as Mitsubishi UFJ, Mizuho, NTT, TEPCO, Nomura, Mitsubishi Estate, Tokio Marine, JR East, Seven & I, ANA counting as one of the largest companies in the world. The Koizumi government privatized Japan Post, one of the country's largest providers of savings and insurance services by 2014. The six major keiretsus are the Mitsubishi, Sumitomo, Fuyo, Mitsui, Dai-Ichi Kangyo and Sanwa Groups. Japan is home to 326 companies from the Forbes Global 2000 or 16.3% (as of 2006). Download high resolution version (670x750, 116 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (670x750, 116 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... The Tokyo Stock Exchange ), or TSE, is one of the largest stock exchange markets in the world by monetary volume located in Tokyo, Japan, second only to the New York Stock Exchange. ... For other uses, see Bank (disambiguation). ... Insurance, in law and economics, is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent loss. ... Real estate is a legal term that encompasses land along with anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings. ... A drawing of a self-service store Retailing consists of the sale of goods/merchandise for personal or household consumption either from a fixed location such as a department store or kiosk, or away from a fixed location and related subordinated services (Definition of the WTO (last page). ... Copy of the original phone of Alexander Graham Bell at the MusÃ©e des Arts et MÃ©tiers in Paris Telecommunication is the assisted transmission of signals over a distance for the purpose of communication. ... Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Incorporated ) (TYO: 8306 NYSE: MTU ), or MUFG, is one of the worlds largest banks with assets of around USD $1. ... Mizuho Bank Ginza Branch Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. ... Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (æ—¥æœ¬é›»ä¿¡é›»è©± Nippon Denshin Denwa) is a telephone company that dominates the telecommunication market in Japan. ... The Tokyo Electric Power Company, Incorporated , TYO: 9501), also known as Toden ) or TEPCO, is an electric utility servicing Japans KantÅ region. ... The headquarters of Nomura in Tokyo, Japan Nomura Holdings, Inc. ... Mitsubishi Estate Co. ... Tokio Marine Nichido Building near the Imperial Palace in Tokyo Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co. ... Yamanote Line, Tokyo JR Yamanote Line train in Tokyo, Japan Above Yurakucho in Tokyo East Japan Railway Company (æ±æ—¥æœ¬æ—…å®¢é‰„é“ Higashi-Nihon Ryokyaku Tetsudo or JRæ±æ—¥æœ¬; JR Higashi-Nihon) (TYO: 9020) is a Japanese private railroad company, the largest passenger railway company in the world and one of the seven JR companies. ... Seven & I Holdings Co. ... All Nippon Airways Co. ... Junichiro Koizumi , born January 8, 1942) is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2001 to 2006. ... Japan Post ) is a public corporation in Japan offering postal and package delivery services, banking services, and life insurance. ... A keiretsu lit. ... For information on Mitsubishi brand computer monitors, see NEC-Mitsubishi Electronics Display of America Inc. ... The Sumitomo Group is a group of related japanese companies, (keiretsu). ... Fuyo Group ) is a Japanese keiretsu. ... Mitsui Group ) is one of the largest corporate conglomerates (Keiretsu) in Japan and one of the largest publicly traded companies in the world. ... The DKB Group ) or the Dai-Ichi Kangyo Group is the largest Japanese keiretsu. ... Sanwa (Japanese: 三和) may refer to the following places in Japan: Sanwa, Hiroshima, a former town in Hiroshima Prefecture (now part of the town of Jinsekikogen) Miwa, Hiroshima, a former town in Hiroshima Prefecture (different romanization but same Japanese name, now part of the city of Miyoshi) Sanwa, Ibaraki... The Forbes Global 2000 - is an annual ranking of the top 2000 corporations in the world by Forbes magazine. ...

Labor force

In 2001, Japan's labor force consists of some 67 million workers, 40% of whom are women, and is rapidly shrinking [2]. Labor union membership is about 12 million. The unemployment rate is currently 4.1%. In 1989, the predominantly public sector union confederation, SOHYO (General Council of Trade Unions of Japan), merged with RENGO (Japanese Private Sector Trade Union Confederation) to form the Japanese Trade Union Confederation. Unemployment rate from 1984 to 2003 in Japan Chart made by Youssef 19:51, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC) with OpenOffice. ... Unemployment rate from 1984 to 2003 in Japan Chart made by Youssef 19:51, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC) with OpenOffice. ...

One major long-term concern for the Japanese labor force is a low birthrate. In the first half of 2005, the number of deaths in Japan exceeded the number of births, indicating that the decline in population, initially predicted to start in 2007, had already started. While one countermeasure for a declining birthrate would be to remove barriers to immigration, the Japanese government has been reluctant to do so. In demography, the crude birth rate of a population is the number of childbirths per 1000 persons per year. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...

As of July 2006, the unemployment rate in Japan is 4.1%, according to the OCDE. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international organisation of those developed countries that accept the principles of representative democracy and a free market economy. ...

see also: Labor market of Japan The structure of Japans labor market was experiencing gradual change in the late 1980s and was expected to continue this trend throughout the 1990s. ...

Current economic issues

The Koizumi administration, which held office until 2006, enacted or attempted to pass (sometimes with failure) major privatization and foreign-investment laws intended to help stimulate Japan's dormant economy. Although the effectiveness of these laws is still ambiguous, the economy has begun to respond, but Japan's aging population is expected to place further strain on growth in the near future.^[9] Junichiro Koizumi , born January 8, 1942) is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2001 to 2006. ...

Heterodox economists tend to claim that Japan is far stronger economically than is usually appreciated [3]. Some mainstream economists acknowledge that Japan, which unlike most Western countries has maintained its industrial base, and has vast capital reserves, currently has a strong economic outlook. Heterodox economics [1] refers to approaches or schools of economic thought that do not conform to mainstream economics, which has largely developed from neoclassical economics in the late 19th century. ...

The privatization of Japan Post, the Japanese postal system which also runs insurance and deposit-taking businesses, is a major issue. A political battle over privatization caused a political stalemate in August, 2005, and ultimately led to the dissolution of the Japanese House of Representatives. The Postal Savings deposits, which have until now been used to fund public works projects, many of which have had questionable economic value, stands in excess of 1.9 trillion U.S. dollars, and could be a major force in energizing the private sector. Japan Post ) is a public corporation in Japan offering postal and package delivery services, banking services, and life insurance. ... A British pillar box The postal system is a system by which written documents typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages containing other matter, are delivered to destinations around the world. ... The House of Representatives ) is the lower house of the Diet of Japan. ...

The decline in the Japanese population as a result of a low birthrate threatens the long-term economic vitality of Japan. A higher percentage of elderly in the population will put pressures on the pension system, and will ultimately force a higher burden on the current generation of laborers. Old age consists of ages nearing the average lifespan of human beings, and thus the end of the human life cycle. ... ...

The Japanese monetary authorities' continued desire to depress the price of yen relative to other key specific currencies to protect domestic business from imports may no longer be feasible. The most recent record intervention in 2003 amounted to over 17 trillion yen, more than one third of one trillion US dollars at the time and nearly 3% of Japan's 2003 GDP, being sold in favor of other non-yen denominated assets. However, since 2005, Japan has not directly intervened to buy currency, as yen carry trade has effectively carried out the same task. Japanese 10 yen coin (obverse) showing Phoenix Hall of Byodoin Yen is the currency used in Japan. ... Japanese 10 yen coin (obverse) showing Phoenix Hall of Byodoin Yen is the currency used in Japan. ... Alternate uses: Dollar (disambiguation) The dollar is the name of the official currency in several countries, dependencies and other regions (see list below). ... The carry of an asset is the return obtained from holding it (if positive), or the cost with holding it (if negative). ...

Interestingly, international trade has expanded by 60% from 91.4 trillion yen to 142.6 trillion yen from 2001 to 2006, but the size of GDP has barely budged. However, taking in account the economic participation rate, Japan's GDP per worker has increased steadily.

Post-war economic history

From the 1960s to the 1980s, overall real economic growth has been called a "miracle": a 10% average in the 1960s, a 5% average in the 1970s and a 4% average in the 1980s.^[10] Growth slowed markedly in the 1990s, largely due to the Bank of Japan's failure to cut interest rates quickly enough to counter after-effects of over-investment during the late 1980s. Because the Bank of Japan failed to cut rates quickly enough, Japan entered a liquidity trap. To keep its economy afloat, Japan ran massive budget deficits to finance large public works programs. By 1998, Japan's public works projects still could not stimulate demand enough to end the economy's stagnation. In desperation, the Japanese government undertook "structural reform" policies intended to wring speculative excesses from the stock and real estate markets. Unfortunately, these policies led Japan into deflation on numerous occasions between 1999 and 2004. In his 1998 paper, Japan's Trap, Princeton economics professor Paul Krugman argued that based on a number of models, Japan had a new option. Krugman's plan called for a rise in inflation expectations to, in effect, cut long-term interest rates and promote spending.^[11] Japan used another technique, somewhat based on Krugman's, called Quantitative easing. As opposed to flooding the money supply with newly printed money, the Bank of Japan expanded the money supply internally to raise expectations of inflation. Initially, the policy failed to induce any growth, but it eventually began to affect inflationary expectations. By late 2005, the economy finally began what seems to be a sustained recovery. GDP growth for that year was 2.8%, with an annualized fourth quarter expansion of 5.5%, surpassing the growth rates of the US and European Union during the same period.^[12] Unlike previous recovery trends, domestic consumption has been the dominant factor of growth. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 351 pixelsFull resolution (1425 Ã— 625 pixel, file size: 60 KB, MIME type: image/png)This bubble map shows the global distribution of Japanese exports in 2005 as a percentage of the top market (USA - ï¿¥14,805,465,279,000). ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 351 pixelsFull resolution (1425 Ã— 625 pixel, file size: 60 KB, MIME type: image/png)This bubble map shows the global distribution of Japanese exports in 2005 as a percentage of the top market (USA - ï¿¥14,805,465,279,000). ... Japanese Post-War Economic Miracle is the name given to the historical phenomenon of Japans record period of economic growth following World War II, spurred both by US investment and Japanese government economic interventionism in particular through their Ministry of International Trade and Industry. ... Inflation-adjusted house prices in Japan (1980â€“2005) compared to house price appreciation the United States, Britain, and Australia (1995â€“2005). ... In monetary economics, a liquidity trap occurs when the economy is stagnant, the real interest rate is close or equal to zero, and the monetary authority is unable to stimulate the economy with traditional monetary policy tools. ... Paul Krugman Paul Robin Krugman (born February 28, 1953) is an American economist. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ...

Other economic indicators

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

Exports - Commodities: motor vehicles, semiconductors, office machinery, chemicals

Imports - Commodities: machinery and equipment, fuels, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, raw materials (2001)

Exchange rates:
Japanese Yen per US$1 - 109.690016 (2005), 115.933 (2003), 125.388 (2002), 121.529 (2001), 105.16 (January 2000), 113.91 (1999), 130.91 (1998), 120.99 (1997), 108.78 (1996), 94.06 (1995)

Electricity - Production by source: The kilowatt-hour (symbol: kW·h) is a unit for measuring energy. ... The kilowatt-hour (symbol: kW·h) is a unit for measuring energy. ...

Oil: The volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential and voltage (derived from the ampere and watt). ... Shizuoka Prefecture ) is located in the ChÅ«bu region on HonshÅ« island, Japan. ... The volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential and voltage (derived from the ampere and watt). ...

Contents

Natural resources

Macro-economic trend

Agriculture and fishery

Agriculture

Fishery

Industry

Services

Labor force

Current economic issues

Post-war economic history

Other economic indicators

See also

Notes

Contents

Natural resources GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

Macro-economic trend

Agriculture and fishery

Agriculture

Fishery

Industry

Services

Labor force

Current economic issues

Post-war economic history

Other economic indicators

See also

Notes

Natural resources