Japan - Tips
Japan
Bureau of East Asian and Pacific
Affairs
July
2007
Background Note:
Japan
Mount Fuji is Japan's
tallest
mountain. Fujiyoshida,
Japan,
February 2, 2001. [© AP
Images]
Flag of Japan is white with a large red disk (representing the sun
without
rays) in the
center.
PROFILE
OFFICIAL
NAME:
Japan
Geography
Area: 377,864 sq. km. (145,902 sq. mi.); slightly smaller than
California.
Cities: Capital--Tokyo. Other
cities--Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Kobe,
Kyoto,
Fukuoka.
Terrain: Rugged, mountainous
islands.
Climate: Varies from subtropical to
temperate.
People
Nationality: Noun and
adjective--Japanese.
Population (2007 est.): 127.5
million.
Population growth rate (2007 est.):
-0.088%.
Ethnic groups: Japanese; Korean
(0.5%).
Religions: Shinto and Buddhist; Christian (about
0.7%).
Language:
Japanese.
Education:
Literacy--99%.
Health (2007 est.): Infant mortality rate--2.8/1,000. Life
expectancy--males
78 yrs., females 85
yrs.
Work force (67 million, 2003): services--42%; trade, manufacturing,
mining,
and construction--46%; agriculture, forestry,
fisheries--5%; government--3%.
Government
Type: Constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary
government.
Constitution: May 3,
1947.
Branches: Executive--prime minister (head of
government).
Legislative--bicameral Diet (House of Representatives and House
of
Councillors). Judicial--civil law system based on the model of Roman
law.
Administrative subdivisions: 47
prefectures.
Political parties: Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Democratic Party
of Japan
(DPJ), New Clean Government Party (Komeito), Japan Communist
Party (JCP),
Social Democratic Party
(SDP).
Suffrage: Universal at
20.
Economy
GDP (2006 est.): $4.883 trillion (official exchange rate); $3.902
trillion
(PPP).
Real growth rate (2006):
2.2%.
Per capita GDP (2006 est. PPP):
$34,155.
Natural resources: Fish and few mineral
resources.
Agriculture: Products--rice, vegetables, fruit, milk, meat,
silk.
Industry: Types--machinery and equipment, metals and metal
products,
textiles,
autos, chemicals, electrical and electronic
equipment.
GEOGRAPHY
Japan, a country of islands, extends along the eastern or Pacific
coast of
Asia. The four main islands, running from north
to south, are Hokkaido,
Honshu (or the
mainland), Shikoku, and Kyushu. Okinawa Island is about 380
miles southwest of Kyushu. About 3,000 smaller islands are included
in the
archipelago. In total land area, Japan is slightly
smaller than California.
About 73% of the country is
mountainous, with a chain running through each of
the main islands.
Japan's highest mountain is the world famous Mt.
Fuji
(12,385 feet). Since so little
flat area exists, many hills and mountainsides
are cultivated all the
way to the summits. As Japan is situated in a volcanic
zone along the
Pacific depth, frequent low intensity earth tremors
and
occasional volcanic activity
are felt throughout the islands. Destructive
earthquakes occur several times a century. Hot springs are numerous and have
been developed as
resorts.
Temperature extremes are less pronounced than in the United States,
but the
climate varies considerably. Sapporo, on the
northernmost main island, has
warm summers and long, cold
winters with heavy snowfall. Tokyo, Nagoya,
Kyoto, Osaka, and Kobe, in central and western parts of the largest
island of
Honshu, experience relatively mild winters with little or no
snowfall and
hot, humid summers. Fukuoka, on the
island of Kyushu, has a climate similar
to that of Washington,
DC, with mild winters and short summers. Okinawa is
subtropical.
PEOPLE
Japan's population, currently some 128 million, has experienced a
phenomenal
growth rate during the past 100 years as a result of
scientific, industrial,
and sociological changes, but this has
recently slowed because of falling
birth rates. In
2005, Japan's population declined for the first time, two
years earlier than predicted. High sanitary and health standards
produce a
life expectancy exceeding that of the United
States.
Japan is an urban society with only about 4% of the labor force
engaged in
agriculture. Many farmers supplement their
income with part-time jobs in
nearby towns
and cities. About 80 million of the urban population is heavily
concentrated on the Pacific shore of Honshu and in northern Kyushu.
Major
population centers include: Metropolitan
Tokyo with approximately 14 million;
Yokohama with 3.3 million; Osaka
with 2.6 million; Nagoya with 2.1 million;
Sapporo with 1.6
million; Kyoto with 1.5 million; Kobe with 1.4 million; and
Kitakyushu, Kawasaki, and Fukuoka with 1.2 million each. Japan faces the
same
problems that confront urban industrialized societies throughout
the world:
overcrowded cities, congested roads, air pollution,
and rising juvenile
delinquency.
Shintoism and Buddhism are Japan's two principal religions. Shintoism
is
founded on myths and legends emanating
from the early animistic worship of
natural phenomena.
Since it was unconcerned with problems of afterlife which
dominate
Buddhist thought, and since Buddhism easily accommodated itself to
local faiths, the two religions comfortably coexisted, and Shinto
shrines and
Buddhist temples often became administratively linked.
Today many Japanese
are adherents of both faiths. From
the 16th to the 19th century Shintoism
flourished.
Adopted by the leaders of the Meiji restoration, Shintoism received
state
support and was cultivated as a spur to
patriotic and nationalistic feelings.
Following World War II, state
support was discontinued, and the emperor
disavowed divinity. Today Shintoism plays a more peripheral role in
the life
of the Japanese people. The numerous shrines are visited
regularly by a few
believers and, if they are historically
famous or known for natural beauty,
by many sightseers. Many
marriages are held in the shrines, and children are
brought there
after birth and on certain anniversary dates; special shrine
days are celebrated for certain occasions, and numerous festivals are
held
throughout the year. Many homes have "god shelves"
where offerings can be
made to Shinto
deities.
Buddhism first came to Japan in the 6th century and for the next 10
centuries
exerted profound influence on its intellectual, artistic,
social, and
political life.
Most funerals are conducted by Buddhist priests, and many
Japanese visit family graves and Buddhist temples to pay respects
to
ancestors.
Confucianism arrived with the first great wave of Chinese influence
into
Japan between the 6th and 9th centuries.
Overshadowed by Buddhism, it
survived as an organized philosophy into the late 19th century and
remains
today as an important influence on Japanese
thought and
values.
Christianity, first introduced into Japan in 1549, was virtually
stamped out
by the government a century later; it was reintroduced in
the late 1800s and
has spread slowly. Today it has 1.4 million
adherents, including a relatively
high percentage of important figures
in education and public affairs.
Beyond the three traditional religions, many Japanese today are
turning to a
great variety of popular religious movements normally
lumped together under
the name "new religions." These religions
draw on the concept of Shinto,
Buddhism, and
folk superstition and have developed in part to meet the social
needs
of elements of the population. The officially recognized new religions
number in the hundreds, and total membership is reportedly in the
tens of
millions.
HISTORY
Japanese legend maintains that Japan was founded in 600 BC by the
Emperor
Jimmu, a direct descendant of the sun
goddess and ancestor of the present
ruling imperial
family. About AD 405, the Japanese court officially adopted
the
Chinese writing system. Together with the introduction of Buddhism in
the
sixth century, these two events revolutionized Japanese culture
and marked
the beginning of a long period of Chinese
cultural influence. From the
establishment of the first fixed capital at Nara in 710 until 1867,
the
emperors of the Yamato dynasty were
the nominal rulers, but actual power was
usually held by powerful
court nobles, regents, or "shoguns"
(military
governors).
Contact With the
West
The first recorded contact with the West occurred about 1542, when
a
Portuguese ship,
blown off its course to China, landed in Japan. During the
next
century, traders from Portugal, the Netherlands, England, and
Spain
arrived, as did Jesuit, Dominican, and
Franciscan missionaries. During the
early part of the
17th century, Japan's shogunate suspected that the traders
and
missionaries were actually forerunners of a military conquest by
European
powers. This caused the shogunate to place foreigners under
progressively
tighter restrictions. Ultimately,
Japan forced all foreigners to leave and
barred all
relations with the outside world except for severely restricted
commercial contacts with Dutch and Chinese merchants at Nagasaki.
This
isolation lasted for 200
years, until Commodore Matthew Perry of the U.S.
Navy negotiated the opening of Japan to the West with the Convention
of
Kanagawa in
1854.
Within several years, renewed contact with the West profoundly
altered
Japanese society. The
shogunate resigned, and the emperor was restored to
power. The "Meiji restoration" of 1868 initiated many reforms. The
feudal
system was abolished, and numerous Western
institutions were adopted,
including a Western legal and educational system and
constitutional
government along parliamentary
lines.
In 1898, the last of the "unequal treaties" with Western powers was
removed,
signaling Japan's new status among the nations of the world.
In a few
decades, by
creating modern social, educational, economic, military,
and
industrial systems, the Emperor Meiji's
"controlled revolution"
had
transformed
a feudal and isolated state into a world
power.
Wars With China and
Russia
Japanese leaders of the late 19th century regarded the Korean
Peninsula as a
potential threat to Japan. It was over Korea that
Japan became involved in
war with the Chinese Empire in
1894-95 and with Russia in 1904-05. The war
with China
established Japan's domination of Korea, while also giving it the
Pescadores Islands and Formosa (now Taiwan). After Japan defeated Russia
in
1905, the resulting Treaty of Portsmouth awarded Japan
certain rights in
Manchuria and in southern
Sakhalin, which Russia had received in 1875 in
exchange for the Kurile Islands. Both wars gave Japan a free hand in
Korea,
which it formally annexed in
1910.
World War I to
1952
World War I permitted Japan, which fought on the side of the
victorious
Allies, to expand its
influence in Asia and its territorial holdings in the
Pacific.
The postwar era brought Japan unprecedented prosperity. Japan went
to the peace conference at Versailles in 1919 as one of the great
military
and industrial powers of the world and received
official recognition as one
of the "Big Five" of the new
international order. It joined the League of
Nations and received a mandate over Pacific islands north of the
Equator
formerly held by
Germany.
During the 1920s, Japan progressed toward a democratic system of
government.
However, parliamentary government was not rooted deeply
enough to withstand
the economic and political pressures of the
1930s, during which military
leaders became
increasingly
influential.
Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931 and set up the puppet state of
Manchukuo. In
1933, Japan resigned from the League of Nations. The
Japanese invasion of
China in 1937 followed Japan's
signing of the "anti-Comintern pact" with Nazi
Germany the previous
year and was part of a chain of developments culminating
in the
Japanese attack on the United States at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii,
on
December 7,
1941.
After years of war, resulting in the loss of 3 million Japanese lives
and the
atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan signed an
instrument of
surrender on the U.S.S.
Missouri in Tokyo Harbor on September 2, 1945. As a
result of
World War II, Japan lost all of its overseas possessions
and
retained only the home
islands. Manchukuo was dissolved, and Manchuria was
returned to China; Japan renounced all claims to Formosa; Korea was occupied
and divided by the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.; southern Sakhalin and the
Kuriles
were occupied by the U.S.S.R.; and the U.S. became the
sole administering
authority of the Ryukyu, Bonin,
and Volcano Islands. The 1972 reversion of
Okinawa
completed the U.S. return of control of these islands to
Japan.
After the war, Japan was placed under international control of the
Allies
through the Supreme Commander, Gen. Douglas
MacArthur. U.S. objectives were
to ensure that Japan would
become a peaceful nation and to
establish
democratic
self-government supported by the freely expressed will of
the
people. Political, economic, and social
reforms were introduced, such as a
freely elected
Japanese Diet (legislature) and universal adult suffrage. The
country's constitution took effect on May 3, 1947. The United States and
45
other Allied nations signed the Treaty of Peace with Japan
in September 1951.
The U.S. Senate ratified the treaty in March 1952,
and under the terms of the
treaty, Japan regained full sovereignty on
April 28,
1952.
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL
CONDITIONS
Japan is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary government.
There is
universal adult suffrage with a secret ballot for all
elective offices.
Sovereignty,
previously embodied in the emperor, is vested in the Japanese
people, and the Emperor is defined as the symbol of the
state.
Japan's Government is a parliamentary democracy, with a House
of
Representatives and a House of Councillors. Executive power is vested
in a
cabinet composed of a prime minister and ministers
of state, all of whom must
be civilians. The prime minister must be a
member of the Diet and is
designated by his colleagues. The prime minister has the power to
appoint and
remove ministers, a majority of whom must be Diet members.
The judiciary is
independent.
The five major political parties represented in the National Diet are
the
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the Democratic
Party of Japan (DPJ), the New
Clean Government Party (Komeito), the
Japan Communist Party (JCP), and the
Social Democratic
Party
(SDP).
Japan's judicial system, drawn from customary law, civil law,
and
Anglo-American common law, consists of several levels of courts, with
the
Supreme Court as the final judicial authority.
The Japanese constitution
includes a bill of
rights similar to the U.S. Bill of Rights, and the Supreme
Court has
the right of judicial review. Japanese courts do not use a
jury
system, and there are no administrative courts
or claims courts. Because of
the judicial system's basis, court
decisions are made in accordance with
legal
statutes. Only Supreme Court decisions have any direct effect on later
interpretation of the
law.
Japan does not have a federal system, and its 47 prefectures are
not
sovereign
entities in the sense that U.S. states are. Most depend on
the
central government for subsidies.
Governors of prefectures, mayors of
municipalities, and prefectural and municipal assembly members are
popularly
elected to 4-year
terms.
Recent Political
Developments
The post-World War II years saw tremendous economic growth in Japan,
with the
political system dominated by the Liberal Democratic Party
(LDP). That total
domination lasted until the Diet Lower House
elections on July 18, 1993, in
which the LDP failed for the
first time to win a majority. The LDP returned
to power in
1994.
Shinzo Abe was elected Prime Minister in a Diet vote in September
2006. Abe
is the first Prime Minister to be born after World
War II and the youngest
Prime Minister since the war. Abe
comes from one of Japan's political
families. His grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi, was elected Prime Minister
in 1957
and his father, Shintaro Abe, was a former foreign minister.
Abe took over
his father's parliamentary seat after his
death in 1993 and gained national
popularity for his firm
stance against North Korea for its abductions of
Japanese citizens. Despite a reputation as a conservative
nationalist, Shinzo
Abe has taken positive steps to improve relations
with South Korea and China.
He visited Beijing and Seoul during his
first trip overseas as Prime
Minister. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited Tokyo in April
2007.
Principal Government
Officials
Head of State--Emperor
Akihito
Prime Minister (Head of Government)--Shinzo
Abe
Minister of Foreign Affairs--Taro
Aso
Ambassador to the U.S.--Ryozo
Kato
Permanent Representative to the UN--Kenzo
Oshima
Japan maintains an embassy in the United States at 2520 Massachusetts
Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20008 (tel: 202-238-6700; fax:
202-328-2187).
ECONOMY
Japan's industrialized, free market economy is the second-largest in
the
world Its economy is highly efficient and
competitive in areas linked to
international
trade, but productivity is far lower in protected areas such as
agriculture, distribution, and services. After achieving one of the
highest
economic growth rates in the world from the 1960s
through the 1980s, the
Japanese economy
slowed dramatically in the early 1990s, when the "bubble
economy" collapsed, marked by plummeting stock and real estate
prices.
Japan's 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 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.
Japan's long-term economic prospects are considered good, and it has
largely
recovered from its worst period of economic stagnation since
World War II.
Real GDP in Japan grew at an average of
roughly 1% yearly in the 1990s,
compared to growth in the 1980s of about 4% per year. The Japanese economy
is
now in its longest postwar expansion after more than a decade of
stagnation.
Real growth in 2005 was 2.7% and was 2.2% in
2006.
Agriculture, Energy, and
Minerals
Only 15% of Japan's land is arable. The agricultural economy is
highly
subsidized and protected.
With per hectare crop yields among the highest in
the world,
Japan maintains an overall agricultural self-sufficiency rate of
about 40% on fewer than 5.6 million cultivated hectares (14 million
acres).
Japan normally produces a slight surplus of rice but
imports large quantities
of wheat, corn, sorghum, and soybeans,
primarily from the United States.
Japan is
the largest market for U.S. agricultural
exports.
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.
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.
Labor
Japan's labor force consists of some 67 million workers, 40% of whom
are
women. Labor union membership is about 12
million.
FOREIGN
RELATIONS
Japan is the world's second-largest economy and a major economic
power both
in Asia and globally. Japan has diplomatic relations
with nearly all
independent nations and has been an active member of the United Nations
since
1956. Japanese foreign policy has aimed to promote peace and
prosperity for
the Japanese people by working closely with the
West and supporting the
United
Nations.
In recent years, the Japanese public has shown a substantially
greater
awareness of security
issues and increasing support for the Self Defense
Forces. This is in part due to the Self Defense Forces' success in
disaster
relief efforts at home, and its participation in
peacekeeping operations such
as in Cambodia in the early 1990s and
Iraq in 2005-2006. However, there are
still significant
political and psychological constraints on strengthening
Japan's security profile. Although a military role for Japan in
international
affairs is highly constrained by its constitution and
government policy,
Japanese cooperation with
the United States through the 1960 U.S.-Japan
Security Treaty has been important to the peace and stability of East
Asia.
Currently, there are domestic discussions about possible
reinterpretation or
revision of Article 9 of the Japanese
constitution. Prime Minister Abe has
made revising or
reinterpreting the Japanese constitution a priority of his
administration. All postwar Japanese governments have relied on a
close
relationship with the United
States as the foundation of their foreign policy
and have depended on
the Mutual Security Treaty for strategic protection.
While maintaining its relationship with the United States, Japan
has
diversified and
expanded its ties with other nations. Good relations with its
neighbors continue to be of vital interest. After the signing of a peace and
friendship treaty with China in 1978, ties between the two
countries
developed
rapidly. Japan extended significant economic assistance to
the
Chinese in various modernization projects
and supported Chinese membership in
the World Trade Organization
(WTO). Japan's economic assistance to China is
now declining.
In recent years, however, Chinese exploitation of gas fields
in
the East China sea has raised Japanese concerns given disagreement
over
the demarcation of their maritime boundary. Prime
Minister Abe's October 2006
visits to Beijing and Seoul helped improve
relations with China and South
Korea that had been
strained following Prime Minister Koizumi's visits to
Yasukuni Shrine. At the same time, Japan maintains economic and
cultural but
not diplomatic relations with Taiwan, with which a
strong bilateral trade
relationship
thrives.
Territorial disputes and historical animosities continue to strain
Japan's
political relations with South Korea despite
growing economic and cultural
ties. Japan has limited
economic and commercial ties with North Korea. A
surprise visit by Prime Minister Koizumi to Pyongyang on September
17, 2002,
resulted in renewed discussions on contentious bilateral
issues--especially
that of abductions to North Korea of
Japanese citizens--and Japan's agreement
to resume normalization talks
in the near future. In October 2002, five
abductees returned to Japan, but soon after negotiations reached a
stalemate
over the fate of abductees' families in North Korea. Japan
strongly supported
the United States in its efforts to encourage
Pyongyang to abide by the
nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty and its agreements with the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Japan responded to North Korea's
missile
launches and
nuclear tests by imposing sanctions and working with the United
Nations Security Council. The U.S., Japan, and South Korea closely
coordinate
and consult trilaterally on policy toward North Korea, and
Japan participates
in the Six-Party Talks to end North Korea's nuclear
arms ambitions.
Japan's relations with Russia are hampered by the two sides'
inability to
resolve their territorial dispute over
the islands that make up the Northern
Territories (Southern Kuriles)
seized by the U.S.S.R. at the end of World War
II. In August 2006, a
Russian patrol shot at a Japanese fishing vessel,
claiming the vessel was in Russian waters, killing one crewmember and
taking
three seamen into custody. The stalemate over territorial
issues has
prevented
conclusion of a peace treaty formally ending the war between Japan
and Russia. The United States supports Japan on the Northern
Territories
issue and recognizes Japanese
sovereignty over the islands. Despite the lack
of progress in
resolving the Northern Territories dispute, however, Japan and
Russia
have made progress in developing other aspects of the relationship.
Japan has pursued a more active foreign policy in recent years,
recognizing
the responsibility that accompanies its economic
strength. It has expanded
ties with the Middle East,
which provides most of its oil, and has been the
second-largest
assistance donor (behind the U.S.) to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Japan's Ground Self Defense Force completed a successful two-year
mission in
Iraq in 2006 and the Diet in October extended the
Anti-Terrorism Special
Measures Law which
allowed for Japan's Maritime Self Defense Force refueling
activities
in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in the Indian Ocean. On
July 10, 2007 the Japanese Government decided to extend the Air
Self-Defense
Force's (ASDF) airlift support mission in Iraq to July
31, 2008. Under the
Iraq Special Measures Law a wing of
the ASDF's C-130 transport planes, based
in Kuwait, will continue to
carry personnel and supplies for the U.S.-led
multinational forces and the United Nations in Iraq. The law has
been
extended to July 31,
2009 and will be voted on again in
2008.
Japan increasingly is active in Africa and Latin America--recently
concluding
negotiations with Mexico and Chile on an Economic
Partnership Agreement (EPA)
--and has extended significant support to
development projects in both
regions. A Japanese-conceived peace plan became the foundation for
nationwide
elections in Cambodia in 1998. Japan's economic engagement
with its neighbors
is increasing, as evidenced by the conclusion of an
EPA with Singapore and
the Philippines, and its ongoing
negotiations for EPAs with Thailand and
Malaysia.
In May 2007, just prior to the G8 Summit in Heiligendamm, Prime
Minister Abe
announced an initiative to address greenhouse gas
emissions and seek to
mitigate the
impact of energy consumption on climate. Japan will host the G8
Summit in
2008.
U.S.-JAPAN
RELATIONS
The U.S.-Japan alliance is the cornerstone of U.S. security interests
in Asia
and is fundamental to regional stability and prosperity.
Despite the changes
in the post-Cold War strategic landscape, the
U.S.-Japan alliance continues
to be based on shared vital
interests and values. These include stability in
the Asia-Pacific
region, the preservation and promotion of political and
economic freedoms, support for human rights and democratic
institutions, and
securing of prosperity for the people of both
countries and the international
community as a
whole.
Japan provides bases and financial and material support to
U.S.
forward-deployed forces, which are essential for maintaining
stability in the
region. Under the U.S.-Japan Treaty of Mutual
Cooperation and Security, Japan
hosts a carrier battle group, the III
Marine Expeditionary Force, the 5th Air
Force, and elements of the
Army's I Corps. The United States currently
maintains approximately 50,000 troops in Japan, about half of whom
are
stationed in
Okinawa.
Over the past decade the alliance has been strengthened through
revised
Defense Guidelines, which
expand Japan's noncombatant role in a regional
contingency, the renewal of our agreement on Host Nation Support of
U.S.
forces stationed in Japan, and an
ongoing process called the Defense Policy
Review Initiative
(DPRI). The DPRI redefines roles, missions,
and
capabilities of alliance forces and outlines key realignment
and
transformation initiatives, including reducing the number of troops
stationed
in Okinawa, enhancing interoperability and communication
between our
respective commands, and broadening our cooperation in the area of ballistic
missile
defense.
Implementation of these agreements will strengthen our capabilities
and make
our alliance more sustainable. After the tragic events of
September 11, 2001,
Japan has participated significantly with the
global war on terrorism by
providing major
logistical support for U.S. and coalition forces in
the
Indian
Ocean.
Because of the two countries' combined economic and technological
impact on
the world, the U.S.-Japan relationship has become
global in scope. The United
States and Japan cooperate on a broad
range of global issues, including
development assistance, combating communicable disease such as the spread of
HIV/AIDS and avian influenza, and protecting the environment and
natural
resources. Both countries also
collaborate in science and technology in such
areas as mapping the
human genome, research on aging, and international space
exploration.
As one of Asia's most successful democracies and its largest
economy, Japan contributes irreplaceable political, financial, and
moral
support to U.S.-Japan diplomatic
efforts. The United States consults closely
with Japan and the
Republic of Korea on policy regarding North Korea. In
Southeast Asia, U.S.-Japan cooperation is vital for stability and
for
political and economic
reform. Outside Asia, Japanese political and financial
support has
substantially strengthened the U.S. position on a variety
of
global geopolitical problems, including
the Gulf, Middle East peace efforts,
and the Balkans. Japan is an
indispensable partner on UN reform and the
second largest contributor to the UN budget. Japan broadly supports
the
United States on nonproliferation
and nuclear issues. The U.S. supports
Japan's aspiration to become a permanent member of the United
Nations
Security
Council.
Economic
Relations
U.S. economic policy toward Japan is aimed at increasing access to
Japan's
markets and two-way investment, stimulating
domestic demand-led economic
growth,
promoting economic restructuring, improving the climate for
U.S.
investors, and raising the standard of
living in both the United States and
Japan. The U.S.-Japan
bilateral economic relationship--based on enormous
flows of trade, investment, and finance--is strong, mature, and
increasingly
interdependent. Further, it is firmly rooted in the
shared interest and
responsibility of
the United States and Japan to promote global growth, open
markets,
and a vital world trading system. In addition to bilateral economic
ties, the U.S. and Japan cooperate closely in multilateral fora such as
the
WTO, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development,
the World Bank,
and the International Monetary Fund, and
regionally in the Asia-Pacific
Economic
Cooperation forum
(APEC).
Japan is a major market for many U.S. products, including
chemicals,
pharmaceuticals, films and music, commercial aircraft, nonferrous
metals,
plastics, and medical and scientific
supplies. Japan also is the largest
foreign
market for U.S. agricultural products, with total
agricultural
exports valued at
$9.7 billion, excluding forestry products. Revenues from
Japanese tourism to the United States reached nearly $13 billion in
2005.
Trade between the United States and Japan remained strong in 2006.
Total
trade grew about 7.3% year-on-year.
U.S. exports to Japan reached $59.6
billion in 2006, up from $55.4 billion in 2005. U.S. imports from
Japan
totaled $148.1 billion in 2006
($138.1 billion in
2005).
U.S. foreign direct investment in Japan reached $78 billion in 2004,
up from
$73 billion in 2003. New U.S. investment was especially
significant in
financial
services, Internet services, and software, generating new export
opportunities for U.S. firms and employment for U.S.
workers.
Principal U.S. Embassy
Officials
Ambassador--J. Thomas
Schieffer
Deputy Chief of Mission--Joe
Donovan
Political Minister-Counselor--Michael
Meserve
Economic Minister-Counselor--Robert
Cekuta
Consul General--Raymond
Baca
Management Affairs--David
Davison
Commercial Minister--John
Peters
Public Affairs--Ronald
Post
Defense Attache--Capt. James White,
USN
The street address and the international mailing address of the U.S.
Embassy
in Japan is 10-5 Akasaka 1-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo (107);
tel.
81-3-3224-5000; fax 81-3-3505-1862. The APO mailing address is
American
Embassy Tokyo, Unit 45004, Box
258, APO AP 96337-5004. U.S. Consulates
General are in Osaka, Sapporo, and Naha, and Consulates are in
Fukuoka and
Nagoya. The American Chamber of Commerce in
Japan is at 7th floor, Fukide No.
2 Bldg., 1-21 Toranomon 4-chome,
Minato-ku, Tokyo (105).
Additional
information is available on the U.S. Embassy's Internet home page:
http://
tokyo.usembassy.gov.
TRAVEL AND BUSINESS
INFORMATION
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program advises
Americans
traveling and residing abroad through Consular Information
Sheets, Public
Announcements, and Travel Warnings.
Consular Information Sheets exist for all
countries and include
information on entry and exit requirements, currency
regulations, health conditions, safety and security, crime,
political
disturbances, and
the addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad.
Public
Announcements are issued to disseminate information quickly
about
terrorist threats and other relatively
short-term conditions overseas that
pose significant
risks to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings
are
issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel
to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or
unstable.
For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling
abroad
should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau
of Consular Affairs Internet
web site at
http://www.travel.state.gov, where the
current Worldwide Caution,
Public Announcements, and Travel Warnings
can be found. Consular Affairs
Publications,
which contain information on obtaining passports and planning a
safe
trip abroad, are also available at
http://www.travel.state.gov.
For
additional information on international
travel, see
http://www.usa.gov/
Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml.
The Department of State encourages all U.S citizens who traveling or
residing
abroad to register via the State Department's travel
registration website or
at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate
abroad. Registration will make your
presence and whereabouts known in
case it is necessary to contact you in an
emergency and will
enable you to receive up-to-date information on security
conditions.
Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be
obtained
by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and
Canada or the regular
toll line 1-202-501-4444 for
callers outside the U.S. and
Canada.
The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S.
Department of
State's single, centralized public
contact center for U.S.
passport
information. Telephone: 1-877-4USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778). Customer
service
representatives and operators for TDD/TTY
are available Monday-Friday, 7:00
a.m. to 12:00 midnight,
Eastern Time, excluding federal
holidays.
Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S.
Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia.
A hotline at 877-FYI-TRIP
(877-394-8747) and a web site at
http://www.cdc.gov/travel/index.htm
give the
most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations
or requirements,
and advice on food and drinking water safety for
regions and countries. A
booklet entitled "Health
Information for International Travel"
(HHS
publication number CDC-95-8280) is available from the U.S.
Government
Printing Office,
Washington, DC 20402, tel. (202)
512-1800.
Further Electronic
Information
Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at
http://
www.state.gov, the Department of State web
site provides timely, global
access to
official U.S. foreign policy information, including
Background
Notes and daily press briefings
along with the directory of key officers of
Foreign Service
posts and more. The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC)
provides
security information and regional news that impact U.S. companies
working abroad through its website
http://www.osac.gov
Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related assistance and
market
information offered by the federal
government and provides trade leads, free
export counseling, help
with the export process, and
more.
STAT-USA/Internet, a service of the U.S. Department of Commerce,
provides
authoritative economic, business, and
international trade information from
the Federal
government. The site includes current and
historical
trade-related releases, international market research, trade
opportunities,
and country analysis and provides access to the
National Trade Data Bank.
***********************************************************
See http://www.state.gov/r/pa/bgn/ for all
Background
notes
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Japan
