U.S. Department of State

Background Notes: Japan, February 1998

Released by the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.

Official Name: Japan

PROFILE

Geography

Area: 377,765 sq. km. (145,856 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 (1995): 124 million.
Growth rate: 0.3%.
Ethnic groups: Japanese; Korean (0.6%).
Religions: Shinto and Buddhist; Christian (about 1%).
Language: Japanese.
Education: Literacy--99%.
Health: Infant mortality rate--4.3./1000. Life expectancy (1994)--males 77 yrs., females 83 yrs.
Work force (64 million): Services--23%. Trade, manufacturing, mining, and construction --56%. Agriculture, forestry, fisheries--6%. 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), Social Democratic Party (SDP), New Frontier Party (NFP) New Party Sakigake, Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), Sun Party, Japan Communist Party (JCP).
Suffrage: Universal at 20.

Economy

GDP (1995): $5.1 trillion.
Real growth rate (1995): 0.9%.
Per capita GDP: $40,897.
Natural resources: Negligible mineral resources, fish.
Agriculture: Products--rice, vegetables, fruits, milk, meat, silk.
Industry: Types--machinery and equipment, metals and metal products, textiles, autos, chemicals, electrical and electronic equipment.
Trade (1996): Exports--$400 billion: motor vehicles, machinery and equipment, electrical and electronic products, metals and metal products.
Major markets--U.S. 30%, Western Europe 14%, developing countries 48%.
Imports--$293 billion: fossil fuels, raw materials, foodstuffs, machinery and equipment. Major suppliers--U.S. 23%, Western Europe 13%, developing countries 50%.

U.S.-JAPAN RELATIONS

The United States' close and cooperative relationship with Japan is the cornerstone of U.S. policy in Asia and the basis of a strong, productive partnership in addressing global issues. Despite different social and cultural traditions, Japan and the United States have much in common. Both have open, democratic societies, high literacy rates, freedom of expression, multiparty political systems, universal suffrage, and open elections. Both have highly developed free-market industrial economies and favor an open and active international trading system. Along with North America and Western Europe, Japan is one of the three major industrial complexes among the market economies. The U.S. supports Japan's goal of obtaining a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.

Because of the two countries' combined economic and technological impact on the world (together accounting for a little more than 30% of world GDP and 60% of the Western industrialized nations' GDP), the U.S.-Japan relationship has become global in scope. The two governments have developed a partnership to address shared priorities. An example of that partnership is the U.S.-Japan Common Agenda, a set of global initiatives in areas such as the environment, technology development, and health. Under the Common Agenda, the United States and Japan are coordinating $12 billion in population and HIV/AIDS assistance to developing countries and are conducting joint research on advanced transportation and environmental technologies. The two governments are also cooperating closely on issues as diverse as ocean pollution, children's vaccines, narcotics demand reduction, the role of women in development, and the protection of forests and coral reefs.

Security Relations

During the Allied occupation under Supreme Commander Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Japan established democratic self-government supported by the freely expressed will of the people. The April 28, 1952, Treaty of Peace with Japan afforded an orderly transition to full sovereignty.

The U.S.-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security came into force on June 23, 1960. Under the Treaty, Japan hosts a carrier battle group, the III Marine Expeditionary Force, the 5th Air Force, and elements of the Army's I Corps. Since the end of U.S. occupation in 1952, U.S. military forces in Japan have decreased from more than 260,000 to fewer than 50,000, more than half of whom are stationed in Okinawa. Japan's Host Nation Support (HNS)--over $4 billion a year--helps to defray the costs of maintaining these forces in Japan.

Japan's Self-Defense Forces (SDF) have gradually expanded capabilities and assumed primary responsibility for the immediate conventional national defense. The SDF mission, which the United States supports, is the defense of Japan's homeland, territorial seas and skies, and sea lines of communication out to 1,000 nautical miles. As a matter of policy, Japan has forsworn nuclear armaments and forbids arms sales abroad. A bilateral agreement signed in 1983, however, allows the export of Japanese defense and dual-use technology to the United States.

Despite the changes in the post-Cold War strategic landscape, the U.S.-Japan alliance continues to be based on what former Secretary Christopher described as "an abiding community of interests." These shared vital interests include stability in the Asia-Pacific region, the preservation and promotion of political and economic freedoms, support for human rights and democratic institutions, and the securing of prosperity for our people and other people of the region. The U.S.-Japan alliance remains the cornerstone of the defense of Japan and of U.S. security strategy in East Asia. The two governments, in the fall of 1994, embarked on a high-level security dialogue aimed at reaffirming and strengthening the alliance in light of the changing international environment. Japan restated its own unwavering support for the security relationship in its long-range defense blueprint--the National Defense Program Outline--issued in November 1995. In April 1996, during President Clinton's state visit to Japan, the President and Prime Minister Hashimoto issued a joint summit security declaration which noted the achievements of the bilateral alliance and led it into the next century.

The East Asia Strategy Report, published by the Department of Defense in 1995, noted "There is no more important bilateral relationship than the one we have with Japan. It is fundamental to both our Pacific security policy and our global strategic objectives. Our security relationship with Japan is the linchpin of United States security policy in Asia. It is seen not just by the United States and Japan but throughout the region as a major factor for securing stability in Asia."

Economic Relations

The United States and Japan are the two largest economies in the world, comprising about 30% of global output. Japan is a major market for many U.S. manufactured goods, including chemicals, pharmaceuticals, photo supplies, commercial aircraft, non-ferrous metals, plastics, and medical and scientific supplies. Japan is also the largest foreign market for U.S. agricultural products, with total agricultural imports valued at close to $17 billion in 1996.

The U.S.-Japan bilateral economic relationship is a strong and mature one. It also is an increasingly interdependent one based on enormous flows of trade, investment, and finance. The relationship is firmly rooted in the shared interest and responsibility of the U.S. and Japan to promote global growth, open markets, and a vital world trading system.

U.S. economic policy toward Japan is aimed at increasing access to Japan's markets, stimulating demand-led growth in the Japanese economy, and raising the standard of living in both the U.S. and Japan. This policy has been pursued through the U.S.-Japan "Framework for a New Economic Partnership" (the Framework), which was signed in June 1993 by President Clinton and then-Prime Minister Miyazawa and renewed in June 1995. The Framework addresses sectoral, structural, and macroeconomic issues in the U.S.-Japan bilateral economic relationship. In addition, the Framework included the Common Agenda for Global Issues, a highly successful program in which the U.S. and Japan collaborate on a wide range of global issues, including health, the environment, and population.

In 1996, the U.S. bilateral trade deficit with Japan declined by almost 19 percent, to $48 billion from $59 billion in 1995. U.S. exports to Japan totaled $68 billion in 1996, up about five percent from $64 billion in 1995. Since 1993, U.S. exports to Japan have risen by 29 percent, a rate slightly faster than with the rest of the world as a whole.

In addition to close bilateral economic ties, the U.S. and Japan cooperate closely in multilateral fora such as the World Trade Organization, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund, and regionally in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC).

Since January 1993, the U.S. and Japan have signed 23 trade agreements, most of them under the Framework, plus four agreements under the GATT Uruguay Round. U.S. and Japanese negotiators concluded framework agreements on government procurement of telecommunications and medical technology products and services in November 1994; agreements on intellectual property rights, insurance, cellular phones, and various agricultural products--including apples--were also signed in 1994. Agreements were concluded on flat glass in January 1995, financial services in February 1995, autos and auto parts in August 1995, civil aviation on cargo services in April 1996, semiconductors in August 1996, and insurance in December, 1996. An interim agreement on Port Practices was reached in April, 1997.

The Framework follows two earlier bilateral initiatives that led to market-opening in Japan: the MOSS (Market-Oriented, Sector-Selective) talks on specific sectors of interest, initiated in 1985 and the Structural Impediments Initiative, begun in 1989. Through these initiatives, both countries committed themselves to comprehensive measures to reduce impediments to competitive imports as found, for instance, in marketing and distribution systems, savings and investment patterns, and government-business relations.

In addition to these broad initiatives, the United States and Japan have over the last decade signed bilateral agreements to open Japan's markets. These agreements cover a wide range of sectors, including computers, beef, citrus, manufactured tobacco products, paper, and semiconductors.

There have been some encouraging trends. Between 1986 and 1996, U.S. exports to Japan increased dramatically, rising from $27 billion to $65 billion. In certain sectors, U.S. firms have gained a significant or even dominant market share in the Japanese market. As part of the GATT Uruguay Round agreement, Japan agreed in December 1993 to open its rice market, which had historically been closed to foreign rice. It also agreed to cut or eliminate tariffs and eliminate quotas on a wide range of other goods. Partially offsetting the massive bilateral deficit in merchandise trade is the roughly $16 billion U.S. surplus in services with Japan, including tourism and education.

There are considerable investment flows between the United States and Japan. U.S. direct investment in Japan was $39.2 billion at the end of 1995, much of it in finance, banking, and manufacturing; this was up from $6.4 billion in 1982. Many American companies have found Japan to be a profitable market. Nevertheless, American firms continue to encounter a range of formal and informal barriers to investment in Japan, and Japan continues to host a far smaller share of global foreign direct investment than any of its G-7 counterparts. Japanese direct investment in the United States rose dramatically in the late 1980s, then leveled off somewhat in the 1990s. Japanese direct investment in the United States stood at $108.6 billion at the end of 1995, mostly in manufacturing, real estate, and finance.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS

Japan is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary government. The country's Constitution took effect on May 3, 1947. Japan has universal adult suffrage with a secret ballot for all elective offices. The government consists of an executive branch responsible to the Diet and an independent judicial branch. Sovereignty, previously embodied in the emperor, is vested in the Japanese people, and the emperor is defined as the symbol of the state.

The 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.

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 for four-year terms.

Under legislation passed in 1994, the lower house electoral system was changed to one in which 300 members are elected in single-member districts and another 200 members on proportional slates in 11 regions. The new electoral system also reduced the number of seats in overrepresented rural areas and shifted them to some urban areas.

The October 20, 1996 general election was the first held under this new system. Prior to the election, Prime Minister Hashimoto presided over a coalition established under his predecessor, Tomiichi Murayama of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), who served as prime minister from June 1994 to January 1996. Prime Minister Hashimoto's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) gained seats in the October 1996 election but did not take a majority. Despite the LDP's lack of a majority, Prime Minister Hashimoto was reelected to the premiership by the diet on November 7, 1996. Although the current cabinet consists entirely of LDP members, the SDP and New Party Sakigake support the administration without participating in a full-scale coalition.

Principal Government Officials

Prime Minister--Ryutaro Hashimoto
Minister of Foreign Affairs--Keizo Obuchi
Minister of Finance--Hikaru Matsunaga
Ambassador to the U.S.--Kunihiko Saito
Ambassador to the UN--Hisashi Owada

Japan maintains an embassy in the United States at 2520 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC (tel. 202-939-6700). The Japan National Tourist Organization is at 630 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10111.

Principal U.S. Embassy Officials

Ambassador--Thomas Foley
Deputy Chief of Mission--Christopher LaFleur
Economic Minister-Counselor--C. Lawrence Greenwood, Jr.
Political Minister--Neil Silver
Commercial Minister--Samuel H. Kidder
Defense Attache--Capt. George R. McWilliams, 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 81-3-3224-5; fax 81-3-3505-1862. The American Chamber of Commerce in Japan is at 7th floor, Fukide No. 2 Bldg., 1-21 Toranomon 4-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo (105).

TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION

The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program provides Travel Warnings and Consular Information Sheets. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country. Consular Information Sheets exist for all countries and include information on immigration practices, currency regulations, health conditions, areas of instability, crime and security, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. posts in the country. Public Announcements are issued as a means to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas which pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Free copies of this information are available by calling the Bureau of Consular Affairs at 202-647-5225 or via the fax-on-demand system: 202-647-3000. Travel Warnings and Consular Information Sheets also are available on the Consular Affairs Internet home page: http://travel.state.gov and the Consular Affairs Bulletin Board (CABB). To access CABB, dial the modem number: 301-946-4400 (it will accommodate up to 33,600 bps); set terminal communications program to N-8-1 (no parity, 8 bits, 1 stop bit), and terminal emulation to VT100. The login is travel and the password is info (Note: Lower case is required). The CABB also carries international security information from the Overseas Security Advisory Council and Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security. Consular Affairs Trips for Travelers publication series, which contain information on obtaining passports and planning a safe trip abroad, can be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954; telephone: 202-512-1800; fax 202-512-2250.

Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be obtained from the Office of Overseas Citizens Services at (202) 647-5225. For after-hours emergencies, Sundays and holidays, call 202-647-4000.

Passport Services information can be obtained by calling the 24-hour, 7-day-a-week automated system ($0.35 per minute) or live operators 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (EST) Monday-Friday ($1.05 per minute). The number is 1-900-225-5674 (TDD: 1-900-225-7778). Major credit card users (for a flat rate of $4.95) may call 1-888-362-8668 (TDD: 1-888-498-3648).

Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at (404) 332-4559 gives 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.

Information on travel conditions, visa requirements, currency and customs regulations, legal holidays, and other items of interest to travelers also may be obtained before your departure from a country's embassy and/or consulates in the U.S. (for this country, see "Principal Government Officials" listing in this publication).

U.S. citizens who are long-term visitors or traveling in dangerous areas are encouraged to register at the U.S. embassy upon arrival in a country (see "Principal U.S. Embassy Officials" listing in this publication). This may help family members contact you in case of an emergency.

Department of State Foreign Affairs Network (DOSFAN). Available on the Internet, DOSFAN provides timely, global access to official U.S. foreign policy information. Updated daily, DOSFAN includes Background Notes; Dispatch, the official magazine of U.S. foreign policy; daily press briefings; directories of key officers of foreign service posts; etc. DOSFAN's World Wide Web site is at U.S. State Department Home Page; this site has a link to the DOSFAN Gopher Research Collection, which also is accessible at gopher://gopher.state.gov.

U.S. Foreign Affairs on CD-ROM (USFAC). Published on a semi-annual basis by the U.S. Department of State, USFAC archives information on the Department of State Foreign Affairs Network, and includes an array of official foreign policy information from 1990 to the present. Contact the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954. To order, call (202) 512-1800 or fax (202) 512-2250.

National Trade Data Bank (NTDB). Operated by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the NTDB contains a wealth of trade-related information, including Country Commercial Guides. It is available on the Internet (www.stat-usa.gov) and on CD-ROM. Call the NTDB Help-Line at (202) 482-1986 for more information.

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