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U.S. Department of State
Background Notes:  Japan, November 1995
Bureau of Public Affairs

November 1995
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 (1994):  125 million.
Growth rate (1994):  0.3%.
Ethnic groups:  Japanese; Korean (0.6%).
Religions:  Shinto and Buddhist; Christian (about 1%).
Language:  Japanese.
Education:  Literacy--99%.
Health:  Life expectancy (1993)--males 76 yrs., females 82 yrs.
Work force (60 million):  Services--49%; Trade, manufacturing, mining,
and construction--31%; Agriculture--6%; Government--3%.

Government

Type:  Parliamentary democracy.
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 with Anglo-American influence.
Administrative subdivisions:  47 prefectures.
Political parties:  Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Japan Socialist
Party (JSP), New Party Sakigake, New Frontier Party (NFP), Japan
Communist Party (JCP).
Suffrage:  Universal at 20.

Economy

GDP (1994):  $4.6 trillion.
Growth rate:  0.5%.
Per capita GDP:  $36,000.
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 (1994):  Exports--$395 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--$274 billion:  fossil fuels, metal ore, raw
materials, foodstuffs, machinery and equipment.  Major suppliers--U.S.
23%, Western Europe 13%, developing countries 50%.

U.S.-JAPAN RELATIONS

The 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, 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.

In accordance with Japan's enhanced international influence and its
continued close ties with the United States, the two governments have
developed a close global partnership to address shared priorities.  An
example of that partnership is the U.S.-Japan Common Agenda, a set of
global initiatives in such areas 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 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.

Japan has been an active member of the United Nations since 1956,
including participating in peacekeeping operations.  Japan strongly
supports the U.S. in its efforts to encourage Pyongyang to abide by the
nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and its agreements with the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Bilateral trade problems attract significant attention and often
generate considerable controversy within the relationship.  The United
States is working hard to achieve greater access to Japan's markets and
has made progress.  Trade problems may be the most visible and
contentious part of an extremely broad and important relationship.
Overall U.S. policy toward Japan goes well beyond the problem areas and
is based on three principles:

--  First, the United States has worked to achieve a close bilateral
relationship with Japan as an equal partner.  The past decade has
brought a significant expansion of Japan's economic and technological
prowess, an increase in its defense awareness and capability, and a
greater interest and involvement in international political and economic
affairs.  Although there are still differences in their relative
political, economic, and military positions in the world, both nations
approach and conduct their relationship as equals.
--  Second, because of the two countries' combined economic and
technological impact on the world (together accounting for 40% of world
GDP and 60% of the Western industrialized nations' GDP), the U.S.-Japan
relationship has become global in scope.  Although in the past the
partnership has been measured primarily in economic and technological
terms, in the future it will have a larger political dimension.
Presently, Japan assumes a greater international role and associates
itself more actively and closely with Western political and security
goals.
--  Third, Japan is becoming increasingly assertive in global matters
and is forging a wider international role.

The United States encourages this trend toward a broader international
political and economic role by Japan, within the framework of a
continued close bilateral relationship.  The United States has called
for a "global partnership" with Japan, in which the combined efforts of
the two countries can be utilized to promote peace and prosperity
throughout the world.

Security Relationship

After World War II, Japan was placed under international control of the
Allies through a 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).
The April 28, 1952, treaty of peace with Japan afforded a progressive
and orderly transition from the stringent controls immediately following
the surrender to the restoration of full sovereignty.

The U.S.-Japan security relationship dates from this time in the early
1950s, when Japan was virtually defenseless.  The U.S.-Japan Treaty of
Mutual Cooperation and Security came into force on June 23, 1960, and in
June 1970 became subject to abrogation upon one year's notice.  At the
time, both governments declared their intention to extend the treaty
indefinitely.

Under the treaty, Japan hosts a carrier battle group, the III Marine
Expeditionary Force, the 5th Air Force, and the Army's I Corps.  For
Japan, the treaty provides a strategic guarantee against external
attack.  The bases and facilities provided by Japan under the treaty
also bolster U.S. maintenance of commitments to other allies in Asia.
U.S. military assistance to Japan was terminated at the end of 1967.
Since the end of U.S. occupation in 1952, U.S. military forces in Japan
have decreased from more than 260,000 to about 47,000--more than half of
whom are stationed in Okinawa--plus an additional 13,000 on board U.S.
Navy ships based in Japan.

As U.S. forces withdrew, Japan's self-defense force (SDF) 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.
Japan has increased its defense budget annually and continues to make
qualitative force improvements.  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.

In addition to its own forces, Japan also, as noted, provides bases and
facilities to U.S. forces in Japan.  In FY 1994, the Japanese Government
contributed $4.8 billion to U.S. forces.

Trade and Investment

The United States is Japan's largest trading partner; Japan is the
second-largest U.S. trading partner after Canada.  Bilateral merchandise
trade totaled $172 billion in 1994.  Japan imported $53 billion of U.S.
goods in 1994.  Manufactured goods constituted 63% of U.S. exports to
Japan in 1993, and the leading U.S. export to Japan that year was
machinery and transport equipment.  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 imports valued at more than $9.2
billion in 1994.

The U.S. trade deficit with Japan, which grew to $66 billion in 1994,
continues to be a source of significant bilateral friction.  Japan's
trade surplus with the rest of the world including the U.S. swelled in
the early 1990s.  Its depressed economy dampened the demand for imported
goods; there remain significant barriers to foreign imports and
investment in certain sectors of the Japanese economy.  U.S. trade
policy has concentrated on encouraging macroeconomic measures to return
the country to a path of high growth; negotiating the elimination of
formal and informal market barriers in specific sectors; and encouraging
structural change to increase Japanese imports of manufactured products
and foreign direct investment.  The United States pursues these
objectives through a variety of bilateral mechanisms and through
multilateral forums such as the G-7, the GATT/World Trade Organization,
and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

There have been some encouraging trends.  Between 1985 and 1994, U.S.
exports to Japan more than doubled, from $23 billion to $53 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 $12 billion U.S. surplus in services with Japan including
tourism and education.

The United States is committed to opening Japan's markets more fully and
ensuring that competitive U.S. and other foreign exports have fair
access to the Japanese market.  In July 1993, the United States and
Japan announced the U.S.-Japan Framework for Economic Partnership, which
aims at resolving the imbalance in the bilateral economic relationship
by addressing its macro-economic, structural, and sectoral causes.  The
framework calls for agreements in a wide range of sectors that will lead
to tangible market-opening progress that can be measured by objective
qualitative and quantitative criteria.

The framework consists of five broad "baskets":  government procurement;
regulatory reform and competitiveness; economic harmonization;
implementation of existing arrangements and measures; and other major
sectors (autos and auto parts).  Each basket encompasses a range of
working groups with a more narrowly defined agenda.

Since January 1993, the U.S. and Japan have signed 20 trade agreements,
most of them under the "framework-plus-four" of 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; flat glass in January 1995;
financial services in February 1995; and autos and auto parts in August
1995.  Agreements on intellectual property rights, insurance, cellular
phones, and various agricultural products--including apples--were also
signed in 1994.

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 are considerable investment flows between the United States and
Japan.  U.S. direct investment in Japan was $37 billion at the end of
1994, 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 large and 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 investment in the
United States stood at $103 billion at the end of 1994, most of that in
manufacturing, real estate, and finance.

Principal U.S. Embassy Officials

Ambassador--Walter F. Mondale
Deputy Chief of Mission--Rust M. Deming
Economic Minister-Counselor--John H. Penfold
Political Minister--Neil Silver
Commercial Minister--George Mu
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
81-3-3224-5000; fax [phone].

The American Chamber of Commerce in Japan is at 7th floor, Fukide No. 2
Bldg., 1-21 Toranomon 4-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo (105).

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 patterned on the British parliamentary model, 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, based on the model of Roman 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.

Article IX of the Japanese constitution provides that "land, sea, and
air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained."
At the same time, the Japanese Government accepts Article 51 of the UN
Charter that each nation has the right of self-defense against armed
attack.  In 1954, the Japan Defense Agency was created with the specific
mission of defending Japan against external aggression.  Ground,
maritime, and air self-defense forces were established.  In recent
years, the Japanese public has shown a substantially greater awareness
of security issues and increasing support for the SDF.  This is in part
due to successful disaster relief efforts at home and peacekeeping
operations in Cambodia.  However, there are still significant political
and psychological constraints on strengthening Japan's defense.

Diet Lower House elections on July 18, 1993, were a watershed event.
The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), in power since the mid-1950s, failed
to win a majority and saw the end of its four-decade rule.  A coalition
of new parties and existing opposition parties succeeded in forming a
governing majority and electing a new Prime Minister, Morihiro Hosokawa,
in August 1993.  His government's major legislative objective was
political reform, consisting of a package of new political financing
restrictions and major changes in the electoral system.  The coalition
succeeded in passing landmark political reform legislation in January
1994.

Under the new legislation, 300 members will be elected to the Diet's
lower house in single-member districts and another 200 members on
proportional slates in 11 regions.  The single-member district aspect of
the new system is expected to promote the creation of two major party
groupings; the regional proportional slates will be relatively
advantageous to smaller parties.  If this system works as advocates
hope, Japan will see a regular alternation in office of competing
political parties.  The new electoral system will also be much closer to
the ideal of one-person/one-vote by reducing the number of seats in
overrepresented rural areas and shifting them to some urban areas.

Prime Minister Hosokawa resigned in April 1994.  Prime Minister Tsutomu
Hata formed the successor coalition government, Japan's first minority
government in almost 40 years.  Prime Minister Hata resigned less than
two months later.  Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama formed the next
government in June 1994, a coalition of his Japan Socialist Party (JSP),
the LDP, and the small New Party Sakigake.  The advent of a coalition
containing the JSP and LDP shocked many observers because of their
previously fierce rivalry.

Principal Government Officials

Prime Minister--Tomiichi Murayama
Deputy Prime Minister/Minister of International Trade and Industry--
Ryutaro Hashimoto
Minister of Foreign Affairs--Yohei Kono
Ambassador to the U.S.--Takakazu Kuriyama
Ambassador to the UN--Hisashi Owada

Japan maintains an embassy in the United States at 2520 Massachusetts
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 (tel. [phone]).

The Japan National Tourist Organization is at 630 Fifth Avenue, New
York, NY 10111.

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 Department of State 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
information, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S.
embassies and consulates in the subject country. They can be obtained by
telephone at [phone] or by fax at [phone]. To access the
Consular Affairs Bulletin Board by computer, dial [phone], via a
modem with standard settings. Bureau of Consular Affairs' publications
on obtaining passports and planning a safe trip abroad are available
from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office,
Washington, DC 20402, tel.  [phone].

Emergency information concerning  Americans traveling abroad may be
obtained from the Office of Overseas Citizens Services at (202) 647-
5225.

While planning a trip, travelers can check the latest information on
health requirements and conditions with the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at [phone]
provides telephonic or fax information on 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-94-8280, price $7.00) is available from the Superintendent of
Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, tel.
[phone].

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).

Upon their arrival in a country, U.S. citizens are encouraged to
register with the U.S. embassy (see "Principal U.S. Embassy Officials"
listing in this publication). Such information might assist family
members in making contact en route in case of an emergency.

Further Electronic Information:

Consular Affairs Bulletin Board (CABB). Available by modem, the CABB
provides Consular Information Sheets, Travel Warnings, and helpful
information for travelers. Access at [phone] is free of charge to
anyone with a personal computer, modem, telecommunications software, and
telephone line.

Department of State Foreign Affairs Network. 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 weekly magazine of U.S. foreign policy; daily press
briefings; directories of key officers of foreign service posts; etc.
DOSFAN is accessible three ways on the Internet:

Gopher:  dosfan.lib.uic.edu
URL:  gopher://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/
WWW:  http://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/dosfan.html

U.S. Foreign Affairs on CD-ROM (USFAC). Published on a quarterly 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. Priced at
$80 ($100 foreign), one-year subscriptions include four discs (MSDOS and
Macintosh compatible) and are available from the Superintendent of
Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, P.O. Box 37194, Pittsburgh,
PA 15250-7954. To order, call [phone] or fax [phone].

Federal Bulletin Board (BBS). A broad range of foreign policy
information also is carried on the BBS, operated by the U.S. Government
Printing Office (GPO). By modem, dial [phone]. For general BBS
information, call [phone].

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
(gopher. stat-usa.gov) and on CD-ROM. Call the NTDB Help-Line at (202)
482-1986 for more information.

==============================
Background Notes Series --  Published by the United States Department of
State -- Bureau of Public Affairs -- Office of Public Communication --
Washington, DC

This material is in the public domain and may be reproduced without
permission; citation of this source is appreciated.
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