Japan: A Comprehensive Overview of Location, Climate, People, Government, and Economy

1. Japan Country Brief 15 March 2006 1/C Chester 2/C Hellar

2. Location Climate/Terrain People Government History Economy Military U.S. Presence Introduction

3. Location • Location-North Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula • land: 374,744 sq km (slightly smaller than California ) • Coastline- 29,751 km

4. Climate/Terrain • Climate-varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north • 5 seasons counting the rainy season • Ave. Summer Temp. 83F • Ave. Winter Temp. 40F • Terrain-73% rugged and mountainous (unsuitable for agricultural, industrial, or residential use )

5. People • Pop.-127,417,244 (July 2005 est.) • 18th most densely populated country • Life expectancy- 81.75 years (Highest in the world) (U.S. 77) • Ethnic Groups- Japanese 99%, others 1% (Korean, Chinese, Brazilian, Filipino, other)

6. People • Religions- Shinto and Buddhist 84%, other 16% (including Christian 0.7%) • Language- Japanese • Literacy- 99% (U.S. 97%)

7. Government • Constitutional monarchy w/ a parliamentary government • 47 prefectures (like states) • Legal System- modeled after European civil law system with English-American influence; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court

8. Government cont. • Legislative- House of Councillors (242) and House of Representatives (480) • Executive-chief of state: Emperor AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989) • head of government: Prime Minister Junichiro KOIZUMI • Judicial- Supreme Court

9. Economy • Successful Economy • Government-industry cooperation • Strong work ethic • Mastery of high technology • A comparatively small defense allocation (Only 1% of GDP) • 3rd Strongest w.r.t. to Purchasing Power • 2nd Strongest w.r.t. to Exchange Rate

10. Economic Features • Manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors in form closely-knit groups called keiretsu • Guarantee of lifetime employment • Heavily dependent on imported raw materials for industry • Major fishing power: 15% Global Catch

11. Economic Facts • GDP PPP $3.867 trillion (2005 est.) • GDP Ex Rate $4.955 trillion (2005 est.) • Labor Force 66.4 million (2005 est.) • Labor Force Percentages: Agriculture 4.6%, Industry 27.8%, Services 67.7% (2004)

12. Chiba Kawasaki Kiire Kisarazu Kobe Mizushima Nagoya Osaka Tokyo Yohohama Major Ports/Terminals

13. Modern History • WWII for Japan began on 7 December 1941 with the attack on Pearl Harbor. • The U.S. used an Island hopping Strategy in the Pacific against Japan • U.S. dropped Nuclear Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, this directly led to the end of WWII for Japan.

14. Result of the War • General Douglas MacArthur led the demilitarization and democratization of Japan. All clubs, schools, and societies associated with the military and martial skills were eliminated, along with the military Staff. • Japan will never again maintain "land, sea, or air forces or other war potential". • Japan currently has self-defense forces.

15. Japanese Military Facts • Branches • Ground Self-Defense Force (Army): 156,000 • Maritime Self-Defense Force (Navy): 44,400 • Air Self-Defense Force (Air Force): 46,000 • Manpower Fit for Military Service: Males age 18-49: 22,234,663 (2005 est.) • Actual size: 246,400 (1992 est.)

16. Japanese Maritime SDF • Maritime Staff Office (Tokyo) • Self Defense Fleet Headquarters (Yokosuka) • Main bases (Yokosuka, Kure, Sasebo, Maizuru and Ominato) • Other bases (Yoichi, Hakodate, Kobe, Shimonoseki, and Katsuren) • Air bases (Hachinohe, Ominato, Simofusa, Tateyama, Atsugi, Komatsujima, Tokushima, Iwakuni, Ozuki, Omura, Kanoya, Naha).

17. U.S. Military Bases in Japan • The main U.S. bases in mainland Japan include Misawa airbase in the Aomori Prefecture up in the north of Honshu Island • Yokota Airbase in Tokyo • Yokosuka naval base in the Kanagawa Prefecture • Atsugi base in the Kanagawa Prefecture • Iwakuni Marine base near Hiroshima • Sasebo naval base in Nagasaki Prefecture

18. U.S. Military in Okinawa

19. U.S. Military in Japan Cont. • Approximately 90 U.S. military facilities throughout mainland Japan and Okinawa • Approximately 52,000 U.S. troops • The U.S. armed forces in Japan are subjected to the Pacific Command located in Hawaii • The forces deployed to Japan are the largest of the four U.S. joint forces with a jurisdiction extending from the U.S. western coast and the whole of the Pacific Ocean through the Indian Ocean to the eastern coasts of Africa.

20. Japanese Transnational Issues • Sovereignty dispute with Russia • Japan and South Korea claim Liancourt Rocks (Take-shima/Tok-do), which has been occupied by South Korea since 1954 • China and Taiwan dispute both Japan's claims to the uninhabited islands of the Senkaku-shoto (Diaoyu Tai) • Japan has unilaterally declared an exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea

21. Why do we Care? • Strategic Location • Forward Projection • Keeping “eye” on the Pacific • Defense for ourselves and Japan • Closer distance to “trouble spots”

22. Works Cited • http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ja.html • http://www.jca.apc.org/wsf_support/2004doc/WSFJapUSBaseRepoFinalAll.html#U.S._Military_Presence • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Self-Defense_Forces • http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:JCkMh7SwllQJ:www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/usarj.htm+Why+is+Japan+important+to+the+U.S.+Military%3F&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=2 • http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ja.html#Issues • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan