Mother Earth Travel > Country Index > Japan > Map Economy History |
| Economy - overview: Government-industry cooperation, a strong
work ethic, mastery of high technology, and a comparatively small defense
allocation (1% of GDP) have helped Japan advance with extraordinary
rapidity to the rank of second most technologically powerful economy in
the world after the US and third largest economy in the world after the US
and China. One notable characteristic of the economy is the working
together of manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors in closely-knit
groups called keiretsu. A second basic feature has been the guarantee of
lifetime employment for a substantial portion of the urban labor force.
Both features are now eroding. Industry, the most important sector of the
economy, is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and fuels. The
much smaller agricultural sector is highly subsidized and protected, with
crop yields among the highest in the world. Usually self-sufficient in
rice, Japan must import about 50% of its requirements of other grain and
fodder crops. Japan maintains one of the world's largest fishing fleets
and accounts for nearly 15% of the global catch. For three decades 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. Growth slowed
markedly in the 1990s largely because of the aftereffects of
overinvestment during the late 1980s and contractionary domestic policies
intended to wring speculative excesses from the stock and real estate
markets. Government efforts to revive economic growth have met little
success and were further hampered in late 2000 by the slowing of the US
and Asian economies. The crowding of habitable land area and the aging of
the population are two major long-run problems. Robotics constitutes a key
long-term economic strength, with Japan possessing 410,000 of the world's
720,000 "working robots". GDP: purchasing power parity -
$3.15 trillion (2000 est.) SOURCE: The World Factbook |
Mother Earth Travel > Country Index > Japan > Map Economy History