Compare Guernsey (2004) - Japan (2008)

Compare Guernsey (2004) z Japan (2008)

	Guernsey (2004)	Japan (2008)

Administrative divisions	none (British crown dependency); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 10 parishes including Saint Peter Port, Saint Sampson, Vale, Castel, Saint Saviour, Saint Pierre du Bois, Torteval, Forest, Saint Martin, Saint Andrew	47 prefectures; Aichi, Akita, Aomori, Chiba, Ehime, Fukui, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Gifu, Gunma, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Hyogo, Ibaraki, Ishikawa, Iwate, Kagawa, Kagoshima, Kanagawa, Kochi, Kumamoto, Kyoto, Mie, Miyagi, Miyazaki, Nagano, Nagasaki, Nara, Niigata, Oita, Okayama, Okinawa, Osaka, Saga, Saitama, Shiga, Shimane, Shizuoka, Tochigi, Tokushima, Tokyo, Tottori, Toyama, Wakayama, Yamagata, Yamaguchi, Yamanashi
Age structure	0-14 years: 15.6% (male 5,161; female 5,013) 15-64 years: 66.7% (male 21,497; female 21,897) 65 years and over: 17.6% (male 4,812; female 6,651) (2004 est.)	0-14 years: 13.8% (male 9,024,344/female 8,553,700) 15-64 years: 65.2% (male 41,841,760/female 41,253,968) 65 years and over: 21% (male 11,312,492/female 15,447,230) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	tomatoes, greenhouse flowers, sweet peppers, eggplant, fruit; Guernsey cattle	rice, sugar beets, vegetables, fruit; pork, poultry, dairy products, eggs; fish
Airports	2 (2003 est.)	176 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)	total: 145 over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 41 1,524 to 2,437 m: 40 914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 29 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 31 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 27 (2007)
Area	total: 78 sq km land: 78 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Alderney, Guernsey, Herm, Sark, and some other smaller islands	total: 377,835 sq km land: 374,744 sq km water: 3,091 sq km note: includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto, Minami-jima, Okino-tori-shima, Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto), and Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto)
Area - comparative	about one-half the size of Washington, DC	slightly smaller than California
Background	The island of Guernsey and the other Channel Islands represent the last remnants of the medieval Dukedom of Normandy, which held sway in both France and England. The islands were the only British soil occupied by German troops in World War II.	In 1603, a Tokugawa shogunate (military dictatorship) ushered in a long period of isolation from foreign influence in order to secure its power. For more than two centuries this policy enabled Japan to enjoy stability and a flowering of its indigenous culture. Following the Treaty of Kanagawa with the US in 1854, Japan opened its ports and began to intensively modernize and industrialize. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Japan became a regional power that was able to defeat the forces of both China and Russia. It occupied Korea, Formosa (Taiwan), and southern Sakhalin Island. In 1931-32 Japan occupied Manchuria, and in 1937 it launched a full-scale invasion of China. Japan attacked US forces in 1941 - triggering America's entry into World War II - and soon occupied much of East and Southeast Asia. After its defeat in World War II, Japan recovered to become an economic power and a staunch ally of the US. While the emperor retains his throne as a symbol of national unity, elected politicians - with heavy input from bureaucrats and business executives - wield actual decisionmaking power. The economy experienced a major slowdown starting in the 1990s following three decades of unprecedented growth, but Japan still remains a major economic power, both in Asia and globally.
Birth rate	9.16 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)	8.1 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $381.3 million expenditures: $368.8 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.)	revenues: $1.463 trillion expenditures: $1.575 trillion (2007 est.)
Capital	Saint Peter Port	name: Tokyo geographic coordinates: 35 41 N, 139 45 E time difference: UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	temperate with mild winters and cool summers; about 50% of days are overcast	varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north
Coastline	50 km	29,751 km
Constitution	unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice	3 May 1947
Country name	conventional long form: Bailiwick of Guernsey conventional short form: Guernsey	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Japan local long form: Nihon-koku/Nippon-koku local short form: Nihon/Nippon
Currency	British pound (GBP); note - there is also a Guernsey pound	-
Death rate	9.87 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)	8.98 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	NA	$1.492 trillion (30 June 2007)
Dependency status	British crown dependency	-
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (British crown dependency)	chief of mission: Ambassador J. Thomas SCHIEFFER embassy: 1-10-5 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8420 mailing address: APO AP 96337-5004 telephone: [81] (03) 3224-5000 FAX: [81] (03) 3505-1862 consulate(s) general: Naha (Okinawa), Osaka-Kobe, Sapporo consulate(s): Fukuoka, Nagoya
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (British crown dependency)	chief of mission: Ambassador Ryozo KATO chancery: 2520 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 238-6700 FAX: [1] (202) 328-2187 consulate(s) general: Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Agana (Guam), Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Portland (Oregon), San Francisco, Seattle
Disputes - international	none	the sovereignty dispute over the islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Shikotan, and the Habomai group, known in Japan as the "Northern Territories" and in Russia as the "Southern Kuril Islands," occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia and claimed by Japan, remains the primary sticking point to signing a peace treaty formally ending World War II hostilities; Japan and South Korea claim Liancourt Rocks (Take-shima/Tok-do) occupied by South Korea since 1954; China and Taiwan dispute both Japan's claims to the uninhabited islands of the Senkaku-shoto (Diaoyu Tai) and Japan's unilaterally declared exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea, the site of intensive hydrocarbon prospecting
Economic aid - donor	-	ODA, $7.5 billion (2007)
Economic aid - recipient	NA	-
Economy - overview	Financial services - banking, fund management, insurance, etc. - account for about 55% of total income in this tiny Channel Island economy. Tourism, manufacturing, and horticulture, mainly tomatoes and cut flowers, have been declining. Light tax and death duties make Guernsey a popular tax haven. The evolving economic integration of the EU nations is changing the environment under which Guernsey operates.	Government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, and a comparatively small defense allocation (1% of GDP) helped Japan advance with extraordinary rapidity to the rank of second most technologically powerful economy in the world after the US and the third-largest economy in the world after the US and China, measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis. One notable characteristic of the economy has been how manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors have worked together 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 have now eroded. Japan's industrial sector is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and fuels. The tiny 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 55% of its food on a caloric basis. 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, averaging just 1.7%, largely because of the after effects of overinvestment and an asset price bubble during the late 1980s that required a protracted period of time for firms to reduce excess debt, capital, and labor. From 2000 to 2001, government efforts to revive economic growth proved short lived and were hampered by the slowing of the US, European, and Asian economies. In 2002-07, growth improved and the lingering fears of deflation in prices and economic activity lessened, leading the central bank to raise interest rates to 0.25% in July 2006, up from the near 0% rate of the six years prior, and to 0.50% in February 2007. In addition, the ten-year privatization of Japan Post, which has functioned not only as the national postal delivery system but also, through its banking and insurance facilities as Japan's largest financial institution, was completed in October 2007, marking a major milestone in the process of structural reform. Nevertheless, Japan's huge government debt, which totals 182% of GDP, and the aging of the population are two major long-run problems. Some fear that a rise in taxes could endanger the current economic recovery. Debate also continues on the role of and effects of reform in restructuring the economy, particularly with respect to increasing income disparities.
Electricity - consumption	NA kWh	974.2 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2002)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2002)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	NA kWh	1.025 trillion kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Sark 114 m	lowest point: Hachiro-gata -4 m highest point: Mount Fuji 3,776 m
Environment - current issues	NA	air pollution from power plant emissions results in acid rain; acidification of lakes and reservoirs degrading water quality and threatening aquatic life; Japan is one of the largest consumers of fish and tropical timber, contributing to the depletion of these resources in Asia and elsewhere
Environment - international agreements	-	party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
Ethnic groups	UK and Norman-French descent with small percentages from other European countries	Japanese 98.5%, Koreans 0.5%, Chinese 0.4%, other 0.7% note: up to 230,000 Brazilians of Japanese origin migrated to Japan in the 1990s to work in industries; some have returned to Brazil (2004)
Exchange rates	Guernsey pounds per US dollar - 0.6661 (2002), 0.6944 (2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998); note - the Guernsey pound is at par with the British pound	yen per US dollar - 117.99 (2007), 116.18 (2006), 110.22 (2005), 108.19 (2004), 115.93 (2003)
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Lieutenant Governor and Commander-in-Chief Lt. Gen. Sir John FOLEY (since NA 2000) head of government: Chief Minister Laurie MORGAN (since 1 May 2004) cabinet: Policy Council elected by the States of Deliberation elections: the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor appointed by the monarch; chief minister is elected by States of Delibertion election results: Laurie MORGAN elected chief minister, percent of vote of the States of Deliberation NA	chief of state: Emperor AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989) head of government: Prime Minister Yasuo FUKUDA (since 26 September 2007) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister elections: Diet designates prime minister; constitution requires that prime minister commands parliamentary majority; following legislative elections, leader of majority party or leader of majority coalition in House of Representatives usually becomes prime minister; monarch is hereditary election results: FUKUDA elected prime minister with 338 of 477 votes cast in the House of Representatives; he received 106 of 240 votes cast in the House of Councillors; vote of House of Representatives prevailed
Exports	NA	94,830 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities	tomatoes, flowers and ferns, sweet peppers, eggplant, other vegetables	transport equipment, motor vehicles, semiconductors, electrical machinery, chemicals
Exports - partners	UK (regarded as internal trade)	US 22.8%, China 14.3%, South Korea 7.8%, Taiwan 6.8%, Hong Kong 5.6% (2006)
Fiscal year	calendar year	1 April - 31 March
Flag description	white with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England) extending to the edges of the flag and a yellow equal-armed cross of William the Conqueror superimposed on the Saint George cross	white with a large red disk (representing the sun without rays) in the center
GDP	purchasing power parity - $1.3 billion (1999 est.)	-
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 3% industry: 10% services: 87% (2000)	agriculture: 1.5% industry: 25.2% services: 73.3% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $20,000 (1999 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	5.7% (1999 est.)	1.9% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates	49 28 N, 2 35 W	36 00 N, 138 00 E
Geography - note	large, deepwater harbor at Saint Peter Port	strategic location in northeast Asia
Heliports	-	14 (2007)
Highways	total: NA km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km	-
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA	lowest 10%: 4.8% highest 10%: 21.7% (1993)
Imports	NA	5.425 million bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities	coal, gasoline, oil, machinery and equipment	machinery and equipment, fuels, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, raw materials
Imports - partners	UK (regarded as internal trade)	China 20.5%, US 12%, Saudi Arabia 6.4%, UAE 5.5%, Australia 4.8%, South Korea 4.7%, Indonesia 4.2% (2006)
Independence	none (British crown dependency)	660 B.C. (traditional founding by Emperor JIMMU)
Industrial production growth rate	NA	1.3% (2007 est.)
Industries	tourism, banking	among world's largest and technologically advanced producers of motor vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals, textiles, processed foods
Infant mortality rate	total: 4.78 deaths/1,000 live births male: 5.35 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)	total: 2.8 deaths/1,000 live births male: 3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 2.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	4% (2000 est.)	0% (2007 est.)
International organization participation	UPU	ADB, AfDB, APEC, APT, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CE (observer), CERN (observer), CP, EAS, EBRD, FAO, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAIA, MIGA, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), Paris Club, PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC (observer), SECI (observer), UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Irrigated land	NA sq km	25,920 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	Royal Court	Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the monarch after designation by the cabinet; all other justices are appointed by the cabinet)
Labor force	31,320 (2000)	66.07 million (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	-	agriculture: 4.6% industry: 27.8% services: 67.7% (2004)
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: NA permanent crops: NA other: NA (2001)	arable land: 11.64% permanent crops: 0.9% other: 87.46% (2005)
Languages	English, French, Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts	Japanese
Legal system	English law and local statute; justice is administered by the Royal Court	modeled after German civil law system with English-American influence; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
Legislative branch	unicameral States of Deliberation (45 seats; members are elected by popular vote for 4 years); note - Alderney and Sark have their own parliaments elections: last held 21 April 2004 (next to be held NA 2008) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - all independents	bicameral Diet or Kokkai consists of the House of Councillors or Sangi-in (242 seats - members elected for six-year terms; half reelected every three years; 146 members in multi-seat constituencies and 96 by proportional representation) and the House of Representatives or Shugi-in (480 seats - members elected for four-year terms; 300 in single-seat constituencies; 180 members by proportional representation in 11 regional blocs) elections: House of Councillors - last held 29 July 2007 (next to be held in July 2010); House of Representatives - last held 11 September 2005 (next election by September 2009) election results: House of Councillors - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - DPJ 109, LDP 83, Komeito 20, JCP 7, SDP 5, others 18 House of Representatives - percent of vote by party (in single-seat constituencies) - LDP 47.8%, DPJ 36.4%, others 15.8%; seats by party - LDP 296, DPJ 113, Komeito 31, JCP 9, SDP 7, others 24 (2007)
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 80.17 years male: 77.17 years female: 83.27 years (2004 est.)	total population: 82.02 years male: 78.67 years female: 85.56 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	definition: NA total population: NA male: NA female: NA	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2002)
Location	Western Europe, islands in the English Channel, northwest of France	Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula
Map references	Europe	Asia
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 3 nm exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm	territorial sea: 12 nm; between 3 nm and 12 nm in the international straits - La Perouse or Soya, Tsugaru, Osumi, and Eastern and Western Channels of the Korea or Tsushima Strait contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine	none	total: 676 ships (1000 GRT or over) 10,386,894 GRT/11,689,142 DWT by type: bulk carrier 131, cargo 29, carrier 3, chemical tanker 23, container 10, liquefied gas 58, passenger 14, passenger/cargo 142, petroleum tanker 157, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 52, vehicle carrier 55 registered in other countries: 2,692 (Bahamas 62, Belize 2, Bermuda 1, Burma 3, Cambodia 3, Cayman Islands 6, China 2, Cyprus 19, France 5, Honduras 4, Hong Kong 78, Indonesia 5, Isle of Man 4, South Korea 1, Liberia 111, Malaysia 4, Malta 3, Marshall Islands 5, Mongolia 1, Norway 1, Panama 2,151, Philippines 69, Portugal 10, Singapore 108, Sweden 1, Thailand 4, UK 1, Vanuatu 28, unknown 2) (2007)
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of the UK	-
Military branches	-	Japanese Ministry of Defense (MOD): Ground Self-Defense Force (Rikujou Jietai, GSDF), Maritime Self-Defense Force (Kaijou Jietai, MSDF), Air Self-Defense Force (Koku Jieitai, ASDF) (2008)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	0.8% (2006)
National holiday	Liberation Day, 9 May (1945)	Birthday of Emperor AKIHITO, 23 December (1933)
Nationality	noun: Channel Islander(s) adjective: Channel Islander	noun: Japanese (singular and plural) adjective: Japanese
Natural hazards	NA	many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; tsunamis; typhoons
Natural resources	cropland	negligible mineral resources, fish
Net migration rate	3.84 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines	-	gas 3,939 km; oil 170 km; oil/gas/water 104 km (2007)
Political parties and leaders	none; all independents	Democratic Party of Japan or DPJ [Ichiro OZAWA]; Japan Communist Party or JCP [Kazuo SHII]; Komeito [Akihiro OTA]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Yasuo FUKUDA]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Mizuho FUKUSHIMA]
Political pressure groups and leaders	none	NA
Population	65,031 (July 2004 est.)	127,433,494 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA	NA%
Population growth rate	0.31% (2004 est.)	-0.088% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors	Saint Peter Port, Saint Sampson	-
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 215 (plus 370 repeaters), FM 89 (plus 485 repeaters), shortwave 21 (2001)
Railways	-	total: 23,474 km standard gauge: 3,204 km 1.435-m gauge (3,204 km electrified) narrow gauge: 77 km 1.372-m gauge (77 km electrified); 20,182 km 1.067-m gauge (13,334 km electrified); 11 km 0.762-m gauge (11 km electrified) (2006)
Religions	Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, Congregational, Methodist	observe both Shinto and Buddhist 84%, other 16% (including Christian 0.7%)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2004 est.)	at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.055 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.014 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.732 male(s)/female total population: 0.953 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	20 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: NA domestic: NA international: 1 submarine cable	general assessment: excellent domestic and international service domestic: high level of modern technology and excellent service of every kind international: country code - 81; numerous submarine cables provide links throughout Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Europe, and US; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region), and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean regions
Telephones - main lines in use	55,000 (2001)	55.155 million (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	31,500 (2001)	101.7 million (2006)
Television broadcast stations	1 (1997)	211 (plus 7,341 repeaters); in addition, US Forces are served by 3 TV stations and 2 TV cable services (1999)
Terrain	mostly level with low hills in southwest	mostly rugged and mountainous
Total fertility rate	1.38 children born/woman (2004 est.)	1.23 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	0.5% (1999 est.)	4% (2007 est.)
Waterways	-	1,770 km (seagoing vessels use inland seas) (2007)

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