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Compare Japan (2003) - World (2002)

Compare Japan (2003) z World (2002)

 Japan (2003)World (2002)
 JapanWorld
Administrative divisions 47 prefectures; Aichi, Akita, Aomori, Chiba, Ehime, Fukui, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Gifu, Gumma, 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 268 nations, dependent areas, other, and miscellaneous entries
Age structure 0-14 years: 14.4% (male 9,368,132; female 8,906,024)


15-64 years: 67% (male 42,852,204; female 42,368,109)


65 years and over: 18.6% (male 9,945,638; female 13,774,392) (2003 est.)
0-14 years: 29.2% (male 932,581,592; female 885,688,851)


15-64 years: 63.7% (male 2,009,997,089; female 1,964,938,201)


65 years and over: 7.1% (male 193,549,180; female 247,067,032) (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products rice, sugar beets, vegetables, fruit; pork, poultry, dairy products, eggs; fish -
Airports 172 (2002) -
Airports - with paved runways total: 141


over 3,047 m: 7


2,438 to 3,047 m: 37


1,524 to 2,437 m: 38


914 to 1,523 m: 27


under 914 m: 32 (2002)
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Airports - with unpaved runways total: 31


over 3047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 3


under 914 m: 26 (2002)
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Area 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)
total: 510.072 million sq km


land: 148.94 million sq km


water: 361.132 million sq km


note: 70.8% of the world's surface is water, 29.2% is land
Area - comparative slightly smaller than California land area about 16 times the size of the US
Background While retaining its time-honored culture, Japan rapidly absorbed Western technology during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 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, actual power rests in networks of powerful politicians, bureaucrats, and business executives. The economy experienced a major slowdown starting in the 1990s following three decades of unprecedented growth. Globally, the 20th century was marked by: (a) two devastating world wars; (b) the Great Depression of the 1930s; (c) the end of vast colonial empires; (d) rapid advances in science and technology, from the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (US) to the landing on the moon; (e) the Cold War between the Western alliance and the Warsaw Pact nations; (f) a sharp rise in living standards in North America, Europe, and Japan; (g) increased concerns about the environment, including loss of forests, shortages of energy and water, the decline in biological diversity, and air pollution; (h) the onset of the AIDS epidemic; and (i) the ultimate emergence of the US as the only world superpower. The planet's population continues to explode: from 1 billion in 1820, to 2 billion in 1930, 3 billion in 1960, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1988, and 6 billion in 2000. For the 21st century, the continued exponential growth in science and technology raises both hopes (e.g., advances in medicine) and fears (e.g., development of even more lethal weapons of war).
Birth rate 9.61 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) 21.16 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget revenues: $441 billion


expenditures: $718 billion, including capital expenditures (public works only) of about $0 NA (FY 01/02 est.)
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Capital Tokyo -
Climate varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north two large areas of polar climates separated by two rather narrow temperate zones form a wide equatorial band of tropical to subtropical climates
Coastline 29,751 km 356,000 km
Constitution 3 May 1947 -
Country name conventional long form: none


conventional short form: Japan
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Currency yen (JPY) -
Death rate 8.55 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) 8.93 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external $NA $2 trillion for less developed countries (2001 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador Howard H. BAKER, Jr.


embassy: 10-5 Akasaka 1-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8420


mailing address: Unit 45004, Box 258, 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
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Diplomatic representation in the US 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, Hagatna (Guam), Honolulu, Houston, Kansas City (Missouri), Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Portland (Oregon), San Francisco, and Seattle


consulate(s): Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands)
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Disputes - international islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Shikotan, and the Habomai group occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia, claimed by Japan; Liancourt Rocks (Take-shima/Tok-do) disputed with South Korea; Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu Tai) claimed by China and Taiwan -
Economic aid - donor ODA, $9.1 billion (1999) -
Economic aid - recipient - official development assistance (ODA) $50 billion (2001 est.)
Economy - overview 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 third-largest economy 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, averaging just 1.7%, 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 with little success and were further hampered in 2000-2003 by the slowing of the US, European, and Asian economies. Japan's huge government debt, which is approaching 150% of GDP, and the ageing 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." Internal conflict over the proper way to reform the ailing banking system continues. Growth in global output (gross world product, GWP) fell from 4.8% in 2000 to 2.2% in 2001. The causes: slowdowns in the US economy (21% of GWP) and in the 15 EU economies (20% of GWP); continued stagnation in the Japanese economy (7.3% of GWP); and spillover effects in the less developed regions of the world. China, the second largest economy in the world (12% of GWP), proved an exception, continuing its rapid annual growth, officially announced as 7.3% but estimated by many observers as perhaps two percentage points lower. Russia (2.6% of GWP), with 5.2% growth, continued to make uneven progress, its GDP per capita still only one-third that of the leading industrial nations. The other 14 successor nations of the USSR and the other old Warsaw Pact nations again experienced widely divergent growth rates; the three Baltic nations were strong performers, in the 5% range of growth. The developing nations also varied in their growth results, with many countries facing population increases that eat up gains in output. Externally, the nation-state, as a bedrock economic-political institution, is steadily losing control over international flows of people, goods, funds, and technology. Internally, the central government often finds its control over resources slipping as separatist regional movements - typically based on ethnicity - gain momentum, e.g., in many of the successor states of the former Soviet Union, in the former Yugoslavia, in India, in Indonesia, and in Canada. In Western Europe, governments face the difficult political problem of channeling resources away from welfare programs in order to increase investment and strengthen incentives to seek employment. The addition of 80 million people each year to an already overcrowded globe is exacerbating the problems of pollution, desertification, underemployment, epidemics, and famine. Because of their own internal problems and priorities, the industrialized countries devote insufficient resources to deal effectively with the poorer areas of the world, which, at least from the economic point of view, are becoming further marginalized. The introduction of the euro as the common currency of much of Western Europe in January 1999, while paving the way for an integrated economic powerhouse, poses economic risks because of varying levels of income and cultural and political differences among the participating nations. The terrorist attacks on the US on 11 September 2001 accentuate a further growing risk to global prosperity, illustrated, for example, by the reallocation of resources away from investment to anti-terrorist programs. (For specific economic developments in each country of the world in 2001, see the individual country entries.)
Electricity - consumption 964.2 billion kWh (2001) -
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2001) -
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2001) -
Electricity - production 1.037 trillion kWh (2001) -
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: 60%


hydro: 8.4%


nuclear: 29.8%


other: 1.8% (2001)
fossil fuel: NA%


hydro: NA%


nuclear: NA%


other: NA%
Elevation extremes lowest point: Hachiro-gata -4 m


highest point: Mount Fuji 3,776 m
lowest point: Bentley Subglacial Trench -2,540 m


note: in the oceanic realm, Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench is the lowest point, lying -10,924 m below the surface of the Pacific Ocean


highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.)
Environment - current issues 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 large areas subject to overpopulation, industrial disasters, pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances), loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion
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, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling -
Ethnic groups Japanese 99%, others 1% (Korean 511,262, Chinese 244,241, Brazilian 182,232, Filipino 89,851, other 237,914) (2000) -
Exchange rates yen per US dollar - 125.39 (2002), 121.53 (2001), 107.77 (2000), 113.91 (1999), 130.91 (1998) -
Executive branch chief of state: Emperor AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989)


head of government: Prime Minister Junichiro KOIZUMI (since 26 April 2001)


cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister


elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the Diet designates the prime minister; the constitution requires that the prime minister must command a parliamentary majority; therefore, following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition in the House of Representatives usually becomes prime minister


note: following the resignation of Prime Minister Yoshiro MORI, Junichiro KOIZUMI was elected as the new president of the majority Liberal Democratic Party and soon thereafter designated by the Diet to become the next prime minister
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Exports 93,360 bbl/day (2001) $6.3 trillion f.o.b. (2001 est.)
Exports - commodities motor vehicles, semiconductors, office machinery, chemicals the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
Exports - partners US 28.8%, China 9.6%, South Korea 6.9%, Taiwan 6.2%, Hong Kong 6.1% (2002) in value, about 75% of exports from the developed countries
Fiscal year 1 April - 31 March -
Flag description white with a large red disk (representing the sun without rays) in the center -
GDP purchasing power parity - $3.651 trillion (2002 est.) GWP (gross world product) - purchasing power parity - $47 trillion (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 1.4%


industry: 30.9%


services: 67.7% (2001 est.)
agriculture: 4%


industry: 32%


services: 64% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $28,700 (2002 est.) purchasing power parity - $7,600 (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 0.2% (2002 est.) 2.2% (2001 est.)
Geographic coordinates 36 00 N, 138 00 E -
Geography - note strategic location in northeast Asia the world is now thought to be about 4.55 billion years old, just about one-third of the 13-billion-year age estimated for the universe
Heliports 15 (2002) -
Highways total: 1,161,894 km


paved: 534,471 km (including 6,455 km of expressways)


unpaved: 627,423 km (1999)
total: NA km


paved: NA km


unpaved: NA km
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 4.8%


highest 10%: 21.7% (1993)
lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
Imports 5.449 million bbl/day (2001) $6.3 trillion f.o.b. (2001 est.)
Imports - commodities machinery and equipment, fuels, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, raw materials (2001) the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
Imports - partners China 18.3%, US 17.4%, South Korea 4.6%, Indonesia 4.2%, Australia 4.1% (2002) in value, about 75% of imports into the developed countries
Independence 660 BC (traditional founding by Emperor Jimmu) -
Industrial production growth rate -1.4% (2002 est.) 6% (2000 est.)
Industries among world's largest and technologically advanced producers of motor vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals; textiles, processed foods dominated by the onrush of technology, especially in computers, robotics, telecommunications, and medicines and medical equipment; most of these advances take place in OECD nations; only a small portion of non-OECD countries have succeeded in rapidly adjusting to these technological forces; the accelerated development of new industrial (and agricultural) technology is complicating already grim environmental problems
Infant mortality rate total: 3.3 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 3.56 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 3.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
51.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) -0.9% (2002 est.) developed countries 1% to 4% typically; developing countries 5% to 60% typically (2001 est.); national inflation rates vary widely in individual cases, from declining prices in Japan to hyperinflation in several Third World countries
International organization participation ABEDA, AfDB, APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CE (observer), CERN (observer), CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMISET, UNMOVIC, UNRWA, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC -
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 73 (2000) 10,350 (2000 est.)
Irrigated land 26,790 sq km (1998 est.) 2,714,320 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the monarch after designation by the cabinet; all other justices are appointed by the cabinet) -
Labor force 67.7 million (December 2001) NA
Labor force - by occupation services 70%, industry 25%, agriculture 5% (2002 est.) agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%
Land boundaries 0 km the land boundaries in the world total 250,472 km (not counting shared boundaries twice)
Land use arable land: 12.13%


permanent crops: 1.01%


other: 86.86% (1998 est.)
arable land: 10.58%


permanent crops: 1%


other: 88.42% (1998 est.)
Languages Japanese Chinese, Mandarin 14.37%, Hindi 6.02%, English 5.61%, Spanish 5.59%, Bengali 3.4%, Portuguese 2.63%, Russian 2.75%, Japanese 2.06%, German, Standard 1.64%, Korean 1.28%, French 1.27% (2000 est.)


note: percents are for "first language" speakers only
Legal system modeled after European civil law system with English-American influence; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations all members of the UN plus Switzerland are parties to the statute that established the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court
Legislative branch bicameral Diet or Kokkai consists of the House of Councillors or Sangi-in (247 seats - members elected for six-year terms; half reelected every three years; 149 members in multi-seat constituencies and 98 by proportional representation); 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 2001 (next to be held in July 2004); House of Representatives - last held 9 November 2003 (next election has not been scheduled)


election results: House of Councillors - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - LDP 110, DPJ 59, Komeito 23, JCP 20, SDP 8, Liberal Party 8, Conservative Party 5, independents 14; distribution of seats as of July 2001 was: LDP 115, DPJ 60, Komeito 24, JCP 20, SDP 8, Liberal Party 8 (merged with DPJ in 2003), independents 6, others 6; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - LDP 49.38%, DPJ 36.88%, Komeito 7.09%, JCP 1.88%, SDP 1.25%, NCP .84%; seats by party - LDP 237, DPJ 177, Komeito 34, JCP 9, SDP 6, NCP 4, others 13; distribution of seats as of 13 November 2003 was: LDP 244, DPJ 177, Komeito 34, JCP 9, SDP 6, others 10
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Life expectancy at birth total population: 80.93 years


male: 77.63 years


female: 84.41 years (2003 est.)
total population: 63.94 years


male: 62.28 years


female: 65.67 years (2002 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 99% (1995 est.)


male: NA%


female: NA%
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 77%


male: 83%


female: 71% (1995 est.)
Location Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula -
Map references Asia Physical Map of the World, Political Map of the World, Standard Time Zones of the World
Maritime claims contiguous zone: 24 NM


exclusive economic zone: 200 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
a variety of situations exist, but in general, most countries make the following claims: contiguous zone - 24 NM; continental shelf - 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation, or 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin; exclusive fishing zone - 200 NM; exclusive economic zone - 200 NM; territorial sea - 12 NM; boundary situations with neighboring states prevent many countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200 NM; 43 nations and other areas that are landlocked include Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe; two of these, Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan, are doubly landlocked
Merchant marine total: 594 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 10,467,142 GRT/13,335,833 DWT


ships by type: bulk 120, cargo 45, chemical tanker 18, combination bulk 28, combination ore/oil 1, container 18, liquefied gas 52, passenger 8, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 179, refrigerated cargo 9, roll on/roll off 59, short-sea passenger 6, vehicle carrier 49


note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: China 1, Panama 1, Singapore 1 (2002 est.)
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Military branches Ground Self-Defense Force (Army), Maritime Self-Defense Force (Navy), Air Self-Defense Force (Air Force), Coast Guard -
Military expenditures - dollar figure $39.52 billion (FY02) aggregate real expenditure on arms worldwide in 1999 remained at approximately the 1998 level, about three-quarters of a trillion dollars (1999 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 1% (FY02) roughly 2% of gross world product (1999 est.)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 29,392,559 (2003 est.) -
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 25,405,779 (2003 est.) -
Military manpower - military age 18 years of age (2003 est.) -
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males: 725,281 (2003 est.) -
National holiday Birthday of Emperor AKIHITO, 23 December (1933) -
Nationality noun: Japanese (singular and plural)


adjective: Japanese
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Natural hazards many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; tsunamis; typhoons large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions)
Natural resources negligible mineral resources, fish the rapid depletion of nonrenewable mineral resources, the depletion of forest areas and wetlands, the extinction of animal and plant species, and the deterioration in air and water quality (especially in Eastern Europe, the former USSR, and China) pose serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are only beginning to address
Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) -
Pipelines gas 2,719 km; oil 170 km; oil/gas/water 60 km (2003) -
Political parties and leaders Democratic Party of Japan or DPJ [Naoto KAN, leader; Katsuya OKADA, secretary general]; Japan Communist Party or JCP [Kazuo SHII, chairman; Tadayoshi ICHIDA, secretary general]; Komeito [Takenori KANZAKI, president; Tetsuzo FUYUSHIBA, secretary general]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Junichiro KOIZUMI, president; Shinzo ABE, secretary general]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Mizuho FUKUSHIMA, chairperson; Seiji MATAICHI, secretary general] -
Political pressure groups and leaders NA -
Population 127,214,499 (July 2003 est.) 6,233,821,945 (July 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line NA% -
Population growth rate 0.11% (2003 est.) 1.23% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors Akita, Amagasaki, Chiba, Hachinohe, Hakodate, Higashi-Harima, Himeji, Hiroshima, Kawasaki, Kinuura, Kobe, Kushiro, Mizushima, Moji, Nagoya, Osaka, Sakai, Sakaide, Shimizu, Tokyo, Tomakomai Chiba, Houston, Kawasaki, Kobe, Marseille, Mina' al Ahmadi (Kuwait), New Orleans, New York, Rotterdam, Yokohama
Radio broadcast stations AM 215 plus 370 repeaters, FM 89 plus 485 repeaters, shortwave 21 (2001) AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
Radios - NA
Railways total: 23,168 km (15,995 km electrified)


standard gauge: 3,204 km 1.435-m gauge (3,204 km electrified)


narrow gauge: 77 km 1.372-m gauge (77 km electrified); 19,855 km 1.067-m gauge (12,683 km electrified); 31 km 0.762-m gauge (31 km electrified) (2002)
total: 1,201,337 km includes about 190,000 to 195,000 km of electrified routes of which 147,760 km are in Europe, 24,509 km in the Far East, 11,050 km in Africa, 4,223 km in South America, and 4,160 km in North America; note - fastest speed in daily service is 300 km/hr attained by France's Societe Nationale des Chemins-de-Fer Francais (SNCF) Le Train a Grande Vitesse (TGV) - Atlantique line


broad gauge: 251,153 km


standard gauge: 710,754 km


narrow gauge: 239,430 km
Religions observe both Shinto and Buddhist 84%, other 16% (including Christian 0.7%) Christians 32.88% (of which Roman Catholics 17.39%, Protestants 5.62%, Orthodox 3.54%, Anglicans 1.31%), Muslims 19.54%, Hindus 13.34%, Buddhists 5.92%, Sikhs 0.38%, Jews 0.24%, other religions 12.6%, non-religious 12.63%, atheists 2.47% (2000 est.)
Sex ratio at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female


total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female


total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Suffrage 20 years of age; universal -
Telephone system general assessment: excellent domestic and international service


domestic: high level of modern technology and excellent service of every kind


international: 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); submarine cables to China, Philippines, Russia, and US (via Guam) (1999)
general assessment: NA


domestic: NA


international: NA
Telephones - main lines in use 60.381 million (1997) NA
Telephones - mobile cellular 63.88 million (2000) NA
Television broadcast stations 211 plus 7,341 repeaters


note: in addition, US Forces are served by 3 TV stations and 2 TV cable services (1999)
NA
Terrain mostly rugged and mountainous the greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in the Pacific Ocean
Total fertility rate 1.38 children born/woman (2003 est.) 2.7 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate 5.4% (2002) 30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12% unemployment (2001 est.)
Waterways 1,770 km approximately


note: seagoing craft ply all coastal inland seas
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