Compare Japan (2006) - British Indian Ocean Territory (2007)

Compare Japan (2006) z British Indian Ocean Territory (2007)

	Japan (2006)	British Indian Ocean Territory (2007)

Administrative divisions	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: 14.2% (male 9,309,524/female 8,849,476) 15-64 years: 65.7% (male 42,158,122/female 41,611,754) 65 years and over: 20% (male 10,762,585/female 14,772,150) (2006 est.)	-
Agriculture - products	rice, sugar beets, vegetables, fruit; pork, poultry, dairy products, eggs; fish	-
Airports	175 (2006)	1 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 145 over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 41 1,524 to 2,437 m: 39 914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 30 (2006)	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 30 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 26 (2006)	-
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: 54,400 sq km land: 60 sq km; Diego Garcia 44 sq km water: 54,340 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago of 55 islands
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than California	land area is about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC
Background	In 1603, a Tokugawa shogunate (military dictatorship) ushered in a long period of isolation from foreign influence in order to secure its power. For 250 years 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, 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, but Japan still remains a major economic power, both in Asia and globally. In 2005, Japan began a two-year term as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.	Established as a territory of the UK in 1965, a number of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) islands were transferred to the Seychelles when it attained independence in 1976. Subsequently, BIOT has consisted only of the six main island groups comprising the Chagos Archipelago. The largest and most southerly of the islands, Diego Garcia, contains a joint UK-US naval support facility. All of the remaining islands are uninhabited. Former agricultural workers, earlier residents in the islands, were relocated primarily to Mauritius but also to the Seychelles, between 1967 and 1973. In 2000, a British High Court ruling invalidated the local immigration order that had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia.
Birth rate	9.37 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	-
Budget	revenues: $1.429 trillion expenditures: $1.775 trillion; including capital expenditures (public works only) of about $71 billion (2005 est.)	-
Capital	name: Tokyo geographic coordinates: 35 42 N, 139 46 E time difference: UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	-
Climate	varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north	tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds
Coastline	29,751 km	698 km
Constitution	3 May 1947	-
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Japan local long form: Nihon-koku/Nippon-koku local short form: Nihon/Nippon	conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT
Death rate	9.16 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	-
Debt - external	$1.545 trillion (31 December 2004)	-
Dependency status	-	overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador J. Thomas SCHIEFFER embassy: 1-10-5 Akasaka, 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	none (overseas territory of the UK)
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, Agana (Guam), Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Portland (Oregon), San Francisco, Seattle	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Disputes - international	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	Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia; in 2001, the former inhabitants of the Chagos Archipelago, evicted in 1967 and 1973 and now residing chiefly in Mauritius, were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation; in May 2006, the High Court of London reversed U.K. Government's 2004 orders of council that banned habitation on the islands; a small group of Chagossians visited Diego Garcia in April 2006; repatriation is complicated by the exclusive US military lease of Diego Garcia that restricts access to the largest viable island in the chain
Economic aid - donor	ODA, $8.9 billion (2004)	-
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 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 is how manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors work 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 are now eroding. 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 60% 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 during the late 1980s and contractionary domestic policies intended to wring speculative excesses from the stock and real estate markets and to force a restructuring of the economy. From 2000 to 2003, government efforts to revive economic growth met with little success and were further hampered by the slowing of the US, European, and Asian economies. In 2004 and 2005, growth improved and the lingering fears of deflation in prices and economic activity lessened. Japan's huge government debt, which totals 170% 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. Internal conflict over the proper way to reform the financial system will continue as Japan Post's banking, insurance, and delivery services undergo privatization between 2007 and 2017.	All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, where a joint UK-US military facility is located. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installation are performed by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. There are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands. When the native Ilois return, they plan to reestablish sugarcane production and fishing. The territory makes money by selling fishing licenses and postage stamps.
Electricity - consumption	946.3 billion kWh (2003)	NA kWh
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2003)	-
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2003)	-
Electricity - production	1.017 trillion kWh (2003)	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Hachiro-gata -4 m highest point: Mount Fuji 3,776 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m
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	NA
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	Japanese 99%, others 1% (Korean 511,262, Chinese 244,241, Brazilian 182,232, Filipino 89,851, other 237,914) 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	yen per US dollar - 110.22 (2005), 108.19 (2004), 115.93 (2003), 125.39 (2002), 121.53 (2001)	-
Executive branch	chief of state: Emperor AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989) head of government: Prime Minister Shinzo ABE (since 26 September 2006) 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: ABE was elected prime minister with 339 of 476 votes cast in the House of Representatives and 136 of 240 votes cast in the House of Councilors.	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Commissioner Leigh TURNER (since July 2006); Administrator Tony HUMPHRIES (since February 2005); note - both reside in the UK and are represented by the officer commanding British Forces on Diego Garcia cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch
Exports	93,360 bbl/day (2001)	-
Exports - commodities	transport equipment, motor vehicles, semiconductors, electrical machinery, chemicals	-
Exports - partners	US 22.9%, China 13.4%, South Korea 7.8%, Taiwan 7.3%, Hong Kong 6.1% (2005)	-
Fiscal year	1 April - 31 March	-
Flag description	white with a large red disk (representing the sun without rays) in the center	white with six blue wavy horizontal stripes; the flag of the UK is in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the striped section bears a palm tree and yellow crown centered on the outer half of the flag
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 1.7% industry: 25.8% services: 72.5% (2005 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	2.6% (2005 est.)	-
Geographic coordinates	36 00 N, 138 00 E	6 00 S, 71 30 E; note - Diego Garcia 7 20 S, 72 25 E
Geography - note	strategic location in northeast Asia	archipelago of 55 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility
Heliports	15 (2006)	-
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 4.8% highest 10%: 21.7% (1993)	-
Imports	5.449 million bbl/day (2001)	-
Imports - commodities	machinery and equipment, fuels, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, raw materials (2001)	-
Imports - partners	China 21%, US 12.7%, Saudi Arabia 5.5%, UAE 4.9%, Australia 4.7%, South Korea 4.7%, Indonesia 4% (2005)	-
Independence	660 B.C. (traditional founding by Emperor JIMMU)	-
Industrial production growth rate	1.5% (2005 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	-
Infant mortality rate	total: 3.24 deaths/1,000 live births male: 3.5 deaths/1,000 live births female: 2.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)	-
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-0.3% (2005 est.)	-
International organization participation	AfDB, APEC, APT, ARF, AsDB, 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, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, 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, UNMOVIC, UNRWA, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC	-
Irrigated land	25,920 sq km (2003)	0 sq km
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	66.4 million (2005 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: 11.64% permanent crops: 0.9% other: 87.46% (2005)	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005)
Languages	Japanese	-
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	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply
Legislative branch	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 11 July 2004 (next to be held in July 2007); 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 - LDP 115, DPJ 82, Komeito 24, JCP 9, SDP 5, others 7; distribution of seats as of January 2006 - LDP 112, DPJ 83, Komeito 24, JCP 9, SDP 6, others 8 House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - LDP 47.8%, DPJ 36.4%, others 15.8%; seats by party - LDP 296, DPJ 113, Komeito 31, JCP 9, SDP 7, others 24; distribution of seats as of January 2006 - LDP 294, DPJ 112, Komeito 31, JCP 9, SDP 7, others 27 (2006)	-
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 81.25 years male: 77.96 years female: 84.7 years (2006 est.)	-
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2002)	-
Location	Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula	archipelago in the Indian Ocean, south of India, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia
Map references	Asia	Political Map of the World
Maritime claims	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	territorial sea: 3 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine	total: 683 ships (1000 GRT or over) 10,415,892 GRT/11,765,038 DWT by type: bulk carrier 134, cargo 30, chemical tanker 20, container 11, liquefied gas 59, passenger 14, passenger/cargo 149, petroleum tanker 156, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll off 51, vehicle carrier 56 registered in other countries: 2,459 (Australia 1, Bahamas 51, Belize 2, Burma 4, Cambodia 4, Cayman Islands 1, China 3, Cyprus 17, French Southern and Antarctic Lands 4, Honduras 4, Hong Kong 67, Indonesia 3, Isle of Man 4, South Korea 1, Liberia 102, Malaysia 4, Malta 1, Marshall Islands 7, Mongolia 1, Norway 1, Panama 2007, Philippines 26, Portugal 9, Singapore 100, Sweden 2, Thailand 4, Vanuatu 28, unknown 1) (2006)	-
Military - note	-	defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016
Military branches	Japanese Defense Agency (JDA): Ground Self-Defense Force (Rikujou Jietai, GSDF), Maritime Self-Defense Force (Kaijou Jietai, MSDF), Air Self-Defense Force (Nihon Koku-Jieitai, ASDF) (2006)	-
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$44.31 billion (2005 est.)	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1% (2005 est.)	-
National holiday	Birthday of Emperor AKIHITO, 23 December (1933)	-
Nationality	noun: Japanese (singular and plural) adjective: Japanese	-
Natural hazards	many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; tsunamis; typhoons	NA
Natural resources	negligible mineral resources, fish	coconuts, fish, sugarcane
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	-
Pipelines	gas 8,015 km; oil 170 km; oil/gas/water 60 km (2006)	-
Political parties and leaders	Democratic Party of Japan or DPJ [Ichiro OZAWA]; Japan Communist Party or JCP [Kazuo SHII]; Komeito [Akihoro OTA]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Shinzo ABE]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Mizuho FUKUSHIMA]	-
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	-
Population	127,463,611 (July 2006 est.)	no indigenous inhabitants note: approximately 1,200 former agricultural workers resident in the Chagos Archipelago, often referred to as Chagossians or Ilois, were relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles in the 1960s and 1970s; in November 2000 they were granted the right of return by a British High Court ruling, though no timetable has been set; in November 2004, there were approximately 4,000 UK and US military personnel and civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia
Population below poverty line	NA%	-
Population growth rate	0.02% (2006 est.)	-
Radio broadcast stations	AM 215 plus 370 repeaters, FM 89 plus 485 repeaters, shortwave 21 (2001)	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)
Railways	total: 23,556 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); 20,264 km 1.067-m gauge (13,280 km electrified); 11 km 0.762-m gauge (11 km electrified) (2005)	-
Religions	observe both Shinto and Buddhist 84%, other 16% (including Christian 0.7%)	-
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: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2006 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: country code - 81; 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: separate facilities for military and public needs are available domestic: all commercial telephone services are available, including connection to the Internet international: country code (Diego Garcia) - 246; international telephone service is carried by satellite (2000)
Telephones - main lines in use	58.78 million (2005)	NA
Telephones - mobile cellular	94.745 million (2005)	-
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)	1 (1997)
Terrain	mostly rugged and mountainous	flat and low (most areas do not exceed two meters in elevation)
Total fertility rate	1.4 children born/woman (2006 est.)	-
Unemployment rate	4.4% (2005 est.)	-
Waterways	1,770 km (seagoing vessels use inland seas) (2006)	-

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