202) 328-2187
consulate(s): Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands)
consulate(s) general: Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver,
Detroit, Hagatna (Guam), Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New
Orleans, New York, Portland (Oregon), San Francisco, and Seattle
chancery: 2520 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 238-6700

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

Flag description:
white with a large red disk (representing the sun without rays) in
the center

Economy Japan

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
after effects 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