emperor after designation by the cabinet, all other justices are
appointed by the cabinet

Political parties and leaders: Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Ryutaro
HASHIMOTO, president, Koichi KATO, secretary general; Social
Democratic Party (SDP), Takako DOI, chairman, Shigeru ITO, secretary
general; Sakigake (Harbinger), Akiko DOMOTO, acting chairman, Hiroyuki
SONODA, secretary general; New Frontier Party or NFP (Shinshinto),
Ichiro OZAWA, president, Takeo NISHIOKA, secretary general; Democratic
Party of Japan (DPJ), coleaders Yukio HATOYAMA and Naoto KAN; Japan
Communist Party (JCP), Tetsuzo FUWA, chairman, Kazuo SHII, secretary
general; Sun Party, Tsutomu HATA, chairman, Eijiro HATA, secretary
general
note: DPJ was formed in September 1996 by former members of SDP and
Sakigake; Sun Party was formed in December 1996 by former members of
NFP

International organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer), APEC,
AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE (observer), CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO,
G- 2, G- 5, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU,
ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat,
Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MTCR, NEA, NSG, OAS
(observer), OECD, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UN Security Council
(temporary), UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNRWA, UNU,
UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Kunihiko SAITO
chancery : 2520 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 939-6700
FAX: [1] (202) 328-2187
consulate(s) general: Agana (Guam), Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston,
Chicago, Detroit, Honolulu, Houston, Kansas City (Missouri), Los
Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Portland (Oregon), San
Francisco, and Seattle
consulate(s): Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands)

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant)
embassy: 10-5, Akasaka 1-chome, Minato-ku (107), Tokyo
mailing address : Unit 45004, Box 258, APO AP 96337-0001
telephone: [81] (3) 3224-5000
FAX: [81] (3) 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

Economy - overview: Government-industry cooperation, a strong work
ethic, mastery of high technology, and a comparatively small defense
allocation (roughly 1% of GDP) have helped Japan adv