of December
2006 - LDP 305, DPJ 113, Komeito 31, JCP 9, SDP 7, others 15 (2006)

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the monarch after
designation by the cabinet; all other justices are appointed by the
cabinet)

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

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, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD,
IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, 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, UNMOVIC, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

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

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

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 the third-largest economy in the world after the US and
China, measured on a purchasing power parit