rait
International disputes:
Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Shikotan Islands and the Habomai island group
occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia, claimed by
Japan; Liancourt Rocks disputed with South Korea; Senkaku-shoto (Senkaku
Islands) claimed by China and Taiwan
Climate:
varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north
Terrain:
mostly rugged and mountainous
Natural resources:
negligible mineral resources, fish
Land use:
arable land:
13%
permanent crops:
1%
meadows and pastures:
1%
forest and woodland:
67%
other:
18%
Irrigated land:
28,680 km2 (1989)
Environment:
many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences
(mostly tremors) every year; subject to tsunamis
Note:
strategic location in northeast Asia

*Japan, People

Population:
124,711,551 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.32% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
10.31 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
7.17 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
4.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
79.18 years
male:
76.35 years
female:
82.15 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.54 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Japanese (singular and plural)
adjective:
Japanese
Ethnic divisions:
Japanese 99.4%, other 0.6% (mostly Korean)
Religions:
Shinto 95.8%, Buddhist 76.3%, Christian 1.4%, other 12%
note:
most Japanese observe both Shinto and Buddhist rites so the percentages add
to more than 100%
Languages:
Japanese
Literacy:
age 15 and over can read and write (1970)
total population:
99%
male:
NA%
female:
NA%
Labor force:
63.33 million
by occupation:
trade and services 54%, manufacturing, mining, and construction 33%,
agriculture, forestry, and fishing 7%, government 3% (1988)

*Japan, Government

Names:
conventional long form:
none
conventional short form:
Japan
Digraph:
JA
Type:
constitutional monarchy
Capital:
Tokyo
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