Official Name

Japan (Nihon or Nippon in Japanese which means ‘Origin of Sun’).

Language

Japanese

Standard Time

GMT + 9 hours

Land Territory¹

3,77,975 sq. kms. (61^st largest in area)

Coastline²

Long and irregular coast line of about 32,778.88 km.

Geography

Japan, known as the ‘Land of Rising Sun’, is a part of a long chain of mountains running from South East Asia to Alaska. It comprises of over six thousand islands. It has long rocky coastline with many small and excellent harbors, numerous valleys, rivers and lakes. Mountainous and hilly areas account for over 75% of total area with 532 mountains over 2,000 meters high. Mt. Fuji is the highest mountain rising up to 3776 meters. Being located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, Japan is prone to tremors and earthquakes.

Climate

Predominantly temperate, it is marked by four distinct seasons with pronounced differences in the North and South. Northern Japan has long and harsh winter and relatively cool summers. Central Japan has cold short winter and cool humid summer.

Main Islands

Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu which account for over 90% of total area.

Major regions

Traditionally, there are 8 regions: Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto, Chubu, Kansai, Chugoku, Shikoku, and the Kyushu and Ryukyu Islands.

Main Cities

(October 2019)³

City Population (in millions)

Tokyo (capital) 13.92 (Tokyo City - 9.30)

Yokohama 3.73

Osaka 2.70

Nagoya 2.28

Sapporo 1.95

Fukouka 1.52

Kobe 1.54

Kawasaki 1.48

Kyoto 1.41

Sendai 1.06

Total Prefectures

(Administrative division)

47

Major Prefectures with population (as of October 2019)⁴

Name of Prefecture Population (in millions)

Tokyo 13.9 (11.0 percent of the total population).

Kanagawa 9.1

Osaka 8.8

Aichi 7.5

Saitama 7.3

These prefectures account for 37.1 % of the total population.

Population and key demographic factors

(as of July 2020 PE)⁵

Population: 125.9616 million (including foreign nationals)

Male population: 48.67 %

Female population: 51.33%

Population

under 15 years old : 12.0%

15-64 years old : 59.3%

65 years old and above : 28.7%

Birth rate : 7.4

Death rate : 11

Population growth rate: -0.22

The population increased in 7 prefectures. Tokyo had the highest rate of increase in population i.e. 0.71%.

The population decreased in 40 prefectures. Akita had the highest rate of decrease in population i.e. -1.48%.

Aging population:

Nearly 28.7% of the population is over 65 years of age

14.8% of the population is aged 75 & above.

04.9% of the population is aged 85 & above.

Japan’s population is projected to drop to around 82.13 – 94.90 million in 2065 with people aged 65 & above making up nearly 35.6-41.2% of the total.

Population Density⁶

340.8 Persons per sq. kms. – 11^th in the world

Fertility rate

2014 - 1.42

2015- 1.46

2016 – 1.42

2017 – 1.42

2018 – 1.42

2019 – 1.36

(Note: the fertility rate is well below the 2.07 mark needed to keep the population from declining)

Population Growth

As on 1 October 2019, the population decreased by 276000 (0.21%) from the previous year.

Life Expectancy (years)⁷

Male – 81.25 and Female – 87.32 years (2019)

Religions

Shintoism (51%), Buddhists (43%), Christians (1%), Others (5%)

Neighboring Countries

Russia, North Korea, South Korea, China, Philippines, Pacific Islands, and the US.

Political System

Japan is a constitutional monarchy. The Emperor is the symbol of the State and of the unity of people. He performs his constitutional duties on the advice and with the approval of the cabinet. Japan follows parliamentary democracy with separation of legislative, executive and judicial branches. The term of the government is four years. It may be terminated earlier if the Cabinet dissolves the House of Representatives. The Cabinet headed by Prime Minister is responsible to the Parliament (Diet) consisting of the House of Representatives (Lower House – 465 seats) and the House of Councillors (Upper House – 245 seats). Voting is by universal adult (18 years old and above) suffrage.

Major Political Parties

House of Representatives - 465 seats (as of September 2020)

Note: Figures in parentheses show the number of women members

Note: Elections to the Lower House were held on 22 Oct 2017. The new Cabinet was sworn on 02 October 2018 after the LDP President re-election held on September 20 in which PM Abe won against Mr Shigeru Ishiba for a new 3-year term. Incumbent President Shinz? Abe was running for re-election after a rule change in 2017 that allowed him to run for a third term. PM Abe reshuffled the Cabinet on 11 September 2019 and changed 17 of the 19 Ministers, 13 to hold Ministerial position for the first time. Further, on resignation by PM Shinzo Abe due to health issues, on 16 September 2020, Mr SUGA Yoshihide was appointed designated as the 99th prime minister & new cabinet was constituted on 18^th September 2020.

House of Councillors- 245 seats (As of October 2020)⁹

Note: Figures in parentheses show the number of women members

Emperor

His Majesty Emperor Naruhito

(He acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne on 1 May 2019, beginning the ‘Reiwa’ era, following the abdication of his father, Emperor Akihito, on 30 April 2019.)

Government leaders¹⁰

Economy

The economy of Japan is the third largest in the world by nominal GDP, the fourth largest by purchasing power parity and is the world’s second largest developed economy. Japan is the world’s third largest automobile manufacturing country, has the largest electronics goods industry, and is often ranked among the world’s most innovative countries leading several measures of global patent filings. Facing increasing competition from China and South Korea, manufacturing in Japan today now focuses primarily on high-tech and precision goods, such as optical instruments, hybrid vehicles, and robotics. Besides the Kant? region, the Kansai region is one of the leading industrial clusters and manufacturing centres for the Japanese economy. Japan is the world’s largest creditor nation, generally running an annual trade surplus and having a considerable net international investment surplus.

GDP Per Capita FY 2019

US $40,847 (Nominal) & US $ 45,456 (Real)

GDP Growth Rate in FY2019¹¹

1.25% (Nominal); 0.66 % (Real)

GDP (Nominal)¹²

553.740 trillion Yen ($ 5.1 trillion) (CY 2019 (Jan-Dec))

GDP (Real)¹³

535.901 trillion Yen ($ 5.7 trillion) (CY 2019 (Jan-Dec))

Inflation rate

2.7% in 2014*

0.8% in 2015

-0.1% in 2016

0.5% in 2017

1% in 2018

0.79% in 2019

(Source: Statistics Bureau, Ministry of internal Affairs and Communications, Govt. of Japan, * In October 2019, Consumption Tax was increased from 8% to 10%.

Unemployment rate¹⁴

3.1% (CY 2016)

2.8% (CY 2017)

2.4% ( CY 2018)

2.4% ( CY 2019)

(Reached 2.9% in May 2020 & highest since May 2017)

Foreign Exchange Reserves¹⁵

$ 1.383 trillion (June 2020)

Exports

$ 709.13 billion (FY2013)

$ 684.85 billion (FY2014)

$ 616.08 billion (FY2015)

$ 660.15 billion (FY2016)

$ 713.76 billion (FY2017)

$ 729.32 billion (FY2018)

$ 705.70 billion (FY 2019)

Imports

$ 846.20 billion (FY2013)

$ 770.54 billion (FY2014)

$ 624.40 billion (FY2015)

$ 622.67 billion (FY2016)

$ 691.35 billion (FY2017)

$ 743.45 billion (FY2018)

$ 720.82 billion (FY 2019)

Total trade

$ 1555.33 billion (FY2013)

$ 1455.39 billion (FY2014)

$ 1240.48 billion (FY2015)

$ 1282.83 billion (FY2016)

$ 1405.11 billion (FY2017)

$ 1472.77 billion (FY2018)

$ 1426.53 billion (FY 2019)

Trade Deficit

$ -137.07 billion (FY2013)

$ -85.69 billion (FY2014)

$ -8.32 billion (FY2015)

$ 37.48 billion (FY2016)

$ 22.41 billion (FY2017)

$ -14.13 billion (FY2018)

$ -15.12 billion (FY 2019)

Total Public Debt¹⁶

$ 13.22 trillion 241% of GDP (nominal) [as on March 2020]

(converted on the rate of exchange rate at $1=JPY107.82 on 31^st March 2020)

Rate of Exchange¹⁷

$ 1= ¥ 106.86 (as on 26^th July 2020)

Major Export Destinations

(FY 2019)¹⁸

USA (19.6%), China (19.1%), ASEAN (15.1%), EU (11.2%), South Korea (6.5%), Taiwan (6.2%), Hong Kong (4.7%), Thailand (4.2%), Germany (2.8%), Singapore (2.8%), Vietnam (2.4%), Australia (2.1%), India (1.5%), Africa (1.3%)

Major Import Sources

(FY 2019)¹⁹

China (22.9%), USA (11%), ASEAN (15.1%), EU (12.2%), Australia (6.1%), South Korea (4.1%), Saudi Arabia (3.8%), Taiwan (3.8%), UAE (3.8%), Thailand (3.5%), Germany (3.4%), Vietnam (3.2%), India (0.76%), Africa (1.2%)

Major Items of Exports²⁰

Transport equipments (Motor vehicles, parts of motor vehicles, ships, etc), Electrical machinery & Semiconductors, Machinery (iron & steel products, electronic integrated circuits, power generating machinery), Manufactured goods (Iron & steel products, nonferrous metals, etc), Chemicals (organic, medical, plastic materials), Food stuffs, Others.

Major Items of Imports²¹

Minseral fuesls (Petroleum & petroleum products, LNG, coal, LPG), Manufactured goods (iron & steel, nonferrous, textile yarn and fabric, clothing & accessories, medical products), Machinery (telecommunications equipment, semiconductors, electronic integrated circuits, computers & parts, scientific & optical equipment), Food stuffs, Transport equipment, Chemicals (Organic & medical products), Raw materials (wood, ore of nonferrous, iron ore, etc).

Japan’s Major Industries

Motor Vehicles, Electronic Goods, Machinery & Machine Tools, Steel & Non-Ferrous Metals, Ships, Chemicals, Textiles, Processed Food

Indian Origin/Permanent Resident

Total: 547

Indian Expatriates

Total: approx 40,202

Indian Organizations

Banks

2

PSUs

2

Government Organizations

2

Indian Associations registered with EOI & CGI

43 with EOI Tokyo

09 with CGI Osaka