Japan: An Economic Overview Samira Danbala Randy Phan David Bo

Demographics Population: 127,338,621; Growth Rate: -0.175% (2013) Language: Japanese Main Cities: Tokyo, Osaka-Kobe, Kyoto, Fukushima, Nagoya Other: 3RD largest country by nominal GDP; 4TH largest by purchasing power; 2ND largest developed country Religion: Shintoism 83.9%, Buddhism 71.4%, Christianity 2%, other 7.8% note: total adherents exceeds 100% because many people belong to both Shintoism and Buddhism (2005)

Japan’s Current Unemployment Rate In Japan, the unemployment rate measures the number of people actively looking for a job as a percentage of the labor force - was last refreshed on Tuesday, March 17, 2015. Japan's seasonally adjusted unemployment was reported at 3.6 percent in January, lower than 3.7 percent reported in the same month of 2013 as the number of employed persons increased. The number of employed persons in January 2015 was 63.09 million, an increase of 470 thousand or 0.8% from the previous year. The number of unemployed persons in January 2015 was 2.31 million, a decrease of 70 thousand or 2.9% from the previous year.

United States Unemployment Rate

Japan Unemployment (1995-2015)

Stable Prices Current Inflation Rate: 2.40%; U.S.: -.1% (01/15) Lowest: -2.52% (10/09) Average: 3.16% (1958-2015) Hyperinflation: 25.64% (02/74)

Cost of Living Tokyo, Japan Boston MA, United States Meal for 2 (midlevel Restaurant): $41.19 Gas: $4.66/gal Jeans (Levi): $60.14 3 Bedroom Apt: $2606.82 Cinema Ticket: $14.83 Meal for 2 (midlevel Restaurant): $60 Gas: $2.39/gal Jeans (Levi): $43.14 3 Bedroom Apt: $4061.11 Cinema Ticket: $12

Income Level Japan Income per capita $25,066 Minimum Wage: $6.53/Hr United States Income Per Capita $23,938 Minimum Wage: $7.25/Hr

Economic Growth Japan GDP 4.92 trillion USD (2013) US GDP 16.77 Trillion (2013) Highest: 5.954 Trillion dollars (2012) Lowest: 44.31 Billion (1960) Japan GDP Per Capita: $38,633.71 US GDP Per Capita: $53,041.98

Imports and Exports Exports: 697 Billion (2013) Imports: 766.6 Billion (2013) Motor Vehicles 13.6% Semiconductors: 6.2% Iron and Steel Products: 5.5% Auto Parts: 4.6% Plastic Material: 3.5 Power Generating Machinery: 3.5 Petroleum: 15.5 Liquid natural Gas: 5.7 Clothing: 3.9 Semiconductors: 3.5 Coal: 3.5 Audio/Visual Apparatus: 2.7

Challenges Japan is facing And Our Proposed Solutions

Globalization Holding on the old (post WWII) ideas that hard work has a guaranteed reward because of this the youth see no need to be globally minded Too much focus inward, not trying to unite with the rest of the world until it’s too late Working age population (15-64) is going down while the aging population is going up. The total population is projected to decline by 90 million by 2050. Solution: Educate the youth that they should be more globally minded. They need to know that there are many advantages that come with being more connected with the rest of the world. They would be able to learn a lot from peers from around the world and gain many insights that would be able to help them lead their nation in the future.

Environment Pollution Burns 2/3 of it’s waste 1/3 of it’s power source is from nuclear power plants Polluted water causing less fish trade Changes in climate Endangered Species A solution for most of these issues would be for Japan to use more efficient ways of getting rid of waste and recycling as much as they can.

Immigration Challenges: Solutions: Prime Minister Shinzō Abe believes that in countries that have accepted immigration, there has been a lot of friction between the immigrants and the natives causing a lot of unhappiness Within the entire population, fewer than 2 percent of residents are foreign Japan calls for the number of foreign residents to be increased by 200,000 a year. Solutions: Allowing highly skilled foreign workers to settle in Japan will also bring new talent into the country, raising its competitiveness across a variety of industries Japan can use the Tokyo Summer Olympics of 2020 as a way to reintroduce themselves to the world and make Japan as a nation look like a more desirable place to live and do business in. That could be a major catalyst in reviving the population. The Japanese pay about half as much for their health care as Americans do.

Japan’s Demographic Challenge Japan has a demographic problem, which has become an economic problem. The population is gradually getting older, people are having fewer children, and the ratio between prime age workers and retirees is shrinking. Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/japans-demographics-problem-gif-2014-11#ixzz3V9lZ6xFW