Japan Country Brief 15 March /C Chester 2/C Hellar

Introduction Location Climate/Terrain People Government History Economy Military U.S. Presence

Location Location-North Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula land: 374,744 sq km (slightly smaller than California ) Coastline- 29,751 km

Climate/Terrain Climate-varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north 5 seasons counting the rainy season Ave. Summer Temp. 83F Ave. Winter Temp. 40F Terrain-73% rugged and mountainous (unsuitable for agricultural, industrial, or residential use )

People Pop.-127,417,244 (July 2005 est.) 18 th most densely populated country Life expectancy years (Highest in the world) (U.S. 77) Ethnic Groups- Japanese 99%, others 1% (Korean, Chinese, Brazilian, Filipino, other)

People Religions- Shinto and Buddhist 84%, other 16% (including Christian 0.7%) Language- Japanese Literacy- 99% (U.S. 97%)

Government Constitutional monarchy w/ a parliamentary government 47 prefectures (like states) Legal System- modeled after European civil law system with English- American influence; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court

Government cont. Legislative- House of Councillors (242) and House of Representatives (480) Executive- chief of state: Emperor AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989) –head of government: Prime Minister Junichiro KOIZUMI Judicial- Supreme Court

Economy Successful Economy –Government-industry cooperation –Strong work ethic –Mastery of high technology –A comparatively small defense allocation (Only 1% of GDP) 3 rd Strongest w.r.t. to Purchasing Power 2 nd Strongest w.r.t. to Exchange Rate

Economic Features Manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors in form closely-knit groups called keiretsu Guarantee of lifetime employment Heavily dependent on imported raw materials for industry Major fishing power: 15% Global Catch

Economic Facts GDP PPP $3.867 trillion (2005 est.) GDP Ex Rate $4.955 trillion (2005 est.) Labor Force 66.4 million (2005 est.) Labor Force Percentages: Agriculture 4.6%, Industry 27.8%, Services 67.7% (2004)

Major Ports/Terminals Chiba Kawasaki Kiire Kisarazu Kobe Mizushima Nagoya Osaka Tokyo Yohohama

Modern History WWII for Japan began on 7 December 1941 with the attack on Pearl Harbor. The U.S. used an Island hopping Strategy in the Pacific against Japan U.S. dropped Nuclear Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, this directly led to the end of WWII for Japan.

Result of the War General Douglas MacArthur led the demilitarization and democratization of Japan. All clubs, schools, and societies associated with the military and martial skills were eliminated, along with the military Staff. Japan will never again maintain "land, sea, or air forces or other war potential". Japan currently has self-defense forces.

Japanese Military Facts Branches –Ground Self-Defense Force (Army): 156,000 –Maritime Self-Defense Force (Navy): 44,400 –Air Self-Defense Force (Air Force): 46,000 Manpower Fit for Military Service : Males age 18-49: 22,234,663 (2005 est.) Actual size: 246,400 (1992 est.)

Japanese Maritime SDF Maritime Staff Office (Tokyo) Self Defense Fleet Headquarters (Yokosuka) Main bases (Yokosuka, Kure, Sasebo, Maizuru and Ominato) Other bases (Yoichi, Hakodate, Kobe, Shimonoseki, and Katsuren) Air bases (Hachinohe, Ominato, Simofusa, Tateyama, Atsugi, Komatsujima, Tokushima, Iwakuni, Ozuki, Omura, Kanoya, Naha).

U.S. Military Bases in Japan The main U.S. bases in mainland Japan include Misawa airbase in the Aomori Prefecture up in the north of Honshu Island Yokota Airbase in Tokyo Yokosuka naval base in the Kanagawa Prefecture Atsugi base in the Kanagawa Prefecture Iwakuni Marine base near Hiroshima Sasebo naval base in Nagasaki Prefecture

U.S. Military in Okinawa

U.S. Military in Japan Cont. Approximately 90 U.S. military facilities throughout mainland Japan and Okinawa –Approximately 52,000 U.S. troops The U.S. armed forces in Japan are subjected to the Pacific Command located in Hawaii The forces deployed to Japan are the largest of the four U.S. joint forces with a jurisdiction extending from the U.S. western coast and the whole of the Pacific Ocean through the Indian Ocean to the eastern coasts of Africa.

Japanese Transnational Issues Sovereignty dispute with Russia Japan and South Korea claim Liancourt Rocks (Take-shima/Tok-do), which has been occupied by South Korea since 1954 China and Taiwan dispute both Japan's claims to the uninhabited islands of the Senkaku-shoto (Diaoyu Tai) Japan has unilaterally declared an exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea

Why do we Care? Strategic Location –Forward Projection –Keeping “eye” on the Pacific –Defense for ourselves and Japan –Closer distance to “trouble spots”

Works Cited _Military_Presencehttp:// _Military_Presence agency/army/usarj.htm+Why+is+Japan+important+to+the+U.S.+Military%3F&hl=en& gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=2http:// /search?q=cache:JCkMh7SwllQJ: agency/army/usarj.htm+Why+is+Japan+important+to+the+U.S.+Military%3F&hl=en& gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=2