Japan

Overview Location: Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula Population: 127,103, th in the world. (U.S. 300mil+ 4 th ) Language: Japanese Ethnic Groups: Japanese 98.5%, Koreans 0.5%, Chinese 0.4%, other 0.6% Religions: Shintoism 83.9%, Buddhism 71.4%, Christianity 2%, other 7.8% [total adherents exceeds 100% because many people belong to both Shintoism and Buddhism (2005)] Major Urban Area: TOKYO (capital) million (New York- Newark million)

Health Health Care: The Japanese system provides care for all citizens, with few appointment requirements and a relatively low cost. Basic appointments cost about $20, even without insurance – about what your co-pay with insurance would be in the US. Generally speaking, patients accept responsibility for about 30 percent of the costs of treatment, with the government taking care of the other 70 percent. Everyone participates in a universal insurance system, the fees of which are set by government committees. Most people get access to this insurance through work, but those who don't have the option through their employers can participate in a separate national health insurance program run by their local government. Services like blood tests and magnetic imaging scans are relatively inexpensive and easy to get, as well. In the US, you'd pay $1,200 for an MRI neck scan. In Japan, you'll pay about $100.

Health (cont.) Japan Mother’s Mean age at first birth: 30.3 (2012 est.) Maternal Mortality Rate: 5 deaths/100,000 live births (2010) Infant Mortality Rate: total: 2.13 deaths/1,000 live births Life Expectancy: years Obesity Rate: 5% (2008) United States Mother’s Mean age at first birth: 25.4 (2009 est.) Maternal Mortality Rate: 21 deaths/100,000 live births (2010) Infant Mortality Rate: 6.17 deaths/1,000 live births Life Expectancy: years Obesity Rate: 33% (2008)

Government Type: parliamentary government with a constitutional monarchy Current Constitution adopted in 1947 Chief of State: Emperor Akihito (7 January 1989) Head of Gov’t: Prime Minister Shinzo (since 26 December 2012) Three Branches of Gov’t: Legislative (Diet), Judicial (Supreme Court), Executive (Cabinet) The Diet, Japan's national parliament, is the highest organ of state power and the sole law-making organ of the state. The Diet comprises the 480-seat House of Representatives (lower house) and the 242-seat House of Councillors (upper house). All Japanese citizens can vote in elections once they reach the age of 20. Japan has a parliamentary system of government like Britain and Canada. Unlike the Americans or the French, the Japanese do not elect a president directly. Diet members elect a prime minister from among themselves. The prime minister forms and leads the cabinet of ministers of state. The cabinet, in the exercise of executive power, is responsible to the Diet.

Gov’t (Cont.) Judicial power lies with the Supreme Court and lower courts, such as high courts, district courts, and summary courts. The Supreme Court consists of a chief justice and 14 other justices, all of whom are appointed by the cabinet. Most cases are handled by district courts. There are also summary courts, which deal with problems like traffic violations. A lay judge system was introduced in May Under this system, six adult citizens (20 or over) are chosen at random to act as lay judges in criminal cases tried in district courts. There are 47 prefectural and numerous municipal governments in Japan. Their responsibilities include providing education, welfare, and other services and building and maintaining infrastructure, including utilities. Their administrative activities bring them into close contact with local people. The heads of regional governments and local assembly members are chosen by local people through elections.

Political Parties Democratic Party of Japan or DPJ [Banri KAIEDA] Japan Communist Party or JCP [Kazuo SHII] Japan Restoration Party or JRP [Shintaro ISHIHARA] Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Shinzo ABE] New Komeito or NK [Natsuo YAMAGUCHI] People's Life Party or PF [Ichiro OZAWA] Social Democratic Party or SDP [Tadatomo YOSHIDA] Tomorrow Party of Japan or TPJ [Tomoko ABE] Your Party or YP [Yoshimi WATANABE]

Japan Voting age: 20 Executive Term Length: 6 years Legislature Size: 722 members Percent of National Parliament Seats Held by Women: 7% OECD Member Member of the United Nations USA Voting Age: 18 Executive Term Length: 4 years Legislature Size: 535 Percent of National Parliament Seats Held by Women: 22% OECD Member Member of the United Nations

Economy After its defeat in World War II, Japan recovered to become an economic power and an ally of the US. Following three decades of unprecedented growth, Japan's economy experienced a major slowdown starting in the 1990s, but the country remains a major economic power.

Japan GDP: $4.77 trillion (2014 est.) 5 th GDP Growth Rate: 1.3% (2014 est.) 173 rd GDP Per Capita: $37,800 (2014 est.) 43 rd Gross National Savings: 23.1% of GDP (2014 est.) 56 th Top Industries: motor vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals, textiles, processed foods. Labor Force: million (2014 est.) 6 th Unemployment Rate: 3.6% (2014 est.) 30 th Population Below Poverty Line: 16% (2010) USA GDP: $17.42 trillion (2014 est.) 3 rd GDP Growth Rate: 2.4% (2014 est.) 131 st GDP Per Capita:$54,800 (2014 est.) 19 th Gross National Savings: 17.3% of GDP (2014 est.) 99 th Top Industries : petroleum, steel, motor vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing, consumer goods, lumber, mining. Labor Force: 156 million *Includes unemployed. (2014 est.) 4 th. Unemployment Rate: 6.2% (2014 est.) 65 th Pop. Below Poverty Line: 15.1% (2010 est.)

Education The basic school system in Japan is composed of elementary school (lasting six years), middle school (three years), high school (three years), and university (four years). Education is compulsory only for the nine years of elementary and middle school, but 98% of students go on to high school. In Japan, the school year begins in April and ends in March. In America, the school year starts in August or September and ends in May or June. Also, students in Japan have fewer days off than American students. High schools in Japan require passing an entrance exam to attend In Japanese public schools, elementary school kids wear street clothes to school, like in American schools. But starting in junior high, they must wear a school uniform. In Japanese schools, everyone must remove their shoes at the entrance and change into indoor shoes. Students are also required to learn traditional Japanese arts like shodo (calligraphy) and haiku. There are no janitors in Japanese schools. The students clean their school everyday. In junior high and high school in Japan, almost every student joins an after school club or team. There are both school entrance ceremonies and graduations for each level of school in Japan.