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Moving - Movers Japan Political Status Historical Outline : 4th Century The country is united and the Yamato dynasty founded. The Shinto religion is practised, a religion preaching the respect of nature, of ancestors and national heros. At this time the Emperor himself is considered to be a divinity. 6th Century Buddhism is introduced from China and with it comes a wide range of influence which lasts through the centuries 7th Century The regency of Shotoku Taishi takes power In 710 the royal court moves to Nara. Buddhism is the excuse to start building thousands of temples and it influences all the art forms. In 794 the court is transferred from Nara to Kyoto, marking the beginning of the Heian era. Culture, writing, the arts and architecture are developing . It is during this same feodal period that the samurai expand their power, amid civil wars. 12th Century In 1192 the Kamakura age is founded. It is distinguished by a Shogun government which lasts until 1868. 14th Century In 1336 the Ashikaga clan establishes its government in Kyoto. 15th Century The Shoguns build residences in gold and silver, illustrating the ostentation of this era. 17th - 19th Century From 1603 until 1867 the Edo dynasty holds power. In 1853 Commodore Perry of the United States Marines arrives in the port of Tokyo. He tries to establish diplomatic relations with the Emperor to facilitate trade between the two countries. In 1868 the Meiji era starts in Tokyo. Since then Japan has followed the European model of modernization. The Second World War and the atomic bomb dropped by the Americans unfortunately wiped out a large part of the population and left the survivors with serious after-effects. But since 1945 Japan has managed to turn their country into an independent economic power. Modern Japan 7th December 1941 The attack on Pearl Harbour, war against the USA August 1945 Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki 1993 The end of the conservative party's power 17th January 1995 The Kobe earthquake which cost the country more than 30 billion dollars (causing more than 1000 deaths) 20th March 1995 Sarin attack in the Tokyo underground blamed on the Aum Shinri sect, 10 dead and 5000 poisoned. 4th November 1995 Daiwabank forbidden in the USA  1991 - 1994 The Heisei crisis, the most serious since the war, but the annual growth never became negative After 200 years of isolationism the country became more and more westernized with the arrival of the Americans. Industry, fashion and technology improved due to the use of western inventions and techniques (photography, sewing machines, watches). In 1970 the petrol crisis slowed down the whole economy. The country depends on imports of prime materials as it is poor in natural resources. For internal consumption iron, minerals, crude oil and timber is imported. The industry processes them and manufactures new products for export. In 1980 unemployment was under 3%. The current government, based on the Constitution of 3rd May 1947, gave the power to the people with the Emperor keeping only a symbolic role, but still venerated by the people. The executive, legislative and judiciary powers are separate. The Diet, representing the legislative power, is elected by the people. The executive power is represented by the Cabinet and the judiciary power is represented by the Tribunals. The right to vote in the legislative, prefectoral and local elections is at 20 years old . Geographical situation The archipelego is situated in the North Pacific Ocean, off Korea, and has a total surface of 372,313 sq. kms. The country is composed of thousands of islands, the four main ones are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu. The highest point is Mt Fujiyama, 3,776 meters high. It is regularly climbed by tourists and local townspeople. Alluvial plains cover 29% of the territory. Forests cover 70% and are made up of various species. Economy & Statistics Japan is the 2nd world economic power after the United States. It is more developed in the field of luxury goods. The currency, the yen, is very strong. Agriculture, which makes up 3.5% of the GDP is dominated by rice production. In 1991 fishing produced 9 million tons of fish. Some statistics : In 1995 : the rate of birth was 0.9% unemployment was 3.1% the rate of inflation was -0.1% Mining and industry represent 40% of the GNP : coal, gas, zinc, copper, talc. There is a surplus of external trade. Imports only represent 5% of the GNP, exports 9%. Japanese car imports to France fell 2.9% in August 1996 according to the association of Japanese importers. The USA accused Japan and China of practising commercial protectionism in the Clinton administration's 1995 report on trade hurdles. They are however the main suppliers of food products to Japan (31%). France is in 10th position. French imports are marginal at 0.5%. Three countries, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the USA absorbed more than 50% of the food exports from Japan in 1995. The European Union imported less than 5%. Japan depends on foreign import for fruit, fresh, dried or frozen. It is also a heavy importer of meat, offal, cereal, preserves, foreign tobacco and drinks. France has an important part of the drinks market. Kyushu : The little island of Kyushu, to the south of the archipelego, has benefitted from the good relations which have developed with Korea and China. The GDP of Kyushu is the same as that of Australia, making Kyushu 13th in the ranking of world economic powers. Toyota and Nissan export to Asia. Beef from Kagoshima is very appreciated by a Chinese and American clientele, Kobe beef is also reputed. This is raised in Kyushu. 5 tons were exported this year. It costs on average seven times more than French filet. 1996 showed a renewal in industrial production and in commercial exchanges. On the other hand retail sales and job offers and applications have fallen. The job market has dropped, the unemployment rate has reached a record level of 3.5% of the working population (i.e. a rise of 240,000 people, making a total of 2.2 million). Young people under 24 and older people over 55 are more often unemployed than other cross-sections of the population. In the first four months of 1996 French exports to Japan rose by 28.8% reaching 6.8 billion francs. The sale of chickens went up by 599%, evaporated and dried milk by 633%, metal furniture by 273%, zinc and lead products by 284%, private cars by 210% and fresh meat by 1618%. If this tendancy continues French sales to Japan will rise by 7 billion francs and the French trade deficit will decrease (21.7 billion francs last year). This economic renewal in 1996 was accompanied by a rise in the GDP. These trends are welcomed after 3 years of recession, the worst that the Archipelego has faced since the end of the 2nd World War. Economists predict a modest growth of 2.5 - 3% this year. The government has originated a fiscal and monetary revival to encourage the economy. Agriculture Agriculture in Japan (in millions of tons, head) Production 1992 1993 1994 1995 Rang Rating Peaches 8.46 8.13 7.32 - 3e Potatoes 3.5 3.4 3.4 3.4 16e Pigs 10.95 10.78 10.56 10.35 16e Rice 13.2 9.8 15.0 12.6 8e Tea 0.092 0.092 0.086 0.086 7e Milk (in thousands of tons) 8576 8626 8389 8380 There has been a lot of important changes since the GATT agreements in 1994. 7% of the population work in agriculture. Unfortunately there is still a big deficit (52 billion dollars in 1992). Japan produces 10 million tons of rice a year (the 9th world production), wheat, potatoes and tea. Only 15% of the land is worked against 40% in Europe. The food producing sector in Japan is less and less able to fulfill the needs of the population. The main reason is the change in education and eating habits. Industry Fishing has always been one of the main industries. Before the war 1,500,000 people worked in fishing and owned 350,000 boats. The leading industrial sectors are the automobile industry (1st car manufacturers in the world), ship building, electronics, watch making, iron and steel industry, photographic apparatus, videos, motor bikes. The mining industry produces mainly coal, natural gas and silver. Japan is the 3rd steel producer in the world. Japan is specialized in the conversion of imported raw materials, particularly iron from which steel is produced. This is used in the manufacture of tools, sewing machines, cars, boats, cameras, watches etc. The automobile industry holds an important place in Japanese industry. Japan started manufacturing lorries and buses in 1960 and then gradually moved into the production of motor cars. These are known for their high quality and their low prices. In 1995 Japan's production progressed in sectors where it had certain advantages : ship building and the integrated circuit market. Since 1995 the big companies have opened their financial door a little. One example is the automobile company Ford, which contributed more than 26% to the capital of Mazda in April 1996. INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION IN JAPAN (Mining in thousands of tons, except natural gas in billions of m3, gold, silver in tons, energy in million of tep, electricity in billions of kwh) NB 1.8 billion kwh from geothermic origin included in the hydroelectricity (1993)

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