Economy of Japan

{{Main|Economic history of Japan}}

The economic history of Japan is one of the most studied. Major milestones in modern Japan's economic progress include:

• The foundation of the Tokugawa shogunate based in Edo (in 1603), initiating a period of internal economic development.
• The Meiji Restoration (in 1868) leading to Japan becoming the first non-European modern world power.
• Japan's defeat in World War II (in 1945), after which the island nation rose to become the world's second-largest economy.
• The Lost Decades (the 1990s, 2000s and arguably 2010s), during which the country struggled to get out of deflation and extremely low or negative growth.

File:Hiroshige, Sugura street.jpg depicting Echigoya, the current Mitsukoshi|left]]

The beginning of the Edo period coincides with the last decades of the Nanban trade period, marked by intense interaction with European powers. Japan built its first Western-style warships, such as the San Juan Bautista, and commissioned around 350 Red Seal Ships for intra-Asian commerce. Japanese adventurers, such as Yamada Nagamasa, were active throughout Asia.{{Cite web |title=Yosha Bunko |url= http://yoshabunko.com/history/Yamada_Nagamasa_in_Siam.html |access-date=31 May 2024 |work=yoshabunko.com |archive-date=24 September 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230924003001/http://yoshabunko.com/history/Yamada_Nagamasa_in_Siam.html |url-status=live}}

To eradicate Christian influence, Japan entered a period of isolation called sakoku in the 1630s, which led to economic stability and mild progress. In the 1650s, Japanese export porcelain production increased significantly due to a civil war in China, mainly in Kyushu.{{Cite web |title=Hizen: The Cradle of Japanese Porcelain {{!}} Saga, Nagasaki {{!}} Japan Heritage |url= https://jnto.cb.bunka.go.jp/popular/e561822d-ce94-4557-9f1a-7d6b09ee543b |access-date=31 May 2024 |work=Japan Heritage Official Site {{!}} Stories and travel information {{!}} JNTO }}{{Dead link|date=June 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}} This trade dwindled by the 1740s under renewed Chinese competition but resumed after Japan’s mid-19th century opening.

Economic development during the Edo period included urbanisation, increased commodity shipping, and expanded domestic and foreign commerce. The construction trades, banking facilities, and merchant associations flourished. Daimyō-led authorities (han) oversaw rising agricultural production and rural handicrafts. By the mid-18th century, Edo had a population of over 1 million, while Osaka and Kyoto each had more than 400,000 inhabitants, becoming centres for trade and handicraft production.{{Cite web |last=日本放送協会 |title=文字と画像で見る {{!}} 日本史 |url= https://www.nhk.or.jp/kokokoza/nihonshi/contents/resume/resume_0000000594.html |access-date=31 May 2024 |work=高校講座 |language=ja |archive-date=1 June 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240601005822/https://www.nhk.or.jp/kokokoza/nihonshi/contents/resume/resume_0000000594.html |url-status=live}} Rice, the economy’s base, was taxed at about 40% of the harvest and sold at the fudasashi market in Edo. Daimyō used forward contracts similar to modern futures trading to sell rice before harvest.{{Cite web |author= |title=Dojima rice exchange: The world's first futures exchange |work=JPX: Japan Exchange Group |publisher=Osaka Exchange |date=2020 |url= https://www.jpx.co.jp/dojima/en/index.html |access-date=15 March 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231129214838/https://www.jpx.co.jp/dojima/en/index.html |archive-date=29 November 2023}}

During the sakoku period, Japan studied Western sciences and techniques (rangaku) through Dutch traders in Dejima, including geography, medicine, natural sciences, astronomy, and mechanical sciences. Japan reopened its economy to the West after being pressured by the United States twice in 1853 and 1854.{{Cite web |title=The Coming of the 'Black Ships' (kurofune) to Japan {{!}} Edo no Taihen (great pivotal events of Edo) |url= https://www.library.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/portals/0/edo/tokyo_library/english/taihen/page3-1.html |access-date=31 May 2024 |work=library.metro.tokyo.lg.jp |archive-date=1 March 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240301042220/https://www.library.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/portals/0/edo/tokyo_library/english/taihen/page3-1.html |url-status=live}}

Since the mid-19th century, after the Meiji Restoration, the country was opened up to Western commerce and influence and went through a period of economic development that extended through to the First World War.{{Cite web |title=The Meiji Restoration and Modernization {{!}} Asia for Educators {{!}} Columbia University |url= http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/japan_1750_meiji.htm |access-date=3 October 2022 |work=afe.easia.columbia.edu |archive-date=2 July 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120702114058/http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/japan_1750_meiji.htm |url-status=live}} Economic developments of the prewar period began with the "Rich State and Strong Army Policy" by the Meiji government. During the Meiji period (1868–1912), leaders inaugurated a new Western-based education system for all young people, sent thousands of students to Europe and the United States, and hired more than 3,000 Westerners to teach modern science, mathematics, technology, and foreign languages in Japan (Oyatoi gaikokujin). The government also built an extensive railway network, improved roads, and inaugurated a land reform program to prepare the country for further development.{{Cite web |title=Japan - The Economy - Patterns of Development |url= https://countrystudies.us/japan/98.htm |access-date=3 October 2023 |work=countrystudies.us |archive-date=9 October 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231009172123/https://countrystudies.us/japan/98.htm |url-status=live}}

To promote industrialisation, the government decided that, while it should help private business to allocate resources and to plan, the private sector was best equipped to stimulate economic growth. The greatest role of government was to help provide good economic conditions for business. In short, government was to be the guide and business the producer. In the early Meiji period, the government built factories and shipyards that were sold to entrepreneurs at a fraction of their value. Many of these businesses grew rapidly into the larger conglomerates such as Mitsubishi. Government emerged as chief promoter of private enterprise, enacting a series of pro-business policies.{{Cite web |date=8 December 2021 |title=5.6G: The Government's Role in Industrialization |url= https://thothios.com/c-1750-to-1900/unit-5-revolutions/5-6g-the-governments-role-in-industrialization/ |access-date=5 November 2022 |work=Thothios |archive-date=5 November 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20221105195535/https://thothios.com/c-1750-to-1900/unit-5-revolutions/5-6g-the-governments-role-in-industrialization/ |url-status=live}}

{{See also|Japanese economic miracle|}}

File:2005Japanese exports.PNG

Japan underwent significant economic transformation and rapid recovery and growth, emerging from the devastation of the Second World War to become a global economic powerhouse. The immediate post-war period saw Japan slowly recovering as a democratic nation under the Allied Occupation. The Korean War (1950–1953), which happened in its now divided former colony, boosted the economy, as Japan served as a major supply hub for U.S. forces. By the 1950s and 1960s, Japan’s economy had entered a period of high growth, often referred to as the 'Japanese Economic Miracle'. Key factors in this growth included government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, advanced technology, and a focus on export-oriented manufacturing. Japan’s economy diversified from textiles to steel, shipbuilding, and eventually electronics and automobiles, with companies such as Toyota, Sony, Hitachi and Honda becoming household names worldwide.{{Cite encyclopedia |date=31 May 2024 |title=Japan {{!}} History, Flag, Map, Population, & Facts |url= https://www.britannica.com/place/Japan |access-date=31 May 2024 |encyclopedia=Britannica.com |archive-date=8 October 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231008141219/https://www.britannica.com/place/Japan |url-status=live}}

In 1968, Japan became the world’s third-largest economy then the second largest in the 1988, surpassing the economy of the Soviet Union. A position it held until it was surpassed by China in 2010. The government played a crucial role through policies that promoted industrial expansion and technological advancement. Japan’s emphasis on quality control and continuous improvement ({{lang|ja-Latn|kaizen}}) further boosted its international competitiveness.{{Cite web |title=Kaizen: Understanding the Japanese Business Philosophy |url= https://www.investopedia.com/terms/k/kaizen.asp |access-date=31 May 2024 |work=Investopedia |archive-date=29 April 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240429115839/https://www.investopedia.com/terms/k/kaizen.asp |url-status=live}} By the 1980s, Japan was leading in a wide range of industries, including automotive and consumer electronics, and was known for its formidable trade surplus and wealth.{{Cite web |title=Slowdown |url= https://www.grips.ac.jp/teacher/oono/hp/lecture_J/lec12.htm |access-date=31 May 2024 |work=www.grips.ac.jp |archive-date=29 May 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240529111446/http://www.grips.ac.jp/teacher/oono/hp/lecture_J/lec12.htm |url-status=live}} However, the late 1980s also saw the infamous Plaza Accord and the formation of an asset price bubble, with inflated real estate and stock market prices, setting the stage for the economic stagnation of the 'Lost Decades' that followed.

{{See also|Lost Decades}}File:G7 Countries GDP Per Capita (1990-2029).png

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Zero interest-rate policy started in 1999{{cite web | url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/2024/03/japan-ends-negative-interest-rates-economy-monetary-policy/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CBOJ%2520decided%2520to%2520implement%2520a,%252C%2520namely%25200.25%2520to%25200.5%2525 | title=Japan ends era of negative interest rates. Here's why }}

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Growth slowed markedly in the late 1990s also termed the Lost Decade after the collapse of Japanese asset price bubble. As a consequence Japan ran massive budget deficits (added trillions in yen to the Japanese financial system) to finance large public works programs.

By 1998, Japan's public works projects still could not stimulate demand enough to end the economy's stagnation. In desperation, the Japanese government undertook "structural reform" policies intended to wring speculative excesses from the stock and real estate markets. Unfortunately, these policies led Japan into deflation on numerous occasions between 1999 and 2004. The Bank of Japan used quantitative easing to expand the country's money supply in order to raise expectations of inflation and spur economic growth. Initially, the policy failed to induce any growth, but it eventually began to affect inflationary expectations. By late 2005, the economy finally began what seems to be a sustained recovery. GDP growth for that year was 2.8%, with an annualised fourth quarter expansion of 5.5%, surpassing the growth rates of the US and European Union during the same period.Masake, Hisane. [https://web.archive.org/web/20060311003951/http://atimes.com/atimes/Japan/HC02Dh01.html A farewell to zero]. Asia Times Online (2 March 2006). Retrieved on 28 December 2006. Unlike previous recovery trends, domestic consumption has been the dominant factor of growth.

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Despite having interest rates down near zero for a long period of time, the quantitative easing strategy did not succeed in stopping price deflation.{{cite news |last=Spiegel |first=Mark |title=Did Quantitative Easing by the Bank of Japan 'Work'? |date=20 October 2006 |url= http://www.frbsf.org/publications/economics/letter/2006/el2006-28.html |access-date=23 December 2008 |archive-date=19 October 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121019135129/http://www.frbsf.org/publications/economics/letter/2006/el2006-28.html |url-status=dead}} This led some economists, such as Paul Krugman, and some Japanese politicians, to advocate the generation of higher inflation expectations.{{cite web |url= http://web.mit.edu/krugman/www/jpage.html |title=Saving Japan |first=Paul |last=Krugman |work=web.mit.edu |access-date=23 December 2008 |archive-date=20 October 2008 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081020111606/http://web.mit.edu/krugman/www/jpage.html |url-status=live}} In July 2006, the zero-rate policy was ended. In 2008, the Japanese Central Bank still had the lowest interest rates in the developed world, but deflation had still not been eliminated{{cite news |title=Economic survey of Japan 2008: Bringing an end to deflation under the new monetary policy framework |date=7 April 2008 |url= http://www.oecd.org/document/12/0,3343,en_2649_34115_40363340_1_1_1_1,00.html |access-date=23 December 2008 |archive-date=25 May 2009 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090525080450/http://www.oecd.org/document/12/0,3343,en_2649_34115_40363340_1_1_1_1,00.html |url-status=live}} and the Nikkei 225 has fallen over approximately 50% (between June 2007 and December 2008). However, on 5 April 2013, the Bank of Japan announced that it would be purchasing 60–70 trillion yen in bonds and securities in an attempt to eliminate deflation by doubling the money supply in Japan over the course of two years. Markets around the world have responded positively to the government's current proactive policies, with the Nikkei 225 adding more than 42% since November 2012.{{cite news |url= https://money.cnn.com/2013/04/04/news/economy/bank-of-japan-decision/index.html |publisher=CNN |first=Charles |last=Riley |title=Bank of Japan takes fight to deflation |date=4 April 2013 |access-date=3 August 2020 |archive-date=29 October 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201029175923/https://money.cnn.com/2013/04/04/news/economy/bank-of-japan-decision/index.html |url-status=live}} The Economist has suggested that improvements to bankruptcy law, land transfer law, and tax laws will aid Japan's economy. In recent years, Japan has been the top export market for almost 15 trading nations worldwide.

In December 2018, a free trade agreement between Japan and the European Union was cleared to commence in February 2019. It creates the world's largest free trade zone valued at 1/3rd of global gross domestic product. This reduces tariffs on Japanese cars by 10%, duties by 30% on cheese and 10% on wines and opens service markets.{{cite web |title=EU-Japan free trade deal cleared for early 2019 start |url= https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-japan-trade-idUSKBN1OB1EN |work=Reuters |date=12 December 2018 |access-date=23 October 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200616210243/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-japan-trade-idUSKBN1OB1EN |archive-date=16 June 2020}}

In early January 2020, Japanese economy began to suffer from the COVID-19 pandemic. In early April, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced a state of emergency.{{cite news |url= https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/16/835925031/japans-declares-nationwide-state-of-emergency-as-coronavirus-spreads |title=Japan Declares Nationwide State of Emergency as Coronavirus Spreads |first=Brakkton |last=Booker |publisher=NPR |date=16 April 2020 |access-date=16 April 2020 |archive-date=16 April 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200416175358/https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/16/835925031/japans-declares-nationwide-state-of-emergency-as-coronavirus-spreads |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url= https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-07/japan-s-abe-declares-state-of-emergency-over-coronavirus |title=Japan Declares Emergency For Tokyo, Osaka as Hospitals Fill Up |first1=Isabel |last1=Reynolds |first2=Emi |last2=Nobuhiro |publisher=Bloomberg |date=7 April 2020 |access-date=16 April 2020 |archive-date=8 April 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200408011125/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-07/japan-s-abe-declares-state-of-emergency-over-coronavirus |url-status=live}} Less than a quarter of Japanese people expected living conditions to improve in the coming decades.The Economist, 28 March 2020, page 4. In October 2020 during the pandemic, Japan and the United Kingdom formally signed the first free-trade agreement post-Brexit, which will boost trade by approximately £15.2 billion. It enables tariff-free trade on 99% of exports to Japan.{{cite news |title=Britain signs first major post-Brexit trade deal with Japan |url= https://www.reuters.com/article/instant-article/idUSKBN2780HG |work=Reuters |date=23 October 2020 |access-date=23 October 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201023152555/https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-japan-trade/britain-signs-first-major-post-brexit-trade-deal-with-japan-idINKBN2780HG |archive-date=23 October 2020}}{{cite web |title=UK and Japan agree historic free trade agreement |url= https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-and-japan-agree-historic-free-trade-agreement |publisher=Gov.uk (Government of the United Kingdom) |access-date=12 September 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200911085404/https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-and-japan-agree-historic-free-trade-agreement |archive-date=11 September 2020 |url-status=live}} On 15 February 2021, the Nikkei average breached the 30k benchmark, the highest since November 1991. It was due to strong corporate earnings, GDP data and optimism over the COVID-19 vaccination program in the country.{{cite web |title=Nikkei index hits 30,000 for first time in three decades |work=Nikkei |url= https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Markets/Nikkei-index-hits-30-000-for-first-time-in-three-decades |date=15 February 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210215143613/https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Markets/Nikkei-index-hits-30-000-for-first-time-in-three-decades |archive-date=15 February 2021}}

At the end of March 2022, the Ministry of Finance announced that the national debt reached precisely 1.017 million billion yen.{{cite web |author=Sylvain Saurel |date=13 May 2022 |title=Japan Exceeds One Million Billion Yen in Debt — "Whatever It Takes" Has Become the Norm. |url= https://ssaurel.medium.com/japan-exceeds-one-million-billion-yen-in-debt-whatever-it-takes-has-become-the-norm-9adc5f501327 |archive-url= https://archive.today/20220513205120/https://ssaurel.medium.com/japan-exceeds-one-million-billion-yen-in-debt-whatever-it-takes-has-become-the-norm-9adc5f501327 |archive-date=13 May 2022 |work=Medium.com}} The total public debt of the country, which includes debts contracted by local governments, represents 1.210 million billion yen (9,200 billion dollars) which is nearly 250% of Japan's GDP. Economist Kohei Iwahara said such an exceptional debt to GDP level is only possible because Japanese hold most of the debt: "“Japanese households hold most of their savings in bank accounts (48%) and these sums are used by commercial banks to buy Japanese government bonds. Thus, 85.7% of these bonds are held by Japanese investors.”

The Bank of Japan's main policy aim since the Lost Decades started had been to end deflation and eventually achieve 2% inflation. The increased international economic tension brought about by events such as the Russian Invasion of Ukraine in 2022 finally helped the country achieve the much-anticipated inflation target of 2%, and the negative interest policy since 2016 was ended in March 2024. However, while other major economies focus on suppressing inflation by raising interest rates, Japan aims to firmly establish inflation by maintaining low rates. As a side effect, the Japanese yen has become extremely weak, hitting a 37.5-year low of 161 yen/USD in July 2024.{{Cite web |date=30 April 2024 |title=The Yen Appreciates Greatly, Rising from 160 Yen/USD to 154 Yen/USD |url= https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGKKZO80360730Q4A430C2MM8000/ |access-date=2 June 2024 |work=The Nikkei |language=ja}}{{Cite web |last=日本放送協会 |date=3 July 2024 |title=円相場 一時1ドル161円90銭台に 約37年半ぶりの円安水準更新 {{!}} NHK |url= https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20240703/k10014500461000.html |access-date=11 July 2024 |work=NHKニュース}} Furthermore, the real effective exchange rate in May 2024, when the 2020 average is set at 100, is 68.65, the lowest level since the start of the Bank of Japan statistics in January 1970, due to a combination of low inflation in Japan and a relatively low trade share.{{Cite news |script-title=ja:円の実力、なぜ過去最低水準 金利差だけではない日本経済の「弱さ」：朝日新聞デジタル |trans-title=Why is the yen's strength at its lowest level ever? The weakness of the Japanese economy is not just due to the interest rate differential |work=Asahi Shimbun Digital |publisher=The Asahi Shimbun |url= https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASRDQ413ZRCQULFA014.html |date=25 December 2023 |access-date=13 April 2024 |language=ja |archive-date=30 January 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240130100406/https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASRDQ413ZRCQULFA014.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription}}{{Cite web |date=26 April 2024 |title=（時時刻刻）口先介入、薄れた効果 １カ月４円下落「市場に見透かされ」：朝日新聞デジタル |trans-title=(Time and Time) Lip service, faded effect, 4 yen drop in one month 'The market saw through' |work=Asahi Shimbun Digital |url= https://www.asahi.com/articles/DA3S15921049.html?iref=ogimage_rek |access-date=28 April 2024 |language=ja}}{{Cite web |date=9 May 2024 |title=このままでは日本の伝統的企業が海外に買われていく…円安が止まらない日本を待ち受ける"最悪のシナリオ" 政府は円安政策を意図的に進めているように見える |trans-title=If things continue like this, traditional Japanese companies will be bought out by foreign companies...The 'worst case scenario' awaits Japan as the yen continues to depreciate.The government appears to be intentionally pursuing a policy of depreciating the yen. |url= https://president.jp/articles/-/81436 |access-date=13 May 2024 |work=PRESIDENT Online（プレジデントオンライン） |language=ja}}{{Cite web |title=円の国際価値が過去最低、BIS ドルなどと大差、通貨地位揺らぐ |url= https://www.47news.jp/11086746.html |access-date=21 June 2024 |work=47NEWS |publisher=Kyodo News |language=ja}} This devaluation of the currency caused Japan to lose its status as the world’s third largest economy to Germany in nominal terms, which was approximately half the size of the country's economy a decade earlier.{{cite news |last1=Montgomery |first1=Hanako |last2=He |first2=Laura |date=15 February 2024 |title=Japan slips into recession, allowing Germany to overtake as world's third-largest economy |url= https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/14/economy/japan-economy-recession-hnk-intl/index.html |work=CNN }}{{cite news |last1=McCurry |first1=Justin |date=15 February 2024 |title=Japan loses crown as world's third-largest economy after it slips into recession |url= https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/15/japan-recession-economy-falls-behind-germany-worlds-largest |work=The Guardian}}{{Cite web |title=GDP - Gross Domestic Product 2012 {{!}} countryeconomy.com |url= https://countryeconomy.com/gdp?year=2012 |access-date=2 June 2024 |work=countryeconomy.com }}

Factors such as an apparent end to the 30-year struggle against deflation, improvements in corporate governance, and high corporate profits boosted the stock market. Consequently, both the Nikkei 225 and TOPIX indices surpassed the record highs they reached more than 30 years ago in 2024. The market capitalisation of the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s prime section exceeded a quadrillion yen for the first time in July 2024.{{Cite web |date=4 July 2024 |title=Nikkei 225 reaches all-time-high, TSE's market cap reaches 1000 trillion yen |url= https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOUB010XY0R00C24A7000000/ |access-date=10 July 2024 |work=日本経済新聞 |language=ja}}

Industries by GDP value-added 2012.[http://www.pref.gifu.lg.jp/pref/s11111/data/data.htm Statistics Division of Gifu Prefecture] {{Webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071014004923/http://www.pref.gifu.lg.jp/pref/s11111/data/data.htm |date=14 October 2007}}. {{in lang|ja}} Gifu Prefecture. Accessed 2 November 2007. Values are converted using the exchange rate on 13 April 2013.{{cite news |url= https://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=usdjpy=X#symbol=;range=1y;compare=;indicator=volume;charttype=area;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=off;source=undefined; |work=Yahoo! Finance |title=USD/JPY – U. S. Dollar / Japanese Yen Conversion |access-date=19 June 2013 |archive-date=24 June 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130624021908/http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=usdjpy=X#symbol=;range=1y;compare=;indicator=volume;charttype=area;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=off;source=undefined; |url-status=live}}

File:GDP growth rate in Japan.svg

The following table shows the main economic indicators in 1980–2023 (with IMF staff estimates in 2024–2029). Inflation under 5% is in green.{{cite web |url= https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2024/April/weo-report?c=158,&s=NGDP_RPCH,NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,PCPIPCH,LUR,GGXWDG_NGDP,&sy=1980&ey=2029&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |title=Report for Selected Countries and Subjects |access-date=27 June 2024 |archive-date=27 June 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240627095743/https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2024/April/weo-report?c=158,&s=NGDP_RPCH,NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,PCPIPCH,LUR,GGXWDG_NGDP,&sy=1980&ey=2029&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |url-status=live}}

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{{Main|Agriculture, forestry, and fishing in Japan}}

File:TawaramotoRiceField.png in Tawaramoto, Nara.]]

The Japanese agricultural sector accounts for about 1.1% (2017) of the total country's GDP. Only 12% of Japan's land is suitable for cultivation.{{cite web |url= https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/social_issues/jan-june12/9billion_06-12.html |title=As Farmers Age, Japan Rethinks Relationship with Food, Fields |work=PBS |date=12 June 2012 |access-date=21 November 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131121103417/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/social_issues/jan-june12/9billion_06-12.html |archive-date=21 November 2013}}{{cite web |url= https://ipad.fas.usda.gov/highlights/2012/08/Japantrip/ |title=Trip Report – Japan Agricultural Situation |work=United States Department of Agriculture |date=17 August 2012 |access-date=21 November 2013 |archive-date=6 May 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160506220310/http://www.pecad.fas.usda.gov/highlights/2012/08/Japantrip/ |url-status=live}} Due to this lack of arable land, a system of terraces is used to farm in small areas.{{cite web |author1=Nagata, Akira |author2=Chen, Bixia |url= http://ourworld.unu.edu/en/the-people-who-sustain-japans-historic-terraced-rice-fields |title=Urbanites Help Sustain Japan's Historic Rice Paddy Terraces |work=Our World |date=22 May 2012 |access-date=21 November 2013 |archive-date=24 September 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160924164244/http://ourworld.unu.edu/en/the-people-who-sustain-japans-historic-terraced-rice-fields |url-status=live}} This results in one of the world's highest levels of crop yields per unit area, with an overall agricultural self-sufficiency rate of about 50% on fewer than 56,000 km² (14 million acres) cultivated.

Japan's small agricultural sector, however, is also highly subsidised and protected, with government regulations that favour small-scale cultivation instead of large-scale agriculture as practiced in North America. There has been a growing concern about farming as the current farmers are aging with a difficult time finding successors.{{cite web |url= http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2013/06/28/editorials/how-will-japans-farms-survive/ |title=How will Japan's farms survive? |work=The Japan Times |date=28 June 2013 |access-date=21 November 2013 |archive-date=4 November 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161104234240/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2013/06/28/editorials/how-will-japans-farms-survive/ |url-status=live}}

Rice accounts for almost all of Japan's cereal production.{{cite encyclopedia |url= http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Asia-and-Oceania/Japan-AGRICULTURE.html#b |title=Japan – Agriculture |encyclopedia=Nations Encyclopedia |access-date=21 November 2013 |archive-date=3 July 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160703043518/http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Asia-and-Oceania/Japan-AGRICULTURE.html#b |url-status=live}} Japan is the second-largest agricultural product importer in the world. Rice, the most protected crop, is subject to tariffs of 777.7%.{{cite news |url= https://www.economist.com/news/asia/21576154-fewer-bigger-plots-and-fewer-part-time-farmers-agriculture-could-compete-field-work |title=With fewer, bigger plots and fewer part-time farmers, agriculture could compete |newspaper=The Economist |date=13 April 2013 |access-date=21 November 2013 |archive-date=20 November 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131120232831/http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21576154-fewer-bigger-plots-and-fewer-part-time-farmers-agriculture-could-compete-field-work |url-status=live}}

Although Japan is usually self-sufficient in rice (except for its use in making rice crackers and processed foods) and wheat, the country must import about 50% of its requirements of other grain and fodder crops and relies on imports for half of its supply of meat.{{cite web |url= http://www.skillclear.co.uk/japan/default.asp |title=Japan Immigration Work Permits and Visas |work=Skill Clear |access-date=1 December 2013 |archive-date=3 December 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131203135640/http://www.skillclear.co.uk/japan/default.asp |url-status=dead}}{{cite web |author=Nagata, Kazuaki |url= http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2008/02/26/reference/japan-needs-imports-to-keep-itself-fed/#.UprvUb-lf-k |title=Japan needs imports to keep itself fed |work=The Japan Times |date=26 February 2008 |access-date=1 December 2013 |archive-date=11 November 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161111091247/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2008/02/26/reference/japan-needs-imports-to-keep-itself-fed/#.UprvUb-lf-k |url-status=live}} Japan imports large quantities of wheat and soybeans. Japan is the 5th largest market for the European Union's agricultural exports.{{cite web |url= http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/trade-analysis/map/2013-1_en.pdf |title=Agricultural trade in 2012: A good story to tell in a difficult year? |work=European Union |date=January 2013 |page=14 |access-date=1 December 2013 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160304235748/http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/trade-analysis/map/2013-1_en.pdf |url-status=live}}{{Update inline|date=January 2022}} Over 90% of mandarin oranges in Japan are grown in Japan. Apples are also grown due to restrictions on apple imports.{{cite web |author=Wheat, Dan |url= http://www.capitalpress.com/article/20131014/ARTICLE/131019963 |title=Japan may warm to U.S. apples |work=Capital Press |date=14 October 2013 |access-date=1 December 2013 |archive-date=11 November 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161111061126/http://www.capitalpress.com/article/20131014/ARTICLE/131019963 |url-status=live}}

{{Main|Fishing industry in Japan}}

File:Global fish catch 2004 & 2005.jpg

Japan ranked fourth in the world in 1996 in tonnage of fish caught.{{cite web |url= http://www.fao.org/docrep/w9900e/w9900e02.htm |title=World review of fisheries and aquaculture |work=Food and Agriculture Organization |access-date=18 January 2014 |archive-date=12 March 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150312075816/http://www.fao.org/docrep/w9900e/w9900e02.htm |url-status=live}} Japan captured 4,074,580 metric tons of fish in 2005, down from 4,987,703 tons in 2000, 9,558,615 tons in 1990, 9,864,422 tons in 1980, 8,520,397 tons in 1970, 5,583,796 tons in 1960 and 2,881,855 tons in 1950.{{cite news |author=Brown, Felicity |url= https://www.theguardian.com/environment/datablog/2009/sep/02/fish-capture-country |title=Fish capture by country |work=The Guardian |date=2 September 2003 |access-date=18 January 2014 |archive-date=18 January 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170118075757/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/datablog/2009/sep/02/fish-capture-country |url-status=live}} In 2003, the total aquaculture production was predicted at 1,301,437 tonnes.{{cite web |url= http://www.fao.org/fishery/countrysector/naso_japan/en |title=Japan |work=Food and Agriculture Organization |access-date=18 January 2014 |archive-date=21 January 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170121134330/http://www.fao.org/fishery/countrysector/naso_japan/en |url-status=live}} In 2010, Japan's total fisheries production was 4,762,469 fish.{{cite web |url=ftp://ftp.fao.org/FI/STAT/summary/a-0a.pdf |title=World fisheries production, by capture and aquaculture, by country (2010) |work=Food and Agriculture Organization |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170120164556/ftp://ftp.fao.org/FI/STAT/summary/a-0a.pdf |archive-date=2017-01-20 |url-status=dead |access-date=18 January 2014}} Offshore fisheries accounted for an average of 50% of the nation's total fish catches in the late 1980s although they experienced repeated ups and downs during that period.

Coastal fishing by small boats, set nets, or breeding techniques accounts for about one third of the industry's total production, while offshore fishing by medium-sized boats makes up for more than half the total production. Deep-sea fishing from larger vessels makes up the rest. Among the many species of seafood caught are sardines, skipjack tuna, crab, shrimp, salmon, pollock, squid, clams, mackerel, sea bream, sauries, tuna and Japanese amberjack. Freshwater fishing, including salmon, trout and eel hatcheries and fish farms,{{cite web |author=Willoughby, Harvey |url= http://www.lib.noaa.gov/retiredsites/japan/aquaculture/proceedings/report1/willoughby2.html |title=Freshwater Fish Culture in Japan |publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |access-date=20 June 2013 |archive-date=2 February 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140202185911/http://www.lib.noaa.gov/retiredsites/japan/aquaculture/proceedings/report1/willoughby2.html |url-status=live}} takes up about 30% of Japan's fishing industry. Among the nearly 300 fish species in the rivers of Japan are native varieties of catfish, chub, herring and goby, as well as such freshwater crustaceans as crabs and crayfish.{{cite news |last=Butler |first=Rhett Ayers |url= http://fish.mongabay.com/data/Japan.htm |title=List of Freshwater Fishes for Japan |work=Mongabay |date=8 August 2007 |access-date=20 June 2013 |archive-date=30 May 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130530055343/http://fish.mongabay.com/data/Japan.htm |url-status=live}} Marine and freshwater aquaculture is conducted in all 47 prefectures in Japan.

Japan maintains one of the world's largest fishing fleets and accounts for nearly 15% of the global catch,{{cite web |url= https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/japan/ |title=The World Factbook |work=Central Intelligence Agency |access-date=1 February 2014 |archive-date=5 January 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210105105736/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/japan/ |url-status=live}} prompting some claims that Japan's fishing is leading to depletion in fish stocks such as tuna.{{cite web |url= http://www.atimes.com/oceania/AH31Ah01.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20000929115651/http://www.atimes.com/oceania/AH31Ah01.html |url-status=unfit |archive-date=29 September 2000 |title=UN tribunal halts Japanese tuna over-fishing |work=Asia Times |date=31 August 1999 |access-date=1 February 2014}} Japan has also sparked controversy by supporting quasi-commercial whaling.{{cite news |author=Black, Richard |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4118990.stm |title=Japanese whaling 'science' rapped |work=BBC News |date=22 June 2005 |access-date=1 February 2014 |archive-date=3 February 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140203094756/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4118990.stm |url-status=live}}

{{Main|Manufacturing in Japan}}

Japanese manufacturing and industry is very diversified, with a variety of advanced industries that are highly successful. Industry accounts for 30.1% (2017) of the nation's GDP. The country's manufacturing output is the third highest in the world.{{Cite web |url= https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NV.IND.MANF.CD?most_recent_value_desc=true |title=Manufacturing, value added (current US$) {{!}} Data|work=data.worldbank.org|access-date=17 March 2020|archive-date=7 January 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200107135049/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NV.IND.MANF.CD?most_recent_value_desc=true|url-status=live}}

Industry is concentrated in several regions, with the Kantō region surrounding Tokyo, (the Keihin industrial region) as well as the Kansai region surrounding Osaka (the Hanshin industrial region) and the Tōkai region surrounding Nagoya (the Chūkyō–Tōkai industrial region) the main industrial centers.{{cite web |author=Iwadare, Yoshihiko |date=1 April 2004 |title=Strengthening the Competitiveness of Local Industries: The Case of an Industrial Cluster Formed by Three Tokai Prefecters |url= http://www.nri.co.jp/english/opinion/papers/2004/pdf/np200475.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120507221638/http://www.nri.co.jp/english/opinion/papers/2004/pdf/np200475.pdf |archive-date=7 May 2012 |access-date=16 February 2014 |work=Nomura Research Institute |page=16}}{{cite web |author=Kodama, Toshihiro |date=1 July 2002 |title=Case study of regional university-industry partnership in practice |url= http://www.iist.or.jp/wf/magazine/0098/0098_E.html |access-date=16 February 2014 |work=Institute for International Studies and Training |archive-date=30 July 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170730235112/http://www.iist.or.jp/wf/magazine/0098/0098_E.html |url-status=live}}{{cite web |author1=Mori, Junichiro |author2=Kajikawa, Yuya |author3=Sakata, Ichiro |date=2010 |title=Evaluating the Impacts of Regional Cluster Policies using Network Analysis |url= http://pari.u-tokyo.ac.jp/policy/paper/IAMOT2010_jmori_cluster.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160303173712/http://pari.u-tokyo.ac.jp/policy/paper/IAMOT2010_jmori_cluster.pdf |archive-date=3 March 2016 |access-date=16 February 2014 |work=International Association for Management of Technology |page=9}}{{cite web |author=Schlunze, Rolf D. |title=Location and Role of Foreign Firms in Regional Innovation Systems in Japan |url= http://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/acd/re/k-rsc/ras/04_publications/ria_en/6_01.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170329063132/http://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/acd/re/k-rsc/ras/04_publications/ria_en/6_01.pdf |archive-date=29 March 2017 |access-date=16 February 2014 |work=Ritsumeikan University |page=25}}{{cite web |title=Profile of Osaka/Kansai |url= http://www.jetro.go.jp/austria/topics/20121112014-topics/Profile.pdf |access-date=16 February 2014 |work=Japan External Trade Organization Osaka |page=10 |archive-date=5 August 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200805092602/https://www.jetro.go.jp/austria/topics/20121112014-topics/Profile.pdf |url-status=live}}{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=IgOTn0gdmPoC&q=Nagoya+industry&pg=PA136 |title=Japan in the 21st Century: Environment, Economy, and Society |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |author=Karan, Pradyumna |date=2010 |page=416 |isbn=978-0813127637}} Other industrial centers include the southwestern part of Honshū and northern Shikoku around the Seto Inland Sea (the Setouchi industrial region); and the northern part of Kyūshū (Kitakyūshū). In addition, a long narrow belt of industrial centers called the Taiheiyō Belt is found between Tokyo and Fukuoka, established by particular industries, that have developed as mill towns.

Japan enjoys high technological development in many fields, including consumer electronics, automobile manufacturing, semiconductor manufacturing, optical fibers, optoelectronics, optical media, facsimile and copy machines, and fermentation processes in food and biochemistry. However, many Japanese companies are facing emerging rivals from the United States, South Korea, and Taiwan.{{cite web |author=Cheng, Roger |url= http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-57547921-92/the-era-of-japanese-consumer-electronics-giants-is-dead/ |title=The era of Japanese consumer electronics giants is dead |work=CNET |date=9 November 2012 |access-date=11 November 2013 |archive-date=17 November 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121117190045/http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-57547921-92/the-era-of-japanese-consumer-electronics-giants-is-dead/ |url-status=live}}

{{Main|Manufacturing in Japan}}

File:2017-03-07_Geneva_Motor_Show_1217.JPG. The rapid growth and success of Toyota's Lexus and other Japanese automakers reflects Japan's strength and global dominance in the automobile industry.]]

Japan is the third biggest producer of automobiles in the world. Toyota is currently the world's largest car maker, and the Japanese car makers Nissan, Honda, Suzuki, and Mazda also count for some of the largest car makers in the world.{{cite news |url= https://www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887323375204578269181060493750 |title=Toyota Again World's Largest Auto Maker |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=28 January 2013 |access-date=21 November 2013 |archive-date=25 September 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150925190715/http://www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887323375204578269181060493750 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |author=Dawson, Chester |url= http://www.oica.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/worldpro2012-modification-ranking.pdf |title=World Motor Vehicle Production OICA correspondents survey |work=OICA |date=2012 |access-date=21 November 2013 |archive-date=24 September 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150924055518/http://www.oica.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/worldpro2012-modification-ranking.pdf |url-status=live}} By number, Japan is the world's largest exporter of cars as of 2021.{{Cite news |date=26 January 2023 |title=The US Hasn't Noticed That China-Made Cars Are Taking Over the World |work=Bloomberg.com |url= https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-26/how-china-is-quietly-dominating-the-global-car-market |access-date=2 February 2023 |archive-date=28 July 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230728230544/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-26/how-china-is-quietly-dominating-the-global-car-market |url-status=live}}

{{Main|Mining in Japan}}

Japan's mining production has been minimal, and Japan has very little mining deposits.{{cite web |url= http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+jp0155) |title=Japan Mining |work=Library of Congress Country Studies |date=January 1994 |access-date=8 December 2013 |archive-date=1 January 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170101174019/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+jp0155%29 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url= http://www.meti.go.jp/english/statistics/tyo/honpouko/pdf/h2e6007e.pdf |title=Overview |work=Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry |date=2005 |access-date=8 December 2013 |archive-date=30 March 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160330065817/http://www.meti.go.jp/english/statistics/tyo/honpouko/pdf/h2e6007e.pdf |url-status=live}} However, massive deposits of rare earths have been found off the coast of Japan.{{cite web |author=Jamasmie, Cecilia |url= http://www.mining.com/japans-massive-rare-earth-discovery-threatens-chinas-supremacy-89013/ |title=Japan's massive rare earth discovery threatens China's supremacy |work=Mining.com |date=25 March 2013 |access-date=8 December 2013 |archive-date=22 April 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160422090948/http://www.mining.com/japans-massive-rare-earth-discovery-threatens-chinas-supremacy-89013/ |url-status=live}} In the 2011 fiscal year, the domestic yield of crude oil was 820 thousand kiloliters, which was 0.4% of Japan's total crude processing volume.{{cite web |url= http://www.paj.gr.jp/english/data/paj2013.pdf |title=Petroleum Industry in Japan 2013 |publisher=Petroleum Association of Japan |date=September 2013 |page=71 |access-date=8 December 2013 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160303171714/http://www.paj.gr.jp/english/data/paj2013.pdf |url-status=dead}}

In 2019, Japan was the 2nd largest world producer of iodine,{{cite web |url= https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-iodine.pdf |title=USGS Iodine Production Statistics |access-date=29 April 2021 |archive-date=25 June 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210625191455/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-iodine.pdf |url-status=live}} 4th largest worldwide producer of bismuth,{{cite web |url= https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-bismuth.pdf |title=USGS Bismuth Production Statistics |access-date=29 April 2021 |archive-date=22 October 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20221022151458/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-bismuth.pdf |url-status=live}} the world's 9th largest producer of sulfur{{cite web |url= https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-sulfur.pdf |title=USGS Sulfur Production Statistics |access-date=29 April 2021 |archive-date=9 October 2022 |archive-url= https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-sulfur.pdf |url-status=live}} and the 10th largest producer of gypsum.{{cite web |url= https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-gypsum.pdf |title=USGS Gypsum Production Statistics |access-date=29 April 2021 |archive-date=9 October 2022 |archive-url= https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-gypsum.pdf |url-status=live}}

{{Main|Trade and services in Japan}}

File:Japan Airlines, Boeing 787-9 JA861J NRT (19455285040).jpg, though faced with massive debts as of 2010, is considered one of the largest airlines in the world.]]

Japan's service sector accounts for 68.7% (2017) of its total economic output.{{cite web |title=The World Factbook |url= https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/fields/214.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190110065235/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/fields/214.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 January 2019 |access-date=20 July 2020 |work=Central Intelligence Agency}} Banking, insurance, real estate, retailing, transportation, and telecommunications are all major industries such as Mitsubishi UFJ, Mizuho, NTT, TEPCO, Nomura, Mitsubishi Estate, Aeon, Mitsui Sumitomo, Softbank, JR East, Seven & i Holdings, KDDI and Japan Airlines counting as some of the largest companies in the world.{{cite news |url= https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/global500/2013/full_list/?iid=G500_sp_full |title=Fortune Global 500 |work=CNNMoney |access-date=16 November 2013 |archive-date=29 October 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131029194938/http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/global500/2013/full_list/?iid=G500_sp_full |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url= https://www.forbes.com/global2000/list/#page:1_sort:0_direction:asc_search:_filter:All%20industries_filter:Japan_filter:All%20states |title=The World's Biggest Public Companies |work=Forbes |access-date=16 November 2013 |archive-date=2 October 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20191002223833/https://www.forbes.com/global2000/list/#page:1_sort:0_direction:asc_search:_filter:All%20industries_filter:Japan_filter:All%20states |url-status=live}} two of the five most circulated newspapers in the world are Japanese newspapers.{{cite web |url= http://www.ifabc.org/site/assets/media/National-Newspapers_total-circulation_IFABC_17-01-13.xls |title=National Newspapers Total Circulation 2011 |publisher=International Federation of Audit Bureaux of Circulations |access-date=2 February 2014 |archive-date=25 May 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170525161435/http://www.ifabc.org/site/assets/media/National-Newspapers_total-circulation_IFABC_17-01-13.xls |url-status=dead}} The Koizumi government set Japan Post, one of the country's largest providers of savings and insurance services for privatisation by 2015.{{cite news |author=Fujita, Junko |url= https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japanpost-ipo-idUSBRE89P03420121026 |title=Japan govt aims to list Japan Post in three years |work=Reuters |date=26 October 2013 |access-date=16 November 2013 |archive-date=25 September 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150925113905/http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/26/us-japanpost-ipo-idUSBRE89P03420121026 |url-status=live}} The six major keiretsus are the Mitsubishi, Sumitomo, Fuyo, Mitsui, Dai-Ichi Kangyo and Sanwa.{{cite web |url= http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/keiretsu.htm |title=The Keiretsu of Japan |work=San José State University |access-date=9 October 2013 |archive-date=29 July 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160729134327/http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/keiretsu.htm |url-status=live}} Japan is home to 251 companies from the Forbes Global 2000 or 12.55% (as of 2013).{{cite news |author=Rushe, Dominic |url= https://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/apr/17/chinese-banks-forbes-global-2000 |title=Chinese banks top Forbes Global 2000 list of world's biggest companies |work=The Guardian |access-date=9 October 2013 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160303170226/http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/apr/17/chinese-banks-forbes-global-2000 |url-status=live}}

{{Main|Tourism in Japan}}

File:Himeji_castle_in_may_2015.jpg, Hyōgo Prefecture, is one of the most visited sights in Japan.]]

In 2012, Japan was the fifth most visited country in Asia and the Pacific, with over 8.3 million tourists.{{cite web |url= http://dtxtq4w60xqpw.cloudfront.net/sites/all/files/pdf/unwto_highlights13_en_hr.pdf |title=Tourism Highlights 2013 Edition |publisher=World Tourism Organization |access-date=8 December 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131030101107/http://dtxtq4w60xqpw.cloudfront.net/sites/all/files/pdf/unwto_highlights13_en_hr.pdf |archive-date=30 October 2013}} In 2013, due to the weaker yen and easier visa requirements for southwest Asian countries, Japan received a record 11.25 million visitors, which was higher than the government's projected goal of 10 million visitors.{{cite web |url= http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/388740/japan-marks-record-high-of-foreign-visitors |title=Japan marks new high in tourism |work=Bangkok Post |date=9 January 2014 |access-date=9 January 2014}}{{cite web |url= http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2014/01/06/editorials/attracting-more-tourists-to-japan/ |title=Attracting more tourists to Japan |work=The Japan Times |date=6 January 2014 |access-date=9 January 2014 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160303221036/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2014/01/06/editorials/attracting-more-tourists-to-japan/ |url-status=live}}{{cite news |author=Williams, Carol |url= https://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-japan-tourism-record-20131211,0,6936589.story |title=Record 2013 tourism in Japan despite islands spat, nuclear fallout |work=Los Angeles Times |date=11 December 2013 |access-date=9 January 2014 |archive-date=9 January 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140109140134/http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-japan-tourism-record-20131211,0,6936589.story |url-status=live}} The government hopes to attract 40 million visitors a year by the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Some of the most popular visited places include the Shinjuku, Ginza, Shibuya and Asakusa areas in Tokyo, and the cities of Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto, as well as Himeji Castle.{{cite news |author=Schoenberger, Chana R. |url= https://www.forbes.com/2008/07/03/japan-popular-attractions-summit08-forbeslife-cx_cs_0703travel.html |title=Japan's 10 Most Popular Tourist Attractions |work=Forbes |date=3 July 2008 |access-date=8 December 2013 |archive-date=12 December 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131212221836/http://www.forbes.com/2008/07/03/japan-popular-attractions-summit08-forbeslife-cx_cs_0703travel.html |url-status=live}} Hokkaido is also a popular winter destination for visitors with several ski resorts and luxury hotels being built there.{{cite web |author=Takahara, Kanako |url= http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2008/07/08/news/boom-time-for-hokkaido-ski-resort-area/ |title=Boom time for Hokkaido ski resort area |work=The Japan Times |date=8 July 2008 |access-date=9 January 2014 |archive-date=22 October 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161022031639/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2008/07/08/news/boom-time-for-hokkaido-ski-resort-area/ |url-status=live}}

Japan's economy is less dependent on international tourism than those of other G7 countries and OECD countries in general; from 1995 to 2014, it was by far the least visited country in the G7 despite being the second largest country in the group,{{Cite web |url= https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ST.INT.ARVL?end=2014&locations=US-JP-DE-GB-FR-IT-CA&most_recent_value_desc=true&start=1995 |title=International tourism, number of arrivals - United States, Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Canada {{!}} Data|work=data.worldbank.org|access-date=16 March 2020|archive-date=19 March 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200319012917/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ST.INT.ARVL%3Fend%3D2014%26locations%3DUS-JP-DE-GB-FR-IT-CA%26most_recent_value_desc%3Dtrue%26start%3D1995|url-status=live}} and as of 2013 was one of the least visited countries in the OECD on a per capita basis.{{Cite web |url= https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-countries-where-youre-surrounded-by-tourists/ |title=The Countries Where You're Surrounded By Tourists |last=Silver |first=Nate |date=18 August 2014 |work=FiveThirtyEight |access-date=16 March 2020 |archive-date=19 March 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200319012916/https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-countries-where-youre-surrounded-by-tourists/ |url-status=live}} In 2013, international tourist receipts was 0.3% of Japan's GDP, while the corresponding figure was 1.3% for the United States and 2.3% for France.{{cite web |url= https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ST.INT.RCPT.CD?end=2013&most_recent_value_desc=true&start=1995 |title=International tourism, receipts (current US$) {{!}} Data|work=data.worldbank.org|access-date=17 March 2020|archive-date=31 July 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200731100254/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ST.INT.RCPT.CD?end=2013&most_recent_value_desc=true&start=1995|url-status=live}}{{cite web |url= https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD?end=2013&most_recent_value_desc=true&start=1960 |title=GDP (current US$) {{!}} Data|work=data.worldbank.org|access-date=17 March 2020|archive-date=31 July 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200731003111/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD?end=2013&most_recent_value_desc=true&start=1960|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Energy in Japan|Transport in Japan}}

File:Series-N700A-F20.jpg]]

In 2018, Japan ranked 5th overall in the World Bank's Logistics Performance Index,{{Cite web |title=Global Rankings 2018 {{!}} Logistics Performance Index |url= https://lpi.worldbank.org/international/global |access-date=18 March 2020 |work=lpi.worldbank.org |archive-date=2 January 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140102112727/https://lpi.worldbank.org/international/global |url-status=live}} and 2nd in the infrastructure category.{{Cite web |title=Global Rankings 2018 {{!}} Logistics Performance Index |url= https://lpi.worldbank.org/international/global?sort=asc&order=Infrastructure#datatable |access-date=18 March 2020 |work=lpi.worldbank.org |archive-date=24 December 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201224195440/https://lpi.worldbank.org/international/global?sort=asc&order=Infrastructure#datatable |url-status=live}}

In 2005, one half of Japan's energy was produced from petroleum, a fifth from coal, and 14% from natural gas.[http://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/handbook/c07cont.htm Chapter 7 Energy] {{Webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130105175226/http://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/handbook/c07cont.htm|date=5 January 2013}}, Statistical Handbook of Japan 2007 Nuclear power in Japan made a quarter of electricity production but due to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster there has been a large desire to end Japan's nuclear power program.{{cite news |author=Hiroko Tabuchi |author-link=Hiroko Tabuchi |date=13 July 2011 |title=Japan Premier Wants Shift Away from Nuclear Power |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/14/world/asia/14japan.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=7 February 2017 |archive-date=6 January 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170106075806/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/14/world/asia/14japan.html |url-status=live}}{{cite web |author=Kazuaki Nagata |date=3 January 2012 |title=Fukushima meltdowns set nuclear energy debate on its ear |url= http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120103f1.html |work=The Japan Times |access-date=5 October 2013 |archive-date=23 January 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130123173421/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120103f1.html |url-status=live}} In September 2013, Japan closed its last 50 nuclear power plants nationwide, causing the nation to be nuclear free.{{cite news |date=15 September 2013 |title=Japan goes nuclear-free indefinitely |url= http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/japan-goes-nuclear-free-indefinitely-1.1855153 |access-date=9 November 2013 |work=CBC News |archive-date=29 October 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131029225253/http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/japan-goes-nuclear-free-indefinitely-1.1855153 |url-status=live}} The country has since then opted to restart a few of its nuclear reactors.{{Cite web |title=Nuclear reactor restarts in Japan displacing LNG imports in 2019 - Today in Energy - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) |url= https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=38533 |access-date=18 March 2020 |work=www.eia.gov |archive-date=10 March 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200310162006/https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=38533 |url-status=live}}

Japan's spendings on roads has been considered large.{{cite news |author=Pollack, Andrew |date=1 March 1997 |title=Japan's Road to Deep Deficit Is Paved with Public Works |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/01/world/japan-s-road-to-deep-deficit-is-paved-with-public-works.html |access-date=15 November 2013 |work=The New York Times |archive-date=4 February 2009 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090204191732/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9500E3DC1031F932A35750C0A961958260 |url-status=live}} The 1.2 million kilometers of paved road are one of the major means of transportation.[http://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/handbook/c09cont.htm Chapter 9 Transport] {{Webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110427071603/http://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/handbook/c09cont.htm|date=27 April 2011}}, Statistical Handbook of Japan Japan has left-hand traffic.{{cite web |title=Why Does Japan Drive On The Left? |url= http://www.2pass.co.uk/japan.htm#.UoCkUL-lf-m |access-date=11 November 2013 |work=2pass |archive-date=5 January 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170105035737/http://2pass.co.uk/japan.htm#.UoCkUL-lf-m |url-status=live}} A single network of speed, divided, limited-access toll roads connects major cities and are operated by toll-collecting enterprises.{{cite book |title=All-Japan Road Atlas}} New and used cars are inexpensive, and the Japanese government has encouraged people to buy hybrid vehicles.{{cite news |date=8 January 2013 |title=Prius No. 1 in Japan sales as green interest grows |url= http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/autos/2010-01-08-prius-tops_N.htm |access-date=9 November 2013 |work=USA Today |archive-date=9 November 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131109182624/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/autos/2010-01-08-prius-tops_N.htm |url-status=live}} Car ownership fees and fuel levies are used to promote energy-efficiency.

Rail transport is a major means of transport in Japan. Dozens of Japanese railway companies compete in regional and local passenger transportation markets; for instance, 6 passenger JR enterprises, Kintetsu Railway, Seibu Railway, and Keio Corporation.{{cite web |author=The Association of Japanese Private Railways |script-title=ja:大手民鉄の現況（単体） |url= http://www.mintetsu.or.jp/activity/databook/pdf/10databook_p02-03.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120304150106/http://www.mintetsu.or.jp/activity/databook/pdf/10databook_p02-03.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2012 |access-date=27 November 2010 |language=ja}} Often, strategies of these enterprises contain real estate or department stores next to stations, and many major stations have major department stores near them.{{cite web |author1=Nagata, Takeshi |author2=Takahasi, Kentaro |date=5 November 2013 |title=Osaka dept stores locked in scrap for survival |url= http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0000769876 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131112133007/http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0000769876 |archive-date=12 November 2013 |access-date=12 November 2013 |work=The Japan News |publisher=Yomiuri Shimbun}} The Japanese cities of Fukuoka, Kobe, Kyoto, Nagoya, Osaka, Sapporo, Sendai, Tokyo and Yokohama all have subway systems. Some 250 high-speed Shinkansen trains connect major cities.{{cite web |date=8 January 2011 |title=What is Shinkansen (bullet train)? Most convenient and the fastest train service throughout Japan. |url= http://jprail.com/travel-informations/tips-for-japan-rail-pass/what-is-shinkansen.html |access-date=12 November 2013 |work=JPRail.com |archive-date=28 June 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140628165652/http://jprail.com/travel-informations/tips-for-japan-rail-pass/what-is-shinkansen.html |url-status=live}} All trains are known for punctuality, and a delay of 90 seconds can be considered late for some train services.{{cite news |author=Onishi, Norimitsu |date=28 April 2005 |title=An obsession with being on time |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/27/world/asia/27iht-japan.html?_r=0 |access-date=11 November 2013 |work=The New York Times |archive-date=19 October 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141019192347/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/27/world/asia/27iht-japan.html?_r=0 |url-status=live}}

There are 98 passenger and 175 total airports in Japan, and flying is a popular way to travel.{{cite web |author=Aoki, Mizuho |date=7 February 2013 |title=Bubble era's aviation legacy: Too many airports, all ailing |url= http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2012/02/07/reference/bubble-eras-aviation-legacy-too-many-airports-all-ailing/ |access-date=11 November 2013 |work=The Japan Times |archive-date=8 December 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151208182020/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2012/02/07/reference/bubble-eras-aviation-legacy-too-many-airports-all-ailing/ |url-status=live}}{{cite web |author=Mastny, Lisa |date=December 2001 |title=Traveling Light New Paths for International Tourism |url= http://www.worldwatch.org/system/files/EWP159.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180708015751/http://www.worldwatch.org/system/files/EWP159.pdf |archive-date=8 July 2018 |access-date=11 November 2013 |work=Worldwatch Paper}} The largest domestic airport, Tokyo International Airport, is Asia's second busiest airport.{{cite web |date=8 November 2013 |title=Year to date Passenger Traffic |url= http://www.aci.aero/Data-Centre/Monthly-Traffic-Data/Passenger-Summary/Year-to-date |access-date=11 November 2013 |work=Airports Council International |archive-date=29 January 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170129021001/http://www.aci.aero/Data-Centre/Monthly-Traffic-Data/Passenger-Summary/Year-to-date |url-status=live}} The largest international gateways are Narita International Airport (Tokyo area), Kansai International Airport (Osaka/Kobe/Kyoto area), and Chūbu Centrair International Airport (Nagoya area).{{cite web |date=25 October 2013 |title=Narita airport prepares for battle with Asian hubs |url= http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2003/10/25/national/narita-airport-prepares-for-battle-with-asian-hubs/ |access-date=12 November 2013 |work=The Japan Times |archive-date=11 November 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161111062719/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2003/10/25/national/narita-airport-prepares-for-battle-with-asian-hubs/ |url-status=live}} The largest ports in Japan include Nagoya Port, the Port of Yokohama, the Port of Tokyo and the Port of Kobe.{{cite web |title=The JOC Top 50 World Container Ports |url= http://www.joc.com/sites/default/files/u48783/pdf/Top50-container-2012.pdf |access-date=11 November 2013 |work=JOC Group Inc. |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160303171348/http://www.joc.com/sites/default/files/u48783/pdf/Top50-container-2012.pdf |url-status=live}}

About 84% of Japan's energy is imported from other countries.{{cite web |date=November 2013 |title=Nuclear Power in Japan |url= http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Country-Profiles/Countries-G-N/Japan/ |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140513222356/http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Country-Profiles/Countries-G-N/Japan/ |archive-date=13 May 2014 |access-date=15 November 2013 |work=World Nuclear Association}}{{cite web |title=Japan's Energy Supply Situation and Basic Policy |url= http://www.fepc.or.jp/english/energy_electricity/supply_situation/ |access-date=15 November 2013 |work=FEPC |archive-date=11 July 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160711052816/http://www.fepc.or.jp/english/energy_electricity/supply_situation/ |url-status=live}} Japan is the world's largest liquefied natural gas importer, second largest coal importer, and third largest net oil importer.{{cite web |title=Japan |url= http://www.eia.gov/countries/cab.cfm?fips=JA&trk=p2 |access-date=15 November 2013 |work=Energy Information Administration |archive-date=3 December 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131203012310/http://www.eia.gov/countries/cab.cfm?fips=JA&trk=p2 |url-status=live}} Given its heavy dependence on imported energy, Japan has aimed to diversify its sources.{{cite news |author=Iwata, Mari |date=12 November 2013 |title=Fukushima Watch: Some Power Companies in Black without Nuclear Restarts |url= https://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2013/11/12/fukushima-watch-some-power-companies-in-black-without-nuclear-restarts/ |access-date=15 November 2013 |work=The Wall Street Journal |archive-date=13 November 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131113143231/http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2013/11/12/fukushima-watch-some-power-companies-in-black-without-nuclear-restarts/ |url-status=live}} Since the oil shocks of the 1970s, Japan has reduced dependence on petroleum as a source of energy from 77.4% in 1973 to about 43.7% in 2010 and increased dependence on natural gas and nuclear power.{{cite web |date=1 November 2013 |title=A lesson in energy diversification |url= http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2013/11/01/editorials/a-lesson-in-energy-diversification/ |access-date=15 November 2013 |work=The Japan Times |archive-date=11 August 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160811130539/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2013/11/01/editorials/a-lesson-in-energy-diversification/ |url-status=live}} In September 2019, Japan will invest 10 billion on liquefied natural gas projects worldwide, in a strategy to boost the global LNG market and reinforce the security of energy supply.{{Cite news |date=26 September 2019 |title=Japan to invest $10 billion in global LNG infrastructure projects: minister |url= https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-lng-conference-meti-idUSKBN1WB050 |access-date=26 September 2019 |work=Reuters |archive-date=26 September 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190926083241/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-lng-conference-meti-idUSKBN1WB050 |url-status=live}} Other important energy source includes coal, and hydroelectricity is Japan's biggest renewable energy source.{{cite news |author1=Tsukimori, Osamu |author2=Kebede, Rebekah |date=15 October 2013 |title=Japan on gas, coal power building spree to fill nuclear void |url= https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-power-outlook-idUSBRE99F02A20131016 |access-date=15 November 2013 |work=Reuters |archive-date=11 February 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160211140220/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-power-outlook-idUSBRE99F02A20131016 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=International Energy Statistics |url= http://www.eia.gov/cfapps/ipdbproject/iedindex3.cfm?tid=2&pid=33&aid=12&cid=regions&syid=2005&eyid=2012&unit=BKWH |access-date=15 November 2013 |work=Energy Information Administration |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160304040512/http://www.eia.gov/cfapps/ipdbproject/iedindex3.cfm?tid=2&pid=33&aid=12&cid=regions&syid=2005&eyid=2012&unit=BKWH |url-status=live}} Japan's solar market is also currently booming.{{cite news |author=Watanabe, Chisaki |date=31 October 2013 |title=Kyocera Boosts Solar Sales Goal on Higher Demand in Japan |url= https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-31/kyocera-boosts-solar-sales-goal-on-higher-demand-in-japan.html |access-date=15 November 2013 |work=Bloomberg |archive-date=15 November 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131115020350/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-31/kyocera-boosts-solar-sales-goal-on-higher-demand-in-japan.html |url-status=live}} Kerosene is also used extensively for home heating in portable heaters, especially farther north.{{cite news |author=Maeda, Risa |date=25 October 2013 |title=Japan kerosene heater sales surge on power worries |url= https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL3E7LP15220111025 |access-date=15 November 2013 |work=Reuters |archive-date=10 March 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160310120456/http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL3E7LP15220111025 |url-status=live}} Many taxi companies run their fleets on liquefied natural gas.{{cite web |date=11 July 2013 |title=Japan may soon get London-style taxis |url= http://ajw.asahi.com/article/economy/business/AJ201307110082 |access-date=15 November 2013 |work=The Asahi Shimbun |archive-date=3 December 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131203095232/http://ajw.asahi.com/article/economy/business/AJ201307110082 |url-status=live}} A recent success towards greater fuel economy was the introduction of mass-produced hybrid vehicles. Prime Minister Shinzō Abe, who was working on Japan's economic revival, signed a treaty with Saudi Arabia and UAE about the rising prices of oil, ensuring Japan's stable deliveries from that region.{{cite web |author=Suzuki, Takuya |date=1 May 2013 |title=Japan, Saudi Arabia agree on security, energy cooperation |url= http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/politics/AJ201305010057 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160304002614/http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/politics/AJ201305010057 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |access-date=15 November 2013 |work=The Asahi Shimbun}}{{cite web |date=3 May 2013 |title=Abe clinches nuclear technology deal with Abu Dhabi |url= http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/05/03/national/abe-clinches-nuclear-technology-deal-with-abu-dhabi/ |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160811130141/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/05/03/national/abe-clinches-nuclear-technology-deal-with-abu-dhabi/ |archive-date=11 August 2016 |access-date=15 November 2013 |work=The Japan Times}}

File:The_Tokyo_Stock_Exchange_-_main_room_3.jpg, one of the largest stock exchanges in the world]]

The Tokyo Stock Exchange is the third largest stock exchange in the world by market capitalisation, as well as the 2nd largest stock market in Asia, with 2,292 listed companies.{{cite web |url= https://www.nyse.com/events/1170156816059.html |title=NYSE Calendar |publisher=New York Stock Exchange |date=31 January 2007 |access-date=7 February 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071011121725/http://www.nyse.com/events/1170156816059.html |archive-date=11 October 2007 |url-status=dead}}{{cite news |url= http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2010-06-19/news/27598091_1_market-value-trillion-largest-exchange |title=China becomes world's third largest stock market |work=The Economic Times |date=19 June 2010 |access-date=7 February 2014 |archive-date=1 February 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140201014856/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2010-06-19/news/27598091_1_market-value-trillion-largest-exchange |url-status=dead}}{{cite news |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18718093 |title=Japan approves merger of Tokyo and Osaka exchanges |work=BBC News |date=5 July 2012 |access-date=7 February 2014 |archive-date=19 April 2013 |archive-url= https://archive.today/20130419180054/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18718093 |url-status=live}} The Nikkei 225 and the TOPIX are the two important stock market indexes of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.{{cite web |url= http://www.finfacts.com/Private/curency/nikkei225performance.htm |title=The Nikkei 225 Index Performance |work=Finfacts |access-date=7 February 2014 |archive-date=7 May 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160507225903/http://www.finfacts.com/Private/curency/nikkei225performance.htm |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url= https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/TPX:IND |title=Tokyo Stock Exchange Tokyo Price Index TOPIX |work=Bloomberg |access-date=7 February 2014 |archive-date=9 February 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140209195932/http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/TPX:IND |url-status=live}} The Tokyo Stock Exchange and the Osaka Stock Exchange, another major stock exchange in Japan, merged on 1 January 2013, creating one of the world's largest stock exchanges. Other stock exchanges in Japan include the Nagoya Stock Exchange, Fukuoka Stock Exchange and Sapporo Securities Exchange.{{cite web |author=Smith, Simon |url= http://www.etfstrategy.co.uk/horizons-introduces-leveraged-and-inverse-msci-japan-etfs-81256/ |title=Horizons introduces leveraged and inverse MSCI Japan ETFs |work=eftstrategy.com |date=22 January 2014 |access-date=7 February 2014 |archive-date=5 January 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170105075254/http://www.etfstrategy.co.uk/horizons-introduces-leveraged-and-inverse-msci-japan-etfs-81256/ |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url= http://www.jscc.co.jp/en/company/history.html |title=About JSCC History |work=Japan Securities Clearing Corporation |access-date=7 February 2014 |archive-date=23 April 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160423043241/http://www.jscc.co.jp/en/company/history.html |url-status=dead}}

{{Main|Labor market of Japan}}

File:Unemployment rate in Japan.svg. ]]

The unemployment rate in December 2013 was 3.7%, down 1.5 percentage points from the claimed unemployment rate of 5.2% in June 2009 due to the strong economic recovery.{{cite web |url= http://www.bloomberg.co.jp/apps/news?pid=90003007&sid=a2b9qmzxMAcE&refer=jp_economies |archive-url= https://archive.today/20120721141151/http://www.bloomberg.co.jp/apps/news?pid=90003007&sid=a2b9qmzxMAcE&refer=jp_economies |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 July 2012 |title=雇用情勢は一段と悪化、５月失業率は５年８カ月ぶり高水準(Update3) |publisher=Bloomberg |date=30 June 2009 |access-date=1 February 2013}}{{cite news |last=Fujioka |first=Toru |url= https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=a90dAL94wEos |title=Japan's Jobless Rate Rises to Five-Year High of 5.2% (Update2) |publisher=Bloomberg |work=Bloomberg News |date=29 June 2009 |access-date=1 February 2013}}{{cite web |author=Rochan, M |url= http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/japans-unemployment-rate-drops-six-year-low-amid-rising-inflation-1434592 |title=Japan's Unemployment Rate Drops to Six-Year Low Amid Rising Inflation |work=International Business Times |date=31 January 2014 |access-date=29 April 2014 |archive-date=10 August 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160810105831/http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/japans-unemployment-rate-drops-six-year-low-amid-rising-inflation-1434592 |url-status=live}}

In 2008 Japan's labor force consisted of some 66 million workers—40% of whom were women—and was rapidly shrinking.{{cite web |url= http://www.thenewglobal.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Will-Abenomics-Ensure-Japans-Revival_June-14.pdf |title=Will Abenomics Ensure Japan's Revival? |publisher=The New Global |access-date=19 June 2013 |archive-date=13 March 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160313121204/http://thenewglobal.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/will-abenomics-ensure-japans-revival_june-14.pdf |url-status=live}}

One major long-term concern for the Japanese labor force is its low birthrate.{{cite news |author=Traphagan, John |url= http://nationalinterest.org/feature/japans-biggest-challenge-its-not-china-plummeting-population-11004 |title=Japan's Biggest Challenge (and It's Not China): A Plummeting Population |work=The National Interest |date=4 August 2014 |access-date=7 August 2014 |archive-date=6 August 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140806015756/http://nationalinterest.org/feature/japans-biggest-challenge-its-not-china-plummeting-population-11004 |url-status=live}} In 2005, the number of deaths in Japan exceeded the number of births, indicating that the decline in population had already started.{{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4552010.stm |title=Japan population starts to shrink |date=22 December 2005 |access-date=17 March 2020 |archive-date=30 July 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200730224200/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4552010.stm |url-status=live}} While one countermeasure for a declining birthrate would be to increase immigration, Japan has struggled to attract potential migrants despite immigration laws being relatively lenient (especially for high-skilled workers) compared to other developed countries.{{cite journal |last=Oishi |first=Nana |date=2012 |title=The Limits of Immigration Policies: The Challenges of Highly Skilled Migration in Japan |journal=American Behavioral Scientist |volume=56 |issue=8 |pages=1080–1100 |doi=10.1177/0002764212441787 |s2cid=154641232}} This is also apparent when looking at Japan's work visa programme for "specified skilled worker", which had less than 3,000 applicants, despite an annual goal of attracting 40,000 overseas workers, suggesting Japan faces major challenges in attracting migrants compared to other developed countries regardless of its immigration policies.{{Cite web |url= https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Japan-immigration/Japan-cries-Help-wanted-but-few-foreigners-heed-the-call |title=Japan cries 'Help wanted,' but few foreigners heed the call |work=Nikkei Asian Review |access-date=17 March 2020 |archive-date=6 August 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230806190928/https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Japan-immigration/Japan-cries-Help-wanted-but-few-foreigners-heed-the-call |url-status=live}} A Gallup poll found that few potential migrants wished to migrate to Japan compared to other G7 countries, consistent with the country's low migrant inflow.{{Cite web |url= https://news.gallup.com/poll/211883/number-potential-migrants-worldwide-tops-700-million.aspx |title=Number of Potential Migrants Worldwide Tops 700 Million |date=8 June 2017 |work=Gallup.com |access-date=16 March 2020 |archive-date=2 August 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230802194808/https://news.gallup.com/poll/211883/number-potential-migrants-worldwide-tops-700-million.aspx |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url= https://data.oecd.org/chart/5StJ |title=Interactive charts by the OECD |work=OECD Data |access-date=16 March 2020 |archive-date=27 September 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220927134217/https://data.oecd.org/chart/5StJ |url-status=live}}

In 1989, the predominantly public sector union confederation, SOHYO (General Council of Trade Unions of Japan), merged with RENGO (Japanese Private Sector Trade Union Confederation) to form the Japanese Trade Union Confederation. Labor union membership is about 12 million.

As of 2019 Japan's unemployment rate was the lowest in the G7.{{Cite web |url= https://data.oecd.org/chart/5TCN |title=Interactive charts by the OECD |work=OECD Data |access-date=28 March 2020 |archive-date=27 June 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220627103216/https://data.oecd.org/chart/5TCN |url-status=live}} Its employment rate for the working-age population (15–64) was the highest in the G7.{{Cite web |url= https://data.oecd.org/chart/5TCM |title=Interactive charts by the OECD |work=OECD Data |access-date=28 March 2020 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231002114643/https://data.oecd.org/chart/5TCM |url-status=live}}

Japan ranks 27th of 185 countries in the ease of doing business index 2013.{{cite web |url= http://www.doingbusiness.org/rankings |title=Economy Rankings |work=Doing Business |access-date=25 November 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150206025936/http://www.doingbusiness.org/rankings |archive-date=6 February 2015}}

Japan has one of the smallest tax rates in the developed world. After deductions, the majority of workers are free from personal income taxes. Consumption tax rate is 10%, while corporate tax rates are high, second highest corporate tax rate in the world, at 36.8%.{{cite news |author1=Temple-West, Patrick |author2=Dixon, Kim |url= https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-tax-japan-idUSL2E8EU5VV20120330 |title=US displacing Japan as No 1 for highest corp taxes |work=Reuters |date=30 March 2012 |access-date=1 February 2014 |archive-date=31 December 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121231132906/http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/30/usa-tax-japan-idUSL2E8EU5VV20120330 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |author=Isidore, Chris |url= https://money.cnn.com/2012/03/27/pf/taxes/corporate-taxes/ |title=U.S. corporate tax rate: No. 1 in the world |work=CNNMoney |date=27 March 2012 |access-date=1 February 2014 |archive-date=3 February 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140203105635/http://money.cnn.com/2012/03/27/pf/taxes/corporate-taxes/ |url-status=live}} However, the House of Representatives has passed a bill which increased the consumption tax to 10% in October 2015.{{cite web |url= http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/AJ201206260065 |title=Update: Lower House passes bills to double consumption tax |work=The Asahi Shimbun |date=26 June 2012 |access-date=25 November 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130622081457/http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/AJ201206260065 |archive-date=22 June 2013}} The government has also decided to reduce corporate tax and to phase out automobile tax.{{cite web |url= http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0000820137 |title=Big firms to see tax cut on social expenses |work=The Japan News |date=24 November 2013 |access-date=25 November 2013 |archive-date=25 July 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140725090016/http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0000820137 |url-status=dead}}{{cite web |url= http://www.nasdaq.com/article/japan-to-phase-out-automobile-tax-20131121-01237 |title=Japan to Phase Out Automobile Tax |work=NASDAQ |date=21 November 2013 |access-date=25 November 2013 |archive-date=2 December 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131202225324/http://www.nasdaq.com/article/japan-to-phase-out-automobile-tax-20131121-01237 |url-status=live}}

In 2016, the IMF encouraged Japan to adopt an income policy that pushes firms to raise employee wages in combination with reforms to tackle the labor market dual tiered employment system to drive higher wages, on top of monetary and fiscal stimulus. Shinzo Abe has encouraged firms to raise wages by at least three per cent annually (the inflation target plus average productivity growth).{{cite news |url= https://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21702751-what-japans-economic-experiment-can-teach-rest-world-overhyped-underappreciated |title=Overhyped, underappreciated |newspaper=The Economist |issn=0013-0613 |access-date=31 July 2016 |archive-date=31 July 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160731051017/http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21702751-what-japans-economic-experiment-can-teach-rest-world-overhyped-underappreciated |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url= https://next.ft.com/content/2c1cd964-36bf-11e6-9a05-82a9b15a8ee7 |title=IMF urges Japan to 'reload' Abenomics |work=Financial Times |date=20 June 2016 |access-date=31 July 2016 |archive-date=27 June 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160627111117/https://next.ft.com/content/2c1cd964-36bf-11e6-9a05-82a9b15a8ee7 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url= http://www.imf.org/external/np/ms/2016/062016.htm |title=Japan: Staff Concluding Statement of the 2016 Article IV Mission |work=www.imf.org |access-date=31 July 2016 |archive-date=25 January 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170125032413/http://www.imf.org/external/np/ms/2016/062016.htm |url-status=live}}

Shareholder activism is rare despite the fact that the corporate law gives shareholders strong powers over managers.{{cite news |author=Pesek, William |url= https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-02/tough-legs-loins-urged-by-shareholder-activists-william-pesek.html |title=Shareholder Activism in Japan? Not Yet |work=Bloomberg |date=3 July 2012 |access-date=25 November 2013 |archive-date=2 December 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131202233107/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-02/tough-legs-loins-urged-by-shareholder-activists-william-pesek.html |url-status=live}} Under Prime Minister Shinzō Abe, corporate governance reform has been a key initiative to encourage economic growth. In 2012, only around 40% of leading Japanese companies had any independent directors; by 2016, the majority had begun to appoint independent directors.{{cite news |url= http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/04/27/reference/new-rules-pushing-japanese-corporations-tap-outside-directors/ |title=New rules are pushing Japanese corporations to tap more outside directors |last=Nagata |first=Kazuaki |date=27 April 2015 |work=The Japan Times Online |issn=0447-5763 |access-date=31 July 2016 |archive-date=17 July 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160717012049/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/04/27/reference/new-rules-pushing-japanese-corporations-tap-outside-directors/ |url-status=live}}

The government's liabilities include the second largest public debt of any nation with debt of over one quadrillion yen, or 8,535,340,000,000 in USD.{{cite web |url= http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2013/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2012&ey=2012&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&pr1.x=35&pr1.y=14&c=512%2C666%2C914%2C668%2C612%2C672%2C614%2C946%2C311%2C137%2C213%2C962%2C911%2C674%2C193%2C676%2C122%2C548%2C912%2C556%2C313%2C678%2C419%2C181%2C513%2C867%2C316%2C682%2C913%2C684%2C124%2C273%2C339%2C868%2C638%2C921%2C514%2C948%2C218%2C943%2C963%2C686%2C616%2C688%2C223%2C518%2C516%2C728%2C918%2C558%2C748%2C138%2C618%2C196%2C522%2C278%2C622%2C692%2C156%2C694%2C624%2C142%2C626%2C449%2C628%2C564%2C228%2C283%2C924%2C853%2C233%2C288%2C632%2C293%2C636%2C566%2C634%2C964%2C238%2C182%2C662%2C453%2C960%2C968%2C423%2C922%2C935%2C714%2C128%2C862%2C611%2C135%2C321%2C716%2C243%2C456%2C248%2C722%2C469%2C942%2C253%2C718%2C642%2C724%2C643%2C576%2C939%2C936%2C644%2C961%2C819%2C813%2C172%2C199%2C132%2C733%2C646%2C184%2C648%2C524%2C915%2C361%2C134%2C362%2C652%2C364%2C174%2C732%2C328%2C366%2C258%2C734%2C656%2C144%2C654%2C146%2C336%2C463%2C263%2C528%2C268%2C923%2C532%2C738%2C944%2C578%2C176%2C537%2C534%2C742%2C536%2C866%2C429%2C369%2C433%2C744%2C178%2C186%2C436%2C925%2C136%2C869%2C343%2C746%2C158%2C926%2C439%2C466%2C916%2C112%2C664%2C111%2C826%2C298%2C542%2C927%2C967%2C846%2C443%2C299%2C917%2C582%2C544%2C474%2C941%2C754%2C446%2C698&s=GGXWDN_NGDP%2CGGXWDG_NGDP&grp=0&a= |title=5. Report for Selected Countries and Subjects |work=International Monetary Fund |access-date=25 November 2013 |archive-date=11 August 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130811182105/http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2013/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2012&ey=2012&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&pr1.x=35&pr1.y=14&c=512%2C666%2C914%2C668%2C612%2C672%2C614%2C946%2C311%2C137%2C213%2C962%2C911%2C674%2C193%2C676%2C122%2C548%2C912%2C556%2C313%2C678%2C419%2C181%2C513%2C867%2C316%2C682%2C913%2C684%2C124%2C273%2C339%2C868%2C638%2C921%2C514%2C948%2C218%2C943%2C963%2C686%2C616%2C688%2C223%2C518%2C516%2C728%2C918%2C558%2C748%2C138%2C618%2C196%2C522%2C278%2C622%2C692%2C156%2C694%2C624%2C142%2C626%2C449%2C628%2C564%2C228%2C283%2C924%2C853%2C233%2C288%2C632%2C293%2C636%2C566%2C634%2C964%2C238%2C182%2C662%2C453%2C960%2C968%2C423%2C922%2C935%2C714%2C128%2C862%2C611%2C135%2C321%2C716%2C243%2C456%2C248%2C722%2C469%2C942%2C253%2C718%2C642%2C724%2C643%2C576%2C939%2C936%2C644%2C961%2C819%2C813%2C172%2C199%2C132%2C733%2C646%2C184%2C648%2C524%2C915%2C361%2C134%2C362%2C652%2C364%2C174%2C732%2C328%2C366%2C258%2C734%2C656%2C144%2C654%2C146%2C336%2C463%2C263%2C528%2C268%2C923%2C532%2C738%2C944%2C578%2C176%2C537%2C534%2C742%2C536%2C866%2C429%2C369%2C433%2C744%2C178%2C186%2C436%2C925%2C136%2C869%2C343%2C746%2C158%2C926%2C439%2C466%2C916%2C112%2C664%2C111%2C826%2C298%2C542%2C927%2C967%2C846%2C443%2C299%2C917%2C582%2C544%2C474%2C941%2C754%2C446%2C698&s=GGXWDN_NGDP%2CGGXWDG_NGDP&grp=0&a= |url-status=live}}{{cite web |author=Keck, Zachary |url= https://thediplomat.com/2013/08/japans-debt-about-3-times-larger-than-aseans-gdp/ |title=Japan's Debt About 3 Times Larger Than ASEAN's GDP |work=The Diplomat |date=10 August 2013 |access-date=25 November 2013 |archive-date=3 December 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131203014949/http://thediplomat.com/2013/08/japans-debt-about-3-times-larger-than-aseans-gdp/ |url-status=live}}{{cite web |author=Einhorn, Bruce |url= http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-08-09/japan-gets-to-know-a-quadrillion-as-debt-hits-new-high |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130811064252/http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-08-09/japan-gets-to-know-a-quadrillion-as-debt-hits-new-high |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 August 2013 |title=Japan Gets to Know a Quadrillion as Debt Hits New High |work=Bloomberg |date=9 August 2013 |access-date=25 November 2013}} Former Prime Minister Naoto Kan has called the situation 'urgent'.{{cite web |url= http://www.japantoday.com/category/politics/view/kan-warns-of-greece-like-debt-crisis |title=Kan warns of Greece-like debt crisis " Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion |publisher=Japantoday.com |date=11 June 2010 |access-date=1 February 2013 |archive-date=24 September 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120924070929/http://www.japantoday.com/category/politics/view/kan-warns-of-greece-like-debt-crisis |url-status=live}}

Japan's central bank has the second largest foreign-exchange reserves after the People's Republic of China, with over one trillion US Dollars in foreign reserves.{{cite web |url= http://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2381263&Language=en |title=Japan's forex reserves up for second straight month |work=Kuwait News Agency |date=6 June 2014 |access-date=3 July 2014 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160303200010/http://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2381263&Language=en |url-status=live}}

{{quote box | width=25em| bgcolor=#B0C4DE |align=left|qalign=left |quote=

{{lang|ja-Latn|Nemawashi}} ({{lang|ja|根回し}}), 'consensus building', in Japanese culture is an informal process of quietly laying the foundation for some proposed change or project, by talking to the people concerned, gathering support and feedback, and so forth. It is considered an important element in any major change, before any formal steps are taken, and successful nemawashi enables changes to be carried out with the consent of all sides.

Japanese companies are known for management methods such as "The Toyota Way". {{lang|ja-Latn|Kaizen}} (改善, Japanese for 'improvement') is a Japanese philosophy that focuses on continuous improvement throughout all aspects of life. When applied to the workplace, {{lang|ja-Latn|kaizen}} activities continually improve all functions of a business, from manufacturing to management and from the CEO to the assembly line workers.{{Cite book |last=Imai |first=Masaaki |title=Kaizen: The Key to Japan's Competitive Success |location=New York, NY |publisher=Random House |date=1986}} By improving standardised activities and processes, Kaizen aims to eliminate waste (see Lean manufacturing). {{lang|ja-Latn|Kaizen}} was first implemented in several Japanese businesses during the country's recovery after World War II, including Toyota, and has since spread to businesses throughout the world.Europe Japan Centre, Kaizen Strategies for Improving Team Performance, Ed. Michael Colenso, London: Pearson Education Limited, 2000 The corporate application of the {{lang|ja-Latn|kaizen}} system has been criticised for neglecting or harming the quality of life of workers, particularly via the implementation of long working hours. However, according to the OECD, Japan's average for annual hours worked per employee is lower than the OECD average and middling among G7 countries.{{Cite web |url= https://data.oecd.org/chart/5Stk |title=Interactive charts by the OECD |work=OECD Data |access-date=16 March 2020}}

Some companies have powerful enterprise unions and {{lang|ja-Latn|shuntō}}. The nenko system or {{lang|ja-Latn|nenko joretsu}} as it is called in Japan, is the Japanese system of preferring to promote employees close to retirement. This is done to prioritise experience in executive positions and to allow older employees to achieve a higher salary level before retirement. The {{lang|ja-Latn|nenko}} system has been criticised for leaving younger employees at a disadvantage against older employees who may be less capable.

Relationships between government bureaucrats and companies are often close. {{Nihongo|Amakudari|天下り|amakudari|'descent from heaven'}} is the institutionalised practice where Japanese senior bureaucrats retire to high-profile positions in the private and public sectors. The practice is increasingly viewed as corrupt and a limitation on efforts to reduce ties between the private sector and the state that prevent economic and political reforms. Lifetime employment (shūshin koyō) and seniority-based career advancement have been common in the Japanese work environment.[http://www.oecd.org/document/17/0,3343,en_2649_34111_40353553_1_1_1_1,00.html OECD: Economic survey of Japan 2008] {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101109122744/http://www.oecd.org/document/17/0,3343,en_2649_34111_40353553_1_1_1_1,00.html |date=9 November 2010}}{{cite news |url= http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_id=7193984 |title=Japan's Economy: Free at last |newspaper=The Economist |date=20 July 2006 |access-date=29 March 2007 |archive-date=10 March 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100310215303/http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_id=7193984 |url-status=live}} These practices have become less common in recent years.{{cite news |url= http://www.economist.com/specialreports/displayStory.cfm?story_id=10169956 |title=Going hybrid |newspaper=The Economist |access-date=3 March 2015 |archive-date=16 January 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100116011541/http://www.economist.com/specialreports/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10169956 |url-status=live}}

{{Nihongo|Salaryman|サラリーマン|Sararīman|salaried man}} refers to someone whose income is salary-based; particularly those working for corporations. Coined in Japan, the word's frequent use by Japanese corporations and its prevalence in Japanese manga and anime has led to its adoption into and common usage within the English language to refer to Japanese white-collar workers, and it can be found in many English-language books and articles pertaining to Japanese culture. Immediately following World War II, becoming a salaryman was viewed as a gateway to a stable, middle-class lifestyle. In modern use, the term carries associations of long working hours, low prestige in the corporate hierarchy, absence of significant sources of income other than salary, wage slavery, and {{lang|ja-Latn|karōshi}}. The term salaryman refers almost exclusively to males.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}

An office lady, often abbreviated OL (Japanese: {{lang|ja|オーエル}} {{lang|ja-Latn|Ōeru}}), is a female office worker in Japan who performs generally pink collar tasks such as serving tea and doing secretarial or clerical work. Like many unmarried Japanese, OLs often live with their parents well into early adulthood. Office ladies are usually full-time permanent staff, with little opportunity for promotion, and there is often a tacit expectation that they leave their jobs if they get married.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}

{{Nihongo|Freeter|フリーター|furītā}} is a Japanese expression for people between the age of 15 and 34 who lack full-time employment or are unemployed, excluding homemakers and students.{{Cite book |last=Meyer-Ohle |first=Hendrik |title=Japanese workplaces in transition: employee perceptions |date=2009 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-0-230-27424-2 |location=Basingstoke New York |pages=131}} They may also be described as underemployed or freelance workers. These people do not start a career after high school or university but instead usually live as parasite singles with their parents and earn some money with low skilled and low paid jobs. Low income makes it difficult for freeters to start a family, and lacking qualifications in the form of skilled labor experience makes it difficult for them to start a career at a later point in life.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}

{{Nihongo|Karōshi|過労死|karōshi}}, which can be translated quite literally from Japanese as "death from overwork", is occupational sudden death. The major medical causes of karōshi deaths are heart attack and stroke due to stress.{{Cite journal |last1=Asgari |first1=Behrooz |last2=Pickar |first2=Peter |last3=Garay |first3=Victoria |date=2016 |title=Karoshi and Karou-jisatsu in Japan: causes, statistics and prevention mechanisms |url= http://apbersociety.org/Asia_Pacific_Business_and_Economics_Research_Society/Journal_files/AsGarPick.pdf |journal=Asia Pacific Business & Economics Perspectives |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=49–72 |access-date=23 October 2021 |archive-date=30 November 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211130002929/http://apbersociety.org/Asia_Pacific_Business_and_Economics_Research_Society/Journal_files/AsGarPick.pdf |url-status=live}}

{{Nihongo|Sōkaiya|総会屋|sōkaiya}}, (sometimes also translated as 'corporate bouncers', 'meeting-men', or 'corporate blackmailers') are a form of specialised racketeer unique to Japan, and often associated with the yakuza, who extort money from or blackmail companies by threatening to publicly humiliate companies and their management, usually in their {{Nihongo|annual meeting|総会|sōkai}}. {{Nihongo|Sarakin|サラ金}} is a Japanese term for 'moneylender' or 'loan shark'. It is a contraction of the Japanese words for 'salaryman' and 'cash'. Around 14 million people, or 10% of the Japanese population, have borrowed from a {{lang|ja-Latn|sarakin}}. In total, there are about 10,000 firms (down from 30,000 a decade ago); however, the top seven firms make up 70% of the market. The value of outstanding loans totals 100 billion. The biggest sarakin are publicly traded and often allied with big banks.[http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11413090 Lenders of first resort] {{Webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080803200610/http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11413090 |date=3 August 2008}}, The Economist, 22 May 2008

The first "Western-style" department store in Japan (called {{lang|ja|デパート}}, {{lang|ja-Latn|depāto}}) was Mitsukoshi, founded in 1904, which has its root as a kimono store called Echigoya from 1673. When the roots are considered, however, Matsuzakaya has an even longer history, dating back to 1611 and becoming a department store in 1910. In 1924, Matsuzakaya store in Ginza allowed street shoes to be worn indoors, something innovative at the time.{{cite web |url= http://www.matsuzakaya.co.jp/corporate/history/honshi/index.shtml |title=松坂屋「ひと・こと・もの」語り |publisher=Matsuzakaya.co.jp |access-date=1 February 2013 |archive-date=12 May 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160512182545/http://www.matsuzakaya.co.jp/corporate/history/honshi/index.shtml |url-status=live}} These former kimono shop department stores dominated the market in its earlier history. They sold luxurious products which contributed to them having sophisticated atmospheres. From the 1920s, private railway operators started to build department stores directly linked to their lines' terminuses. Seibu and Hankyu are examples of this practice. From the 1980s onwards, Japanese department stores have faced fierce competition from supermarkets and convenience stores, and they have gradually declined in prominence. Still, depāto are seen as bastions of cultural conservatism in the country. Gift certificates for department stores are frequently given as presents in Japan. Department stores in Japan generally offer a wide range of services which can include foreign exchange, travel reservations, and ticket sales for local concerts and other events.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}

{{Main|Keiretsu}}

A {{Nihongo|keiretsu|系列|extra='system' or 'series'}} is a set of companies with interlocking business relationships and shareholdings. A keiretsu unequivocally exists as an identical form of business structure to the affiliate, or an associate.{{Citation needed|date=February 2023}} It is a type of business group. The prototypical {{lang|ja-Latn|keiretsu}} appeared in Japan during the "economic miracle" following World War II. Before Japan's surrender, Japanese industry was controlled by large family-controlled vertical monopolies called {{lang|ja-Latn|zaibatsu}}. The Allies dismantled the {{lang|ja-Latn|zaibatsu}} in the late 1940s, but the companies formed from the dismantling of the {{lang|ja-Latn|zaibatsu}} were reintegrated. The dispersed corporations were re-interlinked through share purchases to form horizontally integrated alliances across many industries. Where possible, {{lang|ja-Latn|keiretsu}} companies would also supply one another, making the alliances vertically integrated as well. In this period, official government policy promoted the creation of robust trade corporations that could withstand pressures from intensified world trade competition.[https://www.nytimes.com/1954/07/17/archives/japan-again-plans-huge-corporations.html?sq=ogasawara&scp=46&st=p "Japan Again Plans Huge Corporations"] {{Webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180723034507/https://www.nytimes.com/1954/07/17/archives/japan-again-plans-huge-corporations.html?sq=ogasawara&scp=46&st=p |date=23 July 2018}}. The New York Times. 17 July 1954.

The major {{lang|ja-Latn|keiretsu}} were each centered on one bank, which lent money to the {{lang|ja-Latn|keiretsu}}'s member companies and held equity positions in the companies. Each central bank had great control over the companies in the keiretsu and acted as a monitoring entity and as an emergency bail-out entity. One effect of this structure was to minimise the presence of hostile takeovers in Japan, because no entities could challenge the power of the banks.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}

There are two types of {{lang|ja-Latn|keiretsu}}: vertical and horizontal. Vertical keiretsu illustrates the organisation and relationships within a company (for example all factors of production of a certain product are connected), while a horizontal keiretsu shows relationships between entities and industries, normally centered on a bank and trading company. Both are complexly woven together and sustain each other.{{cite journal |last1=Tomeczek |first1=Artur |title=The evolution of Japanese keiretsu networks: A review and text network analysis of their perceptions in economics |journal=Japan and the World Economy |date=June 2022 |volume=62 |doi=10.1016/j.japwor.2022.101132 |s2cid=247298887 |url= https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0922142522000184 |access-date=1 December 2023|url-access=subscription }}

The Japanese recession in the 1990s had profound effects on the {{lang|ja-Latn|keiretsu}}. Many of the largest banks were hit hard by bad loan portfolios and forced to merge or go out of business. This had the effect of blurring the lines between the keiretsu: Sumitomo Bank and Mitsui Bank, for instance, became Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation in 2001, while Sanwa Bank (the banker for the Hankyu-Toho Group) became part of Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, now known as MUFG Bank. Additionally, many companies from outside the keiretsu system, such as Sony, began outperforming their counterparts within the system.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}

Generally, these causes gave rise to a strong notion in the business community that the old {{lang|ja-Latn|keiretsu}} system was not an effective business model, and led to an overall loosening of {{lang|ja-Latn|keiretsu}} alliances. While the {{lang|ja-Latn|keiretsu}} still exist, they are not as centralised or integrated as they were before the 1990s. This, in turn, has led to a growing corporate acquisition industry in Japan, as companies are no longer able to be easily "bailed out" by their banks, as well as rising derivative litigation by more independent shareholders.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}

{{Update|type=|date=February 2019|reason=the indicators are 10 years old and unsupported by citation as well}}

File:Current Account Balance 2006.png World Economic Outlook Database, April 2008]]

Net international investment position: 266,223 / billion{{cite web |url= http://www.mof.go.jp/english/international_policy/reference/iip/index.htm |title=International Investment Position of Japan (End of 2009) |publisher=Ministry of Finance, Japan |access-date=8 May 2011 |archive-date=11 July 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160711082137/http://www.mof.go.jp/english/international_policy/reference/iip/index.htm |url-status=live}} (1st){{cite news |url= http://www.nikkei.com/news/headline/article/g=96958A9C93819488E0EAE2E6E68DE2E0E2E7E0E2E3E399E3E3E4E2E2;df=2 |title=「日本売り」なぜ起きない 円安阻むからくりに迫る |work=Nihon Keizai Shimbun |date=8 May 2011 |access-date=8 May 2011 |archive-date=9 November 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111109171612/http://www.nikkei.com/news/headline/article/g=96958A9C93819488E0EAE2E6E68DE2E0E2E7E0E2E3E399E3E3E4E2E2;df=2 |url-status=live}}

Industrial production growth rate: 7.5% (2010 est.)

Investment (gross fixed): 20.3% of GDP (2010 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

• Lowest 10%: 4.8%
• Highest 10%: 21.7% (1993)

Agriculture products: rice, sugar beets, vegetables, fruit, pork, poultry, dairy products, eggs, fish

Export commodities: machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, semiconductors, chemicals{{Cite web |title=Japanese Business Briefs |url= https://bizpages.org/countries--JP--Japan |access-date=13 April 2021 |archive-date=13 April 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210413041318/https://bizpages.org/countries--JP--Japan |url-status=live}}

Import commodities: machinery and equipment, fuels, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, raw materials (2001)

Exchange rates:

Japanese Yen per US$1 – 88.67 (2010), 93.57 (2009), 103.58 (2008), 117.99 (2007), 116.18 (2006), 109.69 (2005), 115.93 (2003), 125.39 (2002), 121.53 (2001), 105.16 (January 2000), 113.91 (1999), 130.91 (1998), 120.99 (1997), 108.78 (1996), 94.06 (1995)

Electricity:

• Electricity – consumption: 925.5 billion kWh (2008)
• Electricity – production: 957.9 billion kWh (2008 est.)
• Electricity – exports: 0 kWh (2008)
• Electricity – imports: 0 kWh (2008)

Electricity production by source:

• Fossil Fuel: 69.7%
• Hydro: 7.3%
• Nuclear: 22.5%
• Other: 0.5% (2008)

Electricity standards:

• 100 volts at 50 Hz from the Ōi River (in Shizuoka) Northward;
• 100 volts at 60 Hz Southward

Oil:

• production: {{convert|132700|oilbbl/d|abbr=on}} (2009) (46th)
• consumption: {{convert|4363000|oilbbl/d|abbr=on}} (2009) (3rd)
• exports: {{convert|380900|oilbbl/d}} (2008) (64th)
• imports: {{convert|5033000|oilbbl/d}} (2008) (2nd)
• net imports: {{convert|4620000|oilbbl/d}} (2008 est.)
• proved reserves: {{convert|44120000|oilbbl|abbr=on}} (1 January 2010 est.)

• Economic history of Japan
• Economic relations of Japan
• List of exports of Japan
• List of countries by leading trade partners
• List of the largest trading partners of Japan
• List of largest Japanese companies
• Japan External Trade Organization
• Tokugawa coinage
• Tourism in Japan
• Japanese post-war economic miracle
• Japanese asset price bubble
• Machine orders, an economic indicator specific to the Japanese economy
• Quantitative easing
• Loans in Japan
• Unemployment insurance in Japan
• Welfare in Japan

{{Reflist|25em}}

{{Commons category|Economy of Japan}}

• {{Britannica|2221313}}
• [https://www.boj.or.jp/en/index.htm/ Bank of Japan] {{Webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200602072650/https://www.boj.or.jp/en/index.htm/ |date=2 June 2020}}
• [http://www.mof.go.jp/english/ Minister of Finance (Japan)] {{Webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110518071808/http://www.mof.go.jp/english/ |date=18 May 2011}}
• [http://www5.cao.go.jp/keizai3/getsurei-e/index-e.html Cabinet Office Monthly Economic Report and Main Economic Indicators] {{Webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161005001447/http://www5.cao.go.jp/keizai3/getsurei-e/index-e.html |date=5 October 2016}}
• [http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/japan Japan profile] {{Webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170916095054/http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/japan |date=16 September 2017}} at The World Bank
• [http://www.oecd.org/japan/ Japan - OECD] {{Webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140805125259/http://www.oecd.org/japan/ |date=5 August 2014}}
• [https://japantrade.org/ Japan Trade Organization] {{Webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200730220937/https://japantrade.org/ |date=30 July 2020}}

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