Background Notes: Japan
PA/PC
Source: Office of Public Communication, Bureau of Public
Affairs
Date: Dec 15, 199012/15/90
Category: Country Data
Region: East Asia
Country: Japan
[TEXT]
Official Name: Japan
PROFILE
Geography:
Area: 377,765 sq. km. (145,856 sq. mi.); slightly smaller
than California. Cities: Capital-Tokyo. Other major cities-Yokohama,
Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Kobe, Kyoto. Terrain: Rugged, mountainous
islands. Climate: Varies from subtropical to temperate.
People: Nationality: Noun and adjective-Japanese. Population (mid-
1987 est.): 123,100,000. Annual growth rate (1989): 0.5%. Ethnic
groups: Japanese; Korean 0.6%. Religions: Shintoism and Buddhism;
Christian 0.8%. Language: Japanese. Education: Literacy-99%. Life
expectancy (1987)-males 75.5 yrs., females 81.3 yrs. Work force
(60.7 million, 1988): Agriculture-7.9%. Trade, manufacturing,
mining, and construction-32.4%. Services-43.3%. Government-7.2%.
Government:
Type: Parliamentary democracy. Constitution: May 3,
1947. Branches: Executive-prime minister (head of government).
Legislative-bicameral Diet (House of Representatives and House of
Councillors). Judicial-Civil law system with Anglo-American
influence. Subdivisions: 47 prefectures. Political parties: Liberal
Democratic Party (LDP), Japan Socialist Party (JSP), Democratic
Socialist Party (DSP), Komeito (Clean Government Party), Japan
Communist Party (JCP). Suffrage: Universal over 20. Flag: Red sun on
white field.
Economy:
GNP (1989): $2.836 trillion. Real growth rate: 4.9% (1989);
4.4% (1987-89). Per capita GNP (1989): $23,040. Natural resources:
Negligible mineral resources, fish. Agriculture: Products-rice,
vegetables, fruits, milk, meat, silk. Industry: Types-machinery and
equipment, metals and metal products, textiles, autos, chemicals,
electrical and electronic equipment. Trade (1989): Exports-$269.7
billion: motor vehicles, machinery and equipment, electrical and
electronic products, metals and metal products. Major markets-US
33.8%, Western Europe 20.5%, developing countries 37.7%,
communist countries 4.6%. Imports-$210.7 billion: fossil fuels,
metal ore, raw materials, foodstuffs, machinery and equipment.
Major suppliers-US 22.9%, Western Europe 16.7%, developing
countries 47%, communist countries 7.4%. Fiscal year: April 1-
March 31. Exchange rate (avg. 1989): 138 yen= US$1. Total net
official development assistance: $8.9 billion (1989 disbursements,
0.3% of GNP).
Membership in International Organizations:
UN and several of its specialized and related agencies, including the
International Monetary Fund (IMF), International Court of Justice
(ICJ), General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), International
Labor Organization (ILO), International Energy Agency (IEA),
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD),
INTELSAT.
PEOPLE
Japan is one of the most densely populated nations in the
world, with almost 318 persons per square kilometer (823 persons
per sq. mi.). The growth rate has stabilized at about 0.5% in recent
years, giving rise to some concern about the social implications of
an increasingly aged population.
The Japanese are a Mongoloid people, closely related to the
major groups of East Asia. However, some evidence also exists of
admixture with Malayan and Caucasoid strains. About 675,000
Koreans and much smaller groups of Chinese and Caucasians reside
in Japan.
Buddhism is important in Japan's religious life and has
strongly influenced fine arts, social institutions, and thought. Most
Japanese still consider themselves members of one of the major
Buddhist sects.
Shintoism is an indigenous religion founded on myths, legends,
and ritual practices of the early Japanese. Neither Buddhism nor
Shintoism is an exclusive religion; most Japanese observe both
Buddhist and Shinto rituals, the former for funerals and the latter
for births, marriages, and other occasions. Confucianism, more an
ethical system than a religion, profoundly influences Japanese
thought.
About 1.5 million people in Japan are Christians, of whom
approximately 60% are Protestant and 40% Roman Catholic.
Education
Japan provides free public schooling for all children through
junior high school. Ninety-four percent of students go on to 3-year
senior high schools, and competition is fierce for entry into the
best universities. Students may attend either public or private high
schools, colleges, and universities, but they must pay tuition. Japan
enjoys one of the world's highest literacy rates (99%); nearly 90%
of Japanese students complete high school.
Communications
Mass communications in Japan are more extensive than those
of most other advanced, industrial nations. The mass media are
highly competitive, even though they are dominated by four national
daily newspapers-the Yomiuri, the Asahi, the Mainichi, and the
Nihon Keizai Shimbun-with individual circulations of 4-14 million
(combined morning and evening editions) daily. These newspapers
and several smaller ones publish weekly magazines and have
interests in commercial radio and television. The combined
circulation of Japan's 178 newpapers totals more than 65 million
(in a nation of 120 million people), and Japan publishes more than
3,500 magazines.
Radio and television follow the British pattern, with a
nationwide, government-owned network competing with commercial
networks. The Japanese motion picture and publishing industries
rank among the largest in the world. The Japanese publishing
industry creates more new titles each year than the United States.
Social Welfare
In Japan, as in other parts of Asia, care of the sick, aged, and
infirm until recently has been the responsibility of families,
employers, or private organizations. However, to meet the needs of
a modern industrial society, this system has changed greatly, and
the government conducts a broad range of modest, but successful,
social welfare programs. These include health insurance, old-age
pensions, a minimum wage law, and the operation of various
hospitals and institutions for orphans, the handicapped, and the
elderly. All major political parties are committed to providing
increased and more effective social welfare services.
HISTORY
Traditional Japanese records contain the legend that the
nation was founded in 600 BC by the Emperor Jimmu, a direct
descendant of the sun goddess and ancestor of the present ruling
imperial family. About 405 AD, the Japanese court officially
adopted the Chinese writing system. During the sixth century,
Buddhism was introduced. These two events revolutionized Japanese
culture and marked the beginning of a long period of Chinese
cultural influence, which resulted in a strong affinity for China.
From the establishment of the first fixed capital at Nara in
710 until 1867, the emperors of the Yamato dynasty were the
nominal rulers, but actual power was usually held by powerful court
nobles, regents, or "shoguns" (military governors).
Contact With the West
The first contact with the West occurred about 1542, when a
Portuguese ship, blown off its course to China, landed in Japan.
During the next century, traders from Portugal, the Netherlands,
England, and Spain arrived, as did Jesuit, Dominican, and Franciscan
missionaries. During the early part of the 17th century, growing
suspicions that the traders and missionaries were actually
forerunners of a military conquest by European powers caused the
shogunate to place foreigners under progressively tighter
restrictions. This culminated in the expulsion of all foreigners and
the severing of all relations with the outside world, except
severely restricted commercial contacts with Dutch and Chinese
merchants at Nagasaki. This isolation lasted for 200 years, until
Commodore Matthew Perry of the US Navy forced the opening of
Japan to the West with the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854.
Renewed contact with the West profoundly altered Japanese
society. In 1868, the shogun was forced to resign, and an emperor
was restored to power. The feudal system subsequently was
abolished, and many Western institutions were adopted, including a
Western legal system and constitutional government along quasi-
parliamentary lines.
The Meiji Constitution initiated many reforms. Eventually, in
1898, the last of the galling "unequal treaties" with Western
powers was removed, signaling Japan's new status among the
nations of the world. In a few decades, by creating modern social,
educational, economic, military and industrial systems, the Emperor
Meiji's "controlled revolution" had transformed a feudal and isolated
state into a world power.
Wars with China and Russia
Japanese leaders of the late 19th century regarded the Korean
Peninsula as a "dagger pointed at the heart of Japan." It was over
Korea that Japan became involved in war with the Chinese Empire in
1894-95 and with Russia in 1904-05. The war with China
established Japan's dominant interest in Korea, while giving it the
Pescadores Islands and Formosa as well. After Japan defeated
Russia, the resulting Treaty of Portsmouth awarded Japan certain
rights in Manchuria and in southern Sakhalin, which Russia had
received in 1875 in exchange for the Kurile Islands. Both wars gave
Japan a free hand in Korea, which it formally annexed in 1910.
World War I to 1952
World War I permitted Japan, which fought on the side of the
victorious Allies, to expand its influence in Asia and its territorial
holdings in the Pacific. The postwar era brought unprecedented
prosperity to the country. Japan went to the peace conference at
Versailles in 1919 as one of the great military and industrial
powers of the world and received official recognition as one of the
"Big Five" of the new international order. It joined the League of
Nations and received a mandate over Pacific islands north of the
Equator formerly held by Germany.
During the 1920s, the country progressed toward a democratic
system of government. However, parliamentary government was not
rooted deeply enough to withstand the economic and political
pressures of the 1930s. During this period, military leaders were
increasingly influential.
Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931 and set up the state of
Manchukuo. In 1933, it resigned from the League of Nations. The
Japanese invasion of China in 1937 followed Japan's signing the
"anti-Comintern pact" with Nazi Germany the previous year and was
part of a chain of developments culminating in the Japanese attack
on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. After almost 4 years of war,
resulting in the loss of 3 million Japanese lives and including the
atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan signed an
instrument of surrender on the USS Missouri in Tokyo Harbor on
September 2, 1945.
As a result of World War II, Japan lost all of its overseas
possessions and retained only the home islands. Manchukuo was
dissolved, and Manchuria was returned to China; Japan renounced all
claims to Formosa; Korea was granted independence; southern
Sakhalin and the Kuriles were occupied by the USSR; and the United
States became the sole administering authority of the Ryukyu,
Bonin, and Volcano Islands. The United States returned control of
these islands to Japan by 1972 with the reversion of Okinawa.
After the war, Japan was placed under international control of
the Allied Powers through the Supreme Commander, Gen. Douglas
MacArthur. US objectives were to ensure that Japan would become
a peaceful nation and to establish democratic self-government
supported by the freely expressed will of the people. Political,
economic, and social reforms were introduced. The method of ruling
through Japanese officials and a freely elected Japanese Diet
(legislature) afforded a progressive and orderly transition from the
stringent controls immediately following the surrender to the
restoration of full sovereignty when the treaty of peace with Japan
went into effect on April 28, 1952.
GOVERNMENT
Japan's parliamentary government-a constitutional monarchy-
operates within the framework of a constitution that became
effective on May 3, 1947. Japan has universal adult suffrage with a
secret ballot for all elective offices. The government consists of an
executive branch, responsible to the Diet, and an independent
judicial branch.
Sovereignty, previously embodied in the emperor, is vested in
the Japanese people, and the emperor is defined as the symbol of
the state. The cultural prestige of the imperial institution remains
great, however, and the enthronement of Emperor Akihito in
November 1990 was a major national event.
The government is essentially patterned on the British
parliamentary model, with a House of Representatives and a House
of Councillors. Executive power is vested in a cabinet composed of a
prime minister and ministers of state, all of whom must be
civilians. The prime minister, who must be a member of the Diet, is
appointed by the emperor on designation by the Diet and has the
power to appoint and remove ministers, the majority of whom must
be from the Diet.
Japan's judicial system, based on the model of Roman law,
consists of several levels of courts, with the Supreme Court as the
final judicial authority. The Japanese constitution includes a bill of
rights similar to the US Bill of Rights, and the Supreme Court has
the right of judicial review. Japanese courts do not use a jury
system, and there are no administrative courts or claims courts.
Because of the system's basis in Roman law, court decisions are
made in accordance with statute law, and only Supreme Court
decisions have any direct effect on later interpretation of points of
law.
Japan does not have a federal system, and its 47 prefectures
are not sovereign entities in the sense that US states are. Most are
not financially self-sufficient and depend on the central
government for subsidies. Governors of prefectures, mayors of
municipalities, and prefectural and municipal assembly members
are popularly elected for
4-year terms.
Principal Government Officials
Prime Minister-Toshiki Kaifu
Minister of Foreign Affairs-Taro Nakayama
Ambassador to the United States-Ryohei Murata
Ambassador to the United Nations-Yoshio Hatano
Japan maintains an embassy in the United States at 2520
Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20008 (tel. 202-939-
6700). Consulates general are in Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston,
Chicago, Guam, Honolulu, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, New
Orleans, New York City, Portland, San Francisco and Seattle;
honorary consulates general are in Buffalo, Cleveland, Dallas,
Denver, Nashville, Miami, Minneapolis, Mobile, Phoenix, St. Louis,
San Diego, and San Juan; and an honorary consulate is in American
Samoa.
The Japan National Tourist Organization, at 630 Fifth Avenue,
New York, NY 10111, also maintains offices in Chicago, Dallas, San
Francisco, Los Angeles, and Honolulu.
POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Japan is one of the most politically stable of all postwar
democracies, ruled for more than 40 years by moderate and
conservative political interests. A generally close cooperation
among politicians, an efficient and dedicated bureaucracy, and the
business community have tended to give cohesion to national
policymaking. The political organization representing Japanese
moderate conservatism is the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). The
party is a coalition of several well-organized factions, the success
of which depends on the factional leaders' ability to obtain a
position of power in the cabinet or party.
In the February 1990 lower house election, the Socialist party
(JSP) increased its strength by 55 seats (from 83 to 138), making it
overwhelmingly the largest opposition party. Continuing
ideological conflict between the Marxist class-struggle approach of
its left wing and the more pragmatic approach of the right wing has
kept the JSP from consolidating its own position in the Diet, while
disputes with other opposition parties have frustrated attempts to
form more than temporary alliances. Although advocating reduction
and eventual elimination of US military forces in Japan, the JSP has
moved to broaden its dialogue with the United States.
The Komeito (Clean Government Party) is a political affiliate
of the Buddhist Soka Gakkai sect but has attempted to expand its
base. The party grew rapidly in its early years, but membership has
leveled off. The Komeito is moderate but joins the other opposition
parties in parliamentary maneuvers against the LDP.
The Democratic Socialist Party (DSP) is a moderate socialist
party patterned after the European social democrats. Its
membership broke away from the JSP in 1960. Much of its support
is from private sector labor unions.
No longer stridently revolutionary, the Japan Communist Party
(JCP) rejects close ties with the Soviet Union and espouses a
parliamentary road to power like the major West European
communist parties. However, it remains hostile to the United
States. It is highly unlikely that the JCP ever will have a broad
electoral base.
The LDP has ruled Japan continuously since its founding in
1955. Although Japanese politics are stable, the LDP cannot take
its parliamentary majority for granted. In the 1989 upper house
elections, the LDP lost its majority. However, in the more powerful
lower house, the LDP scored an impressive victory in elections in
February 1990. It won 275 races and, together with 11
conservative independents who subsequently joined the party, the
LDP's 286 seats in the 512-seat chamber give it chairmanship and
voting majorities in every committee. The LDP counts on the
inability of its opponents to unite. Its excellent overall
performance in achieving high levels of economic growth has
improved the lot of the people in the postwar era, and it is still the
only party that a majority of the public seems to trust to manage
the economy.
ECONOMY
Japan's reservoir of industrial leadership and technicans, its
intelligent and industrious work force, its high savings and
investment rates, and its intensive promotion of industrial
development and foreign trade have resulted in a mature industrial
economy. Along with North America and Western Europe, Japan is
one of the three major industrial complexes among the market
economies.
Japan has few natural resources, and only 19% of its land is
suitable for cultivation. The agricultural economy is highly
subsidized and protected. With great ingenuity and technical skill,
resulting in per hectare crop yields among the highest in the world,
Japan maintains an overall agricultural self-sufficiency rate of
about 50% on fewer than 5.6 million cultivated hectares (14 million
acres). Japan produces a slight surplus of rice but imports large
quantities of wheat, sorghum, and soybeans, primarily from the
United States.
Given its heavy dependence on imported energy, Japan has
aimed to diversify its sources. Since the oil shocks of the 1970s,
Japan has reduced dependence on petroleum as a source of energy
from over 75% in 1973 to about 57%. Other important energy
sources are coal, liquefied natural gas, nuclear, and hydropower.
Gold, magnesium, and silver meet current minimum
requirements, but Japan is dependent on foreign sources for many of
the minerals essential to modern industry. Iron ore, coking coal,
copper, and bauxite must be imported, as well as many forest
products.
Japan's exports amount to less than 10% of its GNP, less than
the percentage of some other major trading nations. Although small
in terms of GNP, the Japanese traditionally have seen this trade as
necessary for earning the foreign exchange needed to purchase raw
materials for their advanced economy.
Compared with the performance of most industrial nations
over the past several years, the Japanese economy has performed
well. Its 4.9% real economic growth rate in 1989 is one of the
highest of the developed countries.
Transportation
Japan has a well-developed international and domestic
transportation system, although highway development still lags.
Tokyo and Osaka International Airports and the ports of Yokohama,
Osaka, Kobe, and Nagoya are important terminals for air and sea
traffic in the western Pacific. However, greatly increased traffic in
the Pacific markets is putting severe strains on Japan's airports.
The domestic transportation system depends on the
government-owned rail network. Rail transportation is
supplemented by private railways in metropolitan areas, a
developing highway system, coastal shipping, and several airlines.
The rail system is efficient and well distributed and maintained
throughout the country. The super express "bullet trains" take as
little as 3 hours between Tokyo and Osaka, a distance of 520
kilometers (325 mi.).
Labor
Japan's labor force consists of approximately 60 million
workers, 40% of whom are women. Members of labor unions number
about 12 million (about 27% of the nonagricultural labor force).
In 1989, the 3-million member, predominantly public-sector
union confederation Sohyo (General Council of Trade Unions of
Japan) merged with the 5.5 million member Rengo (Japanese Private
Sector Trade Union Confederation) to form the 8-million member
Japanese Trade Union Confederation, also called Rengo.
US-Japanese Trade
The United States is Japan's largest trading partner; Japan is
the second largest trading partner for the United States after
Canada. Bilateral trade totaled $138 billion in 1989. Japan is the
largest market for US agricultural products, more than $8 billion
annually. Manufactured goods constitute 58% of US exports to
Japan. In 1989, the leading US export to Japan was machinery and
equipment. Japan is the first- or second-best market for many US
manufactured goods, including chemicals, pharmaceuticals, photo
supplies, commercial aircraft, nonferrous metals, plastics, and
medical and scientific supplies.
The US trade deficit with Japan has been a source of
significant bilateral friction. US trade policy has concentrated on
efforts to encourage structural change to reduce Japan's export
orientation and increase imports; negotiation on specific market
access problems; coordination of macro-economic policies; and
coordination in multilateral fora such as the GATT and OECD.
There have been some encouraging trends. Japan's economic
growth has been generated more by domestic demand than exports.
Between 1981 and 1989, US exports to Japan grew more than twice
as fast as our exports to the rest of the world. And the $49 billion
US merchandise trade deficit with Japan in 1989 represented a 5%
improvement over 1988. Nevertheless, the United States is
continuing to focus on opening Japanese markets and increasing US
exports.
Significant bilateral trade negotiations have occurred. In
1988, the United States signed agreements with Japan covering
beef, citrus, other agricultural products, and public works
procurement. In April 1990, the two countries reached agreements
on the three sectors-satellites, supercomputers, and wood
products-identified for trade liberalization under the Super 301
provision of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988.
In June 1990, the US and Japan concluded
9 months of intensive talks under the Structural Impediments
Initiative (SII) by producing a final report which commits both
countries to comprehensive measures to reduce impediments to
current account adjustment.
Despite the lack of formal barriers to trade compared with
other countries, the Japanese market continues to be difficult for
new firms to penetrate. Efforts to improve access to that market
continue to take place in semiannual bilateral meetings of the trade
committee and meetings related to the market-oriented sector-
selective (MOSS) process. US follow-up talks with the Japanese
government continue in medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, auto
parts, construction, semiconductors, intellectual property rights,
and services.
In August 1990, the US and Japan reached agreement on
liberalizing the Japanese telecommunications market for terminal
equipment and international value-added services.
There are considerable investment flows between the United
States and Japan. US direct investment in Japan rose by $1.4 billion
from 1988 to 1989, much of it largely in finance, banking, and
manufacturing. The total stock of US direct investment at the end
of 1989 totaled $19.3 billion. Japanese direct investment in the
United States expanded by $16 billion in 1989 over 1988 with
substantial increases in real estate, finance, and manufacturing.
The total stock of Japanese direct investment in the United States
at the end of 1989 was $69.7 billion.
DEFENSE
After World War II, the Allies disarmed and occupied Japan.
Article IX of the Japanese constitution provides that "land, sea, and
air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be
maintained." During the Korean war, this position was modified by
the establishment of a national police reserve force. Before the end
of the occupation in April 1952, the first steps had been taken to
expand and transform the force into the Self-Defense Force (SDF).
At the same time, the Japanese government derived from Article 51
of the UN Charter the doctrine that each nation has the right of
self-defense against armed attack and that this right is consistent
with Article IX of the Japanese constitution.
In 1954, the Japan Defense Agency was created with the
specific mission of defending Japan against external aggression.
Ground, maritime, and air self-defense forces were established
under a joint chiefs of staff organization patterned after that of
the United States.
In recent years, the Japanese public has shown a substantially
greater awareness of security issues and increasing support for the
security treaty and the SDF. However, there are still significant
political and psychological constraints on strengthening Japan's
defense. An important minority in Japan advocates strict
interpretation of Article IX of the constitution. More generally,
there continues to be a strong underlying antipathy, resulting from
Japan's experience in World War II, toward military matters.
FOREIGN RELATIONS
Japan is a major economic power not only in Asia but also in
the world. Japanese foreign policy since 1952 aims to promote
peace and prosperity for the Japanese people by working closely
with the West and through strong support for the United Nations.
Japan has diplomatic relations with nearly all independent nations
and has been an active member of the United Nations since 1956.
Although a military role for Japan in international affairs is
precluded by its constitution and government policy, Japanese
cooperation through the US-Japan security treaty has been
important to the peace and stability of East Asia. All Japanese
governments in the postwar period have relied on a close
relationship with the United States as the foundation of their
foreign policy and on the mutual security treaty for strategic
protection. In recent years, within the context of a close
relationship with the United States, Japan has diversified and
expanded its ties with other nations.
Good relations with its neighbors continue to be of vital
interest to Tokyo. After the signing of the peace and friendship
treaty with China in 1978, ties between Tokyo and Beijing
developed rapidly. Prior to the June 1989 events in Tiananmen
Square, the Japanese extended significant economic assistance to
the Chinese in various modernization projects. At the same time,
Japan has maintained economic but not diplomatic relations with
Taiwan, where a strong bilateral trade relationship thrives.
Japanese ties with the Republic of Korea have improved since
an exchange of visits in the mid-1980s by the Japanese and South
Korean political leaders. Most recently, President Roh Tae Woo
made a highly successful visit to Japan in May 1990. Japan has
limited economic and commercial ties with North Korea; the release
in October 1990 of two Japanese seamen held by Pyongyang since
1983 removed a key obstacle to a normalization of relations.
Although the Japanese have sought to improve relations with
the Soviet Union, relations between Tokyo and Moscow never have
been close, because the Soviets continue to occupy the Northern
Territories-small islands off the coast of Hokkaido that have been
occupied by the USSR since the end of World War II. The Japanese
reacted strongly to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and
supported various initiatives, including boycotting the Moscow
Olympics, to express their opposition.
Soviet President Gorbachev's scheduled visit to Tokyo in early
1991 will be the first by a Soviet leader in the post-war period. It
may provide the occasion for movement toward a settlement of the
territorial dispute and major improvement in Soviet-Japanese
relations.
The Japanese have pursued a more active foreign policy in
recent years, recognizing the responsibility that accompanies
Japan's economic strength. Japan has expanded its ties with the
Middle East, which provides most of its oil. The Japanese also have
been increasingly active in Africa and Latin America and have
extended significant support to multilateral and bilateral
development projects in both regions.
After the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, Japan
rapidly adopted tough sanctions against Iraq and strongly supported
the UN effort to roll back the aggression. Initial Japanese
contributions included $2 billion in assistance to countries most
affected economically by the crisis, an additional $2 billion for the
multinational military force, and aid to refugees.
Development assistance is a major tool of Japan's foreign
policy. Japan became the world's largest aid donor in 1989,
surpassing the United States with aid levels of $9 billion. Japanese
aid to other Asian countries far exceeds that of the United States,
and Japan is also a major donor to Central and Eastern Europe, Latin
America, the Middle East, and the Philippines. Japan and the United
States hold subcabinet-level consultations regularly to coordinate
foreign assistance programs. The United States supports Japan's
efforts to open its markets to developing nations' products.
US-JAPANESE RELATIONS
The close and cooperative relationship with Japan is the
cornerstone of US policy in Asia and the basis of a strong,
productive partnership in addressing global issues. Despite
different social and cultural traditions, Japan and the United States
have much in common. Both have open, democratic societies, high
literacy, freedom of expression, multiparty political systems,
universal suffrage, and open elections. Both have highly developed
free-market industrial economies and favor an open and active
international trading system. Given Japan's economic power and its
growing international role, it clearly has become one of the most
important countries to the United States.
In accordance with Japan's enhanced international influence
and its continued close ties with the United States, the two
countries have developed a close global partnership in supporting
the many values they share. This global cooperation spans fields as
diverse as counter-terrorism, anti-narcotics collaboration, human
rights, development assistance, support for refugees, and
international action to protect the environment.
Bilateral trade problems attract significant attention and
often generate considerable controversy within the relationship.
The United States is working hard to achieve greater access to
Japan's markets and has made much progress. Trade problems may
be the most visible and contentious part of an extremely broad and
important relationship. Overall US policy toward Japan goes well
beyond the problem areas and is based on three principles.
First, the United States has worked to achieve a close
bilateral relationship with Japan as an equal partner. The past
decade has brought a significant expansion of Japan's economic and
technological prowess, an increase in its defense awareness and
capability, and a greater interest and involvement in international
political and economic affairs. Although there still are differences
in their relative political, economic, and military positions in the
world, both nations approach and conduct their relationship as
equals.
Second, because of the two countries' combined economic and
technological impact on the world-together accounting for 40% of
world GNP and 60% of the Western industrialized nations' GNP-the
US-Japan relationship has become global in scope. Although in the
past the partnership has been measured primarily in economic and
technological terms, in the future it will have a larger political
dimension as Japan assumes a greater international role and
associates itself more actively and closely with Western political
and security goals.
Third, Japan is becoming increasingly assertive in global
matters and is forging a wider international role.
The United States encourages this trend toward a broader
international political and economic role by Japan, within the
framework of a continued close bilateral relationship. The United
States has called for a "global partnership" with Japan, in which the
combined efforts of the two countries can be utilized to promote
peace and prosperity throughout the world.
US-Japan Security Relationship
The US-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security is 30 years
old. The original security relationship dates from the early 1950s,
when Japan was virtually defenseless. The present security treaty,
revised on a broader basis of equality, came into force on June 23,
1960, and became subject to abrogation by either party upon 1
year's notice in June 1970. At the time, both governments declared
their intention to extend the treaty indefinitely.
Under the treaty, Japan hosts elements of the US 7th Fleet.
The bases and facilities provided by Japan under the treaty do not
exist solely for the defense of Japan. They are also important to
the US ability to maintain commitments to other allies in Asia. US
military assistance to Japan was terminated at the end of 1967.
Since 1952, US military forces in Japan have decreased from more
than 260,000 to the present level of about 65,000, more than half
of whom are stationed in Okinawa. For Japan, the treaty provides a
strategic guarantee against external attack.
As US forces were withdrawn, the Japanese SDF expanded its
capabilities and has assumed primary responsibility for the
immediate conventional defense of Japan. Japan's defense roles and
missions, which the United States supports, are the defense of its
homeland, territorial seas and skies, and sea lines of
communication out to 1,000 nautical miles. Japan has been
increasing its defense budget annually and continues to make
qualitative force improvements. As a matter of policy, Japan has
foresworn nuclear armaments and forbids arms sales abroad. A
bilateral agreement signed in 1983, however, allows the export of
Japanese defense and dual-use technology to the United States.
In addition to its own forces, Japan also provides bases and
facilities to US forces in Japan and contributes substantially to the
support of US forces (over $3 billion in FY 1990).
The US Embassy in Japan is located at 10-5 Akasaka 1-chome,
Minato-ku, Tokyo (107); tel 224-5000; fax 505-1862; mailing
address: American Embassy Tokyo, APO San Francisco 96503. US
Consulates General are in Osaka, Sapporo, and Naha, and a Consulate
is in Fukuoka. The American Chamber of Commerce in Japan is at 7th
floor, Fukide No. 2 Bldg., 1-21 Toranomon 4-chome, Minato-ku,
Tokyo (105).
Houston Economic Summit, July 9-11, 1990
President Bush hosted the 16th annual G-7 summit for the
leaders of the major industrialized democracies-Canada, France,
Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States-
and the president of the European Community, in Houston, Texas,
July 9-11. The summit was held against the backdrop of movement
toward democracy and freer markets in many parts of the world,
including elections in Eastern Europe and Nicaragua, increasing
momentum toward German unification, and political reforms in the
Soviet Union. The summit leaders agreed on most international
economic and political issues, but intense discussions were needed
on agricultural subsidies in the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade
negotiations, economic assistance to the Soviet Union, and global
warming before consensus could be reached. Economic
Accomplishments
-- Agreement on progressive reductions in internal and
external support and protection of agriculture and on a framework
for conducting agricultural negotiations in order to successfully
conclude by December 1990 the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade
talks under the auspices of the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade (GATT).
-- Request to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World
Bank, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development,
and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to
undertake, in close coordination with the European Community (EC),
a study of the Soviet economy, to make recommendations, to
establish the criteria under which Western economic assistance
could effectively support Soviet reforms, and to submit a report by
the end of 1990.
-- Support for aid to Central and Eastern European nations
that are firmly committed to political and economic reform,
including freer markets, and encouragement of foreign private
investment in those countries and improved markets for their
exports by means of trade and investment agreements.
-- Pledge to begin negotiations, to be completed by 1992, on
a global forest convention to protect the world's forests.
Political Accomplishments
-- Promotion of democracy throughout the world by assisting
in the drafting of laws, advising in fostering independent media,
establishing training programs, and expanding exchange programs.
-- Endorsement of the maintenance of an effective
international nuclear nonproliferation system, including adoption of
safeguards and nuclear export control measures, and support for a
complete ban on chemical weapons.
Principal US Officials
Ambassador-Michael H. Armacost
Deputy Chief of Mission-William T. Breer
Economic Minister-Counselor-Joseph Winder
Political Minister-Rust M. Deming
Public Affairs Minister-Robert L. M. Nevitt
Administrative Minister-Jose J. Cao-Garcia
Commercial Minister-Keith R. Bovetti
Agricultural Minister-James V. Parker
Consul General-Nancy Sambaiew
Labor Counselor-John J. LaMazza
Science Counselor-Edward Malloy
Defense Attache-Capt. S. A. Van Hoften
Customs Attache-Gary W. Waugh
Mutual Defense Office Director-Capt. Walter T. Dziedzic
TRAVEL NOTES
Japan is one of the countries participating in the Nonimmigrant
Visa Waiver Pilot Program. As such, visitors to Japan for either
tourism or business for a period of less than 90 days who possess
round-trip or onward tickets on a participating carrier do not need
visas. This program expires September 30, 1991, unless it is
extended by legislation. Meanwhile, for all other types of travel,
including official business, a visa is required and must be obtained
from a Japanese consulate or embassy before departure. Travelers
transiting Japan for less than a 72-hour stay may routinely apply
for a special landing permit upon arrival, provided their passport is
properly visaed for onward travel and entry and departure are from
the same international airport. If travelers are in any doubt
regarding specific transit plans, a visa should be obtained before
departure. No immunization is necessary for travel to Japan from
the United States. Detailed tourist information can be obtained from
the Japan National Tourist Organization, 630 Fifth Avenue, New
York, NY 10111.
Published by the United States Department of State -- Bureau of
Public Affairs -- Office of Public Communication -- Washington,
DC -- December 1990 -- Editor: Peter A. Knecht
Department of State Publication 7770. Background Notes Series --
This material is in the public domain and may be reprinted without
permission; citation of this source is appreciated.
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, US Government
Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402 (###)