Japan

In 1603, after decades of civil warfare, the Tokugawa shogunate (a military-led, dynastic government) ushered in a long period of relative political stability and isolation from foreign influence. For more than two centuries this policy enabled Japan to enjoy a flowering of its indigenous culture. Japan opened its ports after signing the Treaty of Kanagawa with the US in 1854 and began to intensively modernize and industrialize. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Japan became a regional power that was able to defeat the forces of both China and Russia. It occupied Korea, Formosa (Taiwan), and southern Sakhalin Island. In 1931-32 Japan occupied Manchuria, and in 1937 it launched a full-scale invasion of China. Japan attacked US forces in 1941 - triggering America's entry into World War II - and soon occupied much of East and Southeast Asia. After its defeat in World War II, Japan recovered to become an economic power and an ally of the US. While the emperor retains his throne as a symbol of national unity, elected politicians hold actual decision-making power. Following three decades of unprecedented growth, Japan's economy experienced a major slowdown starting in the 1990s, but the country remains a major economic power. In January 2009, Japan assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2009-10 term.

Economical characteristics

• Currency: Yen (ISO code: JPY)
• Central bank discount rate: 0.3% (31 December 2008)
• Commercial banks lending rate: 1.91% (31 December 2008)
• Stock of money (M1): $5.417 trillion (31 December 2008)
• Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $6.16 trillion (31 December 2008)

Statistics

Statistic / Year	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
GDP (million USD)	4 368 730	4 667 450	4 095 480	3 918 340	4 229 100	4 605 940	4 552 120	4 362 550	4 380 510	4 910 840
Govt. debt (% of GDP)
Govt. revenue (% of GDP)
Govt. expenses (% of GDP)
Debt to revenue (years)

References

Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.

Links

• Japan on Wikipedia
• Central bank of Japan
• Studies from the Library of Congress (1986-1998)
• BBC country profile
• Money for Nothing by Frank Shostak, February 1999
• Explaining Japan's Recession by Benjamin Powell, November 2002
• Housing: Too Good to be True by Mark Thornton, June 2004
• It is Japan we should be worrying about, not America by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, November 2009
• Japan unveils record budget to boost economy by Shingo Ito, December 2009
• Global bear rally will deflate as Japan leads world in sovereign bond crisis by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, January 2010
• Illusions of the Age of Keynes by Doug French, January 2010
• A global fiasco is brewing in Japan by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, January 2010
• Japan PM Announces $11 Billion Stimulus Plan, Asian Markets Rise by Lauren Cooper, September 2010
• Japan risks credit crunch as yen thunders by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, March 2011
• The Myth of Japan's Lost Decades by Kel Kelly, April 2011
• Earthquake and Aftermath Push Japan Into a Recession by Hiroko Tabuchi and Bettina Wassener, May 2011