STATISTICAL HANDBOOK OF

JAPAN

2017
 © 2017 by Statistics Bureau
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
Japan
All rights reserved.

Edited and Published by

Statistics Bureau
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
Japan
19-1 Wakamatsu-cho, Shinjuku-ku
Tokyo 162-8668 Japan

Printed in Japan
ISSN 0081-4792

http://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/handbook/index.htm
 Preface

This handbook is designed to provide a clear and coherent

overview of present-day Japan through statistics.
It provides statistical tables, figures, maps and photographs to
portray conditions in modern-day Japan from a variety of
perspectives, including demographics, economic and social trends,
and culture. Most of the comments and statistical data for this
purpose have been drawn from principal statistical publications
available from government and other leading sources.
For more in-depth statistical information on Japan, readers are
invited to peruse the Japan Statistical Yearbook.
We hope that this booklet will serve as a guide in your search for
knowledge about Japan. We are always happy to receive opinions
or requests from readers.
You can also view the contents of this booklet on the website of
the Statistics Bureau.

September 2017

Masato CHINO
Director-General
Statistics Bureau
Ministry of Internal Affairs
and Communications
Japan
 Notes for Users

1. The present issue basically contains statistics that became available by May 31,
2017.
2. Unless otherwise indicated, "year" refers to the calendar year and "fiscal year"
refers to the 12 months beginning April 1 of the year stated.
3. Metric units are used in all tables and figures in which the data are measured in
weight, volume, length or area.
4. Unless otherwise indicated, amounts shown are in Japanese yen. Refer to
Appendix 3 for exchange rates of JPY per U.S. dollar.
5. Statistical figures may not add up to the totals due to rounding.
6. The following symbols are used in the tables:
･･･ Data not available

－ Magnitude zero or figures not applicable

0 or 0.0 Less than half of unit employed

＃ Marked break in series

＊ Provisional or estimate

7. Data relating to "China" generally exclude those for Hong Kong SAR, Macao
SAR and Taiwan.
8. All contents of the present issue, including tables, figures, and maps, are also
available on the website:
http://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/handbook/index.htm
9. When any contents of the present issue are to be quoted or copied in other media
(print or electronic), the title is to be referred to as follows:
Source: Statistical Handbook of Japan 2017, Statistics Bureau, Ministry of
Internal Affairs and Communications, Japan.
 Contents

Chapter 1 Land and Climate .......................................................................... 1

1. Land .............................................................................................................. 2
2. Climate .......................................................................................................... 4

Chapter 2 Population ....................................................................................... 7

1. Total Population ........................................................................................... 8
2. Households ................................................................................................. 10
(1) Household Size and Household Composition .................................... 10
(2) Elderly Households .............................................................................. 12
3. Declining Birth Rate and Aging Population ............................................. 13
4. Births and Deaths ....................................................................................... 15
5. Marriages and Divorces ............................................................................. 18
6. Population Density and Regional Distribution ......................................... 19
(1) Population Density ............................................................................... 19
(2) Population Distribution ........................................................................ 21

Chapter 3 Economy ........................................................................................ 22

1. Economic Development ............................................................................ 23
2. Bubble Economy and Its Collapse ............................................................ 24
3. Recent Economic Trends ........................................................................... 26
4. Industrial Structure ..................................................................................... 29

Chapter 4 Finance .......................................................................................... 34

1. National and Local Government Finance ................................................. 35
(1) National Government Finance ............................................................ 35
(2) Local Government Finance ................................................................. 38
(3) National and Local Government Finance ........................................... 40
(4) Tax ......................................................................................................... 43
2. Bank of Japan and Money Stock .............................................................. 44
3. Financial Institutions .................................................................................. 47
4. Financial Assets .......................................................................................... 49
5. Stock Market .............................................................................................. 50
Chapter 5 Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries .......................................... 53
1. Overview of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries ..................................... 54
2. Agriculture .................................................................................................. 54
(1) Agricultural Production ........................................................................ 54
(2) Farmers and Farmland ......................................................................... 56
3. Forestry ....................................................................................................... 57
4. Fisheries ...................................................................................................... 59
(1) Fishery Production ............................................................................... 59
(2) Fishery Workers ................................................................................... 60
5. Self-Sufficiency in Food ............................................................................ 61

Chapter 6 Manufacturing and Construction ............................................. 64

1. Overview of the Manufacturing Sector .................................................... 65
2. Principal Industries in the Manufacturing Sector ..................................... 68
(1) Machinery Industry .............................................................................. 68
(2) Chemical Industry ................................................................................ 70
(3) Iron and Steel Industry ......................................................................... 70
(4) Fabricated Metal Products Industry .................................................... 71
3. Construction ............................................................................................... 71

Chapter 7 Energy ............................................................................................ 74

1. Supply and Demand .................................................................................. 75
2. Electric Power ............................................................................................ 80
3. Gas .............................................................................................................. 81

Chapter 8 Science and Technology/Information and Communication .. 82

1. Science and Technology ............................................................................ 83
(1) Researchers and R&D Expenditures .................................................. 83
(2) Technology Balance of Payments (Technology Trade) ..................... 85
2. Patents ......................................................................................................... 87
3. Information and Communication .............................................................. 89
(1) Diffusion of the Internet ....................................................................... 89
(2) Progress of Communication Technologies ......................................... 91
(3) Telephones ............................................................................................ 92
(4) Postal Service ....................................................................................... 93
Chapter 9 Transport ....................................................................................... 94
1. Domestic Transport .................................................................................... 95
(1) Domestic Passenger Transport ............................................................ 95
(2) Domestic Freight Transport ................................................................. 97
2. International Transport ............................................................................... 98
(1) International Passenger Transport ....................................................... 98
(2) International Freight Transport .......................................................... 101

Chapter 10 Commerce ................................................................................. 102

1. Wholesale and Retail ............................................................................... 103
(1) Wholesale Trade ................................................................................. 103
(2) Retail Trade ......................................................................................... 104
2. Eating and Drinking Places ..................................................................... 104

Chapter 11 Trade, International Balance of Payments, and

International Cooperation ......................................................................... 105
1. Trade ......................................................................................................... 106
(1) Overview of Trade ............................................................................. 106
(2) Trade by Commodity ......................................................................... 107
(3) Trade by Country/Region ...................................................................111
2. International Balance of Payments ......................................................... 114
3. International Cooperation ........................................................................ 116

Chapter 12 Labour ....................................................................................... 121

1. Labour Force ............................................................................................ 122
2. Employment ............................................................................................. 124
(1) Employment by Industry ................................................................... 125
(2) Employment by Occupation .............................................................. 127
(3) Employment by Employment Pattern .............................................. 128
3. Unemployment ......................................................................................... 131
4. Hours of Work and Wages ....................................................................... 133

Chapter 13 Family Budgets and Prices ..................................................... 136

1. Family Budgets ........................................................................................ 137
(1) Income and Expenditure .................................................................... 137
(2) Savings and Debts .............................................................................. 143
(3) Internet Shopping by Households ..................................................... 145
 (4) Electronic Money ............................................................................... 147
2. Prices ......................................................................................................... 148
(1) Consumer Price Index (CPI) ............................................................. 149
(2) Corporate Goods and Services Producer Price Indices ................... 150

Chapter 14 Environment and Life ............................................................. 152

1. Environmental Issues ............................................................................... 153
2. Housing ..................................................................................................... 156
3. Traffic Accidents ...................................................................................... 159
4. Crime ........................................................................................................ 160

Chapter 15 Social Security, Health Care, and Public Hygiene .............. 162
1. Social Security .......................................................................................... 163
2. Health Care and Public Hygiene ............................................................. 166

Chapter 16 Education and Culture ........................................................... 171

1. School-Based Education .......................................................................... 172
2. Lifelong Learning .................................................................................... 176
3. Leisure Activities ..................................................................................... 177
4. Publishing and Mass Media .................................................................... 178
5. Cultural Assets .......................................................................................... 181

Chapter 17 Government System ................................................................ 184

1. Separation of Powers ............................................................................... 185
2. Legislative Branch ................................................................................... 187
3. Executive Branch ..................................................................................... 188
4. Judicial Branch ......................................................................................... 189
5. Local Governments .................................................................................. 190

Appendices
1. Population, Surface Area and Population Density by Prefecture .......... 192
2. Main Economic Indicators of Selected Countries ................................. 193
3. Foreign Exchange Rates .......................................................................... 197
4. Conversion Factors .................................................................................. 197
List of Tables

1.1 Surface Area of Japan ........................................................................ 2

1.2 Top 10 Countries According to Surface Area ................................... 2
1.3 Mountains ........................................................................................... 3
1.4 Rivers .................................................................................................. 3
1.5 Lakes ................................................................................................... 3
1.6 Surface Area by Use .......................................................................... 4
1.7 Temperature and Precipitation (Normal value) ................................ 6

2.1 Countries with a Large Population .................................................... 8

2.2 Trends in Population ........................................................................ 10
2.3 Households and Household Members .............................................11
2.4 Trends in Elderly Households ......................................................... 12
2.5 Age Structure of Population by Country ........................................ 14
2.6 Vital Statistics ................................................................................... 16
2.7 Changes of Mothers' Age at Childbirth .......................................... 17
2.8 Mean Age of First Marriage ............................................................ 18
2.9 Population of Major Cities .............................................................. 21
2.10 Population of Three Major Metropolitan Areas ............................. 21

3.1 Gross Domestic Product (Expenditure approach) .......................... 27

3.2 Changes in Industrial Structure ....................................................... 29
3.3 Gross Domestic Product by Type of Economic Activity ............... 30
3.4 Number of Establishments and Persons Engaged .......................... 32
3.5 Trends of Overseas Affiliated Company
(Manufacturing Industries) ............................................................. 33

4.1 Expenditures of General Account ................................................... 37

4.2 Local Government Finance (Ordinary accounts) ........................... 39
4.3 Expenditures of National and Local Governments
(Initial budget) ................................................................................. 40
4.4 Currency in Circulation (Outstanding at year-end) ........................ 45
4.5 Money Stock (Average amounts outstanding) ............................... 45
4.6 Financial Markets (Interest rates, etc.) ............................................ 46
4.7 Financial Assets and Liabilities of Japan ........................................ 49
4.8 Stock Prices (Tokyo Stock Exchange, first section) ....................... 51
5.1 Agricultural, Forestry and Fisheries Output ................................... 54
5.2 Agricultural Production ................................................................... 55
5.3 Production of Meat, Milk and Eggs ................................................ 55
5.4 Commercial Farm Households and Commercial Farmers ............ 56
5.5 Forest Land Area and Forest Resources ......................................... 57
5.6 Production by Fishery Type and Species ........................................ 60
5.7 Enterprises and Workers Engaged in the Marine Fishery
/Aquaculture Industry ..................................................................... 61
5.8 Supply of Cereal Grains .................................................................. 62

6.1 Establishments, Persons Engaged and Value of

Manufactured Goods Shipments of the Manufacturing Industry.. 66
6.2 Indices on Mining and Manufacturing ........................................... 67
6.3 Steel Production ............................................................................... 71
6.4 Construction Investment (Current prices) ...................................... 72

7.1 Trends in Total Primary Energy Supply and Percentage

by Energy Source ........................................................................... 77
7.2 Trends in Electricity Output and Power Consumption .................. 80
7.3 Trends in Production and Purchases, and Sales of Gas ................. 81

8.1 Trends in Research and Development ............................................ 83

8.2 Technology Trade by Business Enterprises .................................... 86
8.3 Patents ............................................................................................... 87
8.4 PCT International Applications by Country of Origin ................... 88
8.5 Status of Internet Use by Terminal by Age Group ......................... 90
8.6 Subscribers to Telecommunications Services ................................ 91
8.7 Postal Services .................................................................................. 93

9.1 Domestic Passenger Transport ........................................................ 96

9.2 Domestic Freight Transport ............................................................. 97
9.3 Japanese Travelers ............................................................................ 99
9.4 Foreign Visitors .............................................................................. 100
9.5 Seaborne Foreign Transport .......................................................... 101

10.1 Establishments and Persons Engaged

in the Wholesale and Retail Sector ............................................. 103
10.2 Eating and Drinking Places .......................................................... 104
11.1 Trends in Foreign Trade and Indices of Trade ............................. 107
11.2 Value of Exports and Imports, by Principal Commodity ............ 109
11.3 Trends in Exports and Imports by Country/Region .....................111
11.4 International Balance of Payments ............................................... 114
11.5 Trends in Japan's International Investment Position ................... 115
11.6 Reserve Assets ............................................................................... 115
11.7 Net Flow of Development Cooperation ....................................... 117
11.8 Regional Distribution of Bilateral ODA ...................................... 119
11.9 Number of Persons Involved in Technical Cooperation
by Type ....................................................................................... 120

12.1 Population by Labour Force Status .............................................. 123

12.2 Employment by Industry .............................................................. 126
12.3 Employment by Occupation ......................................................... 128
12.4 Employment by Employment Pattern .......................................... 129
12.5 Hours of Work and Wages (Monthly average) ............................ 134

13.1 Average Monthly Income and Expenditures

(Workers' households) ................................................................ 138
13.2 Average Monthly Consumption Expenditures by Age Group
(One-person households) ........................................................... 143
13.3 Average Amount of Savings and Debts (Workers' households) . 144
13.4 Amount of Savings and Debts by Age Group
of Household Head (Workers' households) .............................. 144
13.5 CPI for Major Categories of Goods and Services ....................... 149
13.6 Corporate Goods and Services Producer Price Indices ............... 151

14.1 Breakdown of Carbon Dioxide Emissions .................................. 153

14.2 Waste Generation and Disposal .................................................... 155
14.3 Housing Conditions ....................................................................... 158
14.4 Occupied Dwellings by Type of Building ................................... 158
14.5 Traffic Accidents and Casualties .................................................. 160
14.6 Trends in Crime (Penal code offenses) ........................................ 161

15.1 Trends in Social Security Benefit Expenditures

by Institutional Scheme ............................................................. 164
15.2 Medical Personnel at Work ........................................................... 168
15.3 Medical Care Institutions and Beds ............................................. 169
 16.1 Educational Institutions in Japan .................................................. 172
16.2 Number of University Students .................................................... 174
16.3 Social Education Facilities and Users .......................................... 176
16.4 Major Leisure Activities by Gender (10 years old and over) ...... 177
16.5 Number of New Publications ....................................................... 179
16.6 Advertising Expenditures by Medium ......................................... 180
16.7 Cultural Properties Designated by the National Government .... 181
16.8 Heritage Sites Inscribed on the World Heritage List ................... 183

17.1 Diet Members by Political Group ................................................ 188

17.2 Successive Prime Ministers .......................................................... 189
17.3 Judicial Cases Newly Commenced, Terminated or Pending
(All courts) .................................................................................... 190

List of Figures

1.1 Famous Mountains of the World ....................................................... 3

1.2 Temperature and Precipitation (Normal value) ................................ 5

2.1 Population Pyramid ............................................................................ 8

2.2 Population Density by Country ......................................................... 9
2.3 Changes in Household Composition ...............................................11
2.4 Changes in the Population Pyramid ................................................ 13
2.5 Proportion of Elderly Population by Country
(Aged 65 years and over) ............................................................. 14
2.6 Natural Population Change ............................................................. 15
2.7 Life Expectancy at Birth by Country .............................................. 17
2.8 Changes in Marriage Rate and Divorce Rate ................................. 19
2.9 Population Density by Prefecture ................................................... 20

3.1 Economic Growth Rates .................................................................. 23

3.2 National Wealth ................................................................................ 25
3.3 Gross Domestic Product
(Nominal prices, converted into U.S. dollars) ............................. 26
3.4 Economic Growth Rates (Quarterly changes) ............................... 28
3.5 Shares of Establishments and Persons Engaged
by Scale of Operation ................................................................... 31

4.1 Revenues and Expenditures in the General Account ..................... 36

4.2 Composition of Revenue and Expenditure of General
Account Budget (Initial budget) ................................................... 38
4.3 Ratio of Net Total National and Local Expenditures by Function .. 41
4.4 National Government Bond Issue ................................................... 42
4.5 Ratio of General Government Gross Debt to GDP ........................ 43
4.6 Ratio of Taxation Burden to National Income by Country
(Actual basis) ................................................................................ 44
4.7 Assets of Domestically Licensed Banks
(Banking Accounts, end of year) ................................................. 48
4.8 Stock Price Index and Total Market Capitalization
(Tokyo Stock Exchange, first section, end of year) ..................... 50

5.1 Industrial Wood Supply and Self-Sufficiency Rate ....................... 58

5.2 Production by Type of Fishery ........................................................ 59
5.3 Self-Sufficiency Rates for Selected Categories
of Agricultural Produce .................................................................. 62
5.4 Trends in Food Self-Sufficiency Rates of Major Countries
(In terms of calories) ..................................................................... 63

6.1 Trends in Indices on Mining and Manufacturing ........................... 68

6.2 Building Construction Started by Use Objective ........................... 73

7.1 Total Primary Energy Supply .......................................................... 76

7.2 International Comparison of Energy/GDP Ratio ........................... 77
7.3 Trends in Final Energy Consumption and Real GDP .................... 78
7.4 Trends in Final Energy Consumption by Sector ............................ 79
7.5 Total Final Energy Consumption by Country ................................ 79

8.1 Researchers and Expenditures by Industry

(Business enterprises) ................................................................... 85
8.2 Composition of Technology Trade by Major Country/Region ..... 87
8.3 Changes in Patent Applications with Major Offices
by Japanese Applicants ................................................................. 89
8.4 Trends in Internet Usage Rate by Age Group ................................ 90
8.5 International Comparison of Fixed Broadband Subscribers ......... 92
8.6 Telephone Service Subscribers ........................................................ 93

9.1 Composition of Domestic Transport ............................................... 95

9.2 Japanese Overseas Travelers and Foreign Visitor Arrivals ............ 98

11.1 Foreign Trade .................................................................................. 106

11.2 Component Ratios of Foreign Trade by Commodity .................. 108
11.3 Japan's Major Export and Import Commodities ........................... 110
11.4 Trends in Japan's Trade by Country/Region ................................. 113
11.5 Yen Exchange Rate against the U.S. Dollar ................................. 116
11.6 Trends in ODA by Country ........................................................... 118
11.7 Distribution of Bilateral ODA by Sector ....................................... 119

12.1 Labour Force Participation Rate by Gender ................................. 124

12.2 Structure of Employment by Country ........................................... 125
12.3 Distribution of Employment by Industry ...................................... 127
12.4 Employment Pattern by Gender and Age ..................................... 129
12.5 Unemployment Rate and Ratio of Job Openings
to Job Seekers .............................................................................. 131
12.6 Unemployment Rates by Gender and Age ................................... 132
12.7 Unemployment Rates by Country ................................................ 133
12.8 Monthly Contractual Cash Earnings by Size of Enterprise ......... 135

13.1 Average Monthly Consumption Expenditures

(Two-or-more-person households) ............................................ 137
13.2 Balance of Income and Expenditures
(Monthly average, workers' households) .................................. 139
13.3 Annual Change in Household Income and Expenditures
(Workers' households) ................................................................ 140
13.4 Average Monthly Family Income and Expenditures
by Age Group of Household Head (Workers' households) ..... 141
13.5 Average Monthly Income and Expenditures
(Non-working elderly households) ........................................... 142
13.6 Proportion of Households Ordered over the Internet
(Two-or-more-person households) ............................................ 145
13.7 Ratio of Expenditure on Goods and Services Ordered
over the Internet (Two-or-more-person Households) .............. 146
13.8 Trends in Ownership and Utilization of Electronic Money
(All households) ......................................................................... 147
13.9 Price Trends (Percent change from previous year) ...................... 149
13.10 Regional Difference Index of Consumer Prices
by Selected Prefectures .............................................................. 150

14.1 Sources of Carbon Dioxide Emissions ........................................ 154

14.2 Recycling of Nonindustrial Waste ................................................ 156
14.3 Trends in Dwellings, Vacant Dwellings and Vacancy Rate ........ 157
14.4 Ratio of Housing with Universal Design Features ...................... 159

15.1 Trends in Social Security Benefit Expenditures by Sector ......... 165

15.2 National Contribution Ratio by Country ...................................... 166
15.3 Death Rates by Major Cause ........................................................ 167
15.4 Trends in Medical Care Expenditures .......................................... 170

16.1 Japanese School System ............................................................... 173

16.2 University Students by Major Subject ......................................... 174
16.3 Public Expenditures on Education ............................................... 175
16.4 Trends in Number of Publications ................................................ 178
16.5 Newspaper Circulation by Country .............................................. 179

17.1 Separation of Powers under the Constitution of Japan ............... 185

17.2 Government Organization ............................................................ 186
17.3 Government System by Level ...................................................... 191
17.4 Local Government Employees by Type of
Administrative Services ............................................................. 191
 “Statistical Handbook of Japan 2017” by Statistics Bureau, Japan

Chapter 1
Land and Climate
 LAND AND CLIMATE

1. Land
Japan is an island nation situated off the eastern seaboard of the Eurasian
continent in the northern hemisphere. The islands form a crescent-shaped
archipelago stretching from northeast to southwest parallel to the
continental coastline with the Sea of Japan in between. The land is located
between approximately 20 to 45 degrees north latitude and between
approximately 123 to 154 degrees east longitude. It consists of the main
islands of Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu and Okinawa, and more
than 6,800 smaller islands of varying sizes. Its surface area totals
approximately 380,000 square kilometers, a figure equivalent to 0.3
percent of the global land mass.
Since the Japanese archipelago is located in a zone of relatively young
tectonic plate movement, it is particularly prone to various physiographical
phenomena. Therefore, the number of earthquakes in the country is quite
high, and so is the proportion of active volcanoes. The land is full of
undulations, with mountainous regions including hilly terrain accounting
for about three-quarters of its total area. The mountains are generally steep
and are intricately carved out by ravines. Hilly terrain extends between the
mountainous regions and the plains.

Table 1.1 Table 1.2

Surface Area of Japan (2016) Top 10 Countries According
(Square kilometers) to Surface Area (2015) 1)
District Area (1,000 square kilometers)
Japan ........................ 377,972 Country Area
Honshu .................... 231,231 World ............................ 136,162
Hokkaido ................. 83,424 Russia ......................... 17,098
Kyushu .................... 42,232
Canada ........................ 9,985
Shikoku ................... 18,804
Okinawa .................. 2,281 U.S.A. ......................... 9,834
China .......................... 9,600
Source: Ministry of Land, Infra- Brazil .......................... 8,516
structure, Transport and Tourism. Australia ..................... 7,692
India ............................ 3,287
Argentina .................... 2,780
Kazakhstan ................. 2,725
Algeria ........................ 2,382
1) Comprising land area and inland
waters. Excluding polar regions and
uninhabited islands.
Source: United Nations.

2
 LAND AND CLIMATE

Figure 1.1 Table 1.3

Famous Mountains of the World Mountains (2016)
(Meters)
m
10,000 Name Height
Mt. Fuji ........................... 3,776
Mt. Kitadake ................... 3,193
Mt. Ainodake .................. 3,190
9,000 Mt. Okuhotaka ................ 3,190
Mt. Yarigatake ................ 3,180
Mt. Higashidake ............. 3,141
8,848 Mt. Akaishi ..................... 3,121
8,000 Mt. Karasawa .................. 3,110
Mt. Everest Mt. Kitahotaka ................ 3,106
(Asia) Mt. Obami ...................... 3,101
Source: Ministry of Land, Infra-
7,000 structure, Transport and Tourism.
Mt. Aconcagua
(S. America)
6,959 Table 1.4
Rivers (2015)
6,000 (Kilometers)
5,892 6,194 Name Length
Shinano River ................. 367
Mt. Kilimanjaro Tone River ...................... 322
5,000 (Africa) Mt. Denali
(N. America) Ishikari River .................. 268
Teshio River ................... 256
4,810 Kitakami River ............... 249
Abukuma River .............. 239
4,000 Mont Blanc Kiso River ....................... 229
(Europe) Mogami River ................. 229
3,776 Tenryu River ................... 213
Agano River .................... 210
3,000 Mt. Fuji Source: Ministry of Land, Infra-
(Japan)
structure, Transport and Tourism.
Table 1.5
2,000 Lakes (2016)
(Square kilometers)
Name Area
Lake Biwa ....................... 669.3
1,000 Lake Kasumigaura .......... 168.2
Lake Saroma ................... 151.6
Lake Inawashiro ............. 103.2
Lake Nakaumi ................ 85.7
0 Lake Kussharo ................ 79.5
Lake Shinji ...................... 79.3
Source: National Astronomical Observatory Lake Shikotsu ................. 78.5
of Japan. Lake Toya ....................... 70.7
Lake Hamana .................. 64.9
Source: Ministry of Land, Infra-
structure, Transport and Tourism.

3
 LAND AND CLIMATE

Forestland and fields account for the largest portion of the nation's surface
area. There are approximately 250,000 square kilometers of forestland and
fields (which equates to 67 percent of the nation's surface area), followed
by approximately 50,000 square kilometers of agricultural land (12
percent). Together, forestland, fields and agricultural land thus cover
approximately 80 percent of the nation. There are approximately 20,000
square kilometers of land for buildings (5 percent).

Table 1.6
Surface Area by Use
(1,000 square kilometers)
Forestland Agricultural Inland Building
Year Total Roads 1) Others
and fields land water land 2)
1980 377.7 256.8 55.9 13.1 9.9 13.9 28.1
1990 377.7 255.2 53.3 13.1 11.4 16.0 28.7
2000 377.9 253.8 49.1 13.5 12.7 17.9 30.9
2010 377.9 253.5 46.7 13.3 13.6 19.0 31.9
Percentage distribution (%)
2010 100.0 67.1 12.4 3.5 3.6 5.0 8.4
1) Including farm roads and forest roads, etc. 2) Including industrial land and other land
for buildings.
Source: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

2. Climate
The Japanese archipelago has a temperate marine climate. Though they
may differ depending on the effects of seasonal winds and ocean currents,
the changes in the four seasons are distinct. Japan typically experiences hot,
humid summers and cold, dry winters. The topography of Honshu,
however, features a series of major mountain ranges running from north to
south. Because of this feature, the northwest monsoon in the winter brings
humid conditions with heavy precipitation (snow) to the Sea of Japan side
of Honshu but comparatively dry weather with low precipitation to the
Pacific Ocean side. In summer, the winds blow mainly from the southeast,
giving rise to hot and humid weather. Another unique characteristic of
Japan's climate is that it has two long spells of rainy seasons, one in early
summer when the southeast monsoon begins to blow, and the other in
autumn when the winds cease. From summer to autumn, tropical cyclones
generated in the Pacific Ocean to the south develop into typhoons and hit
Japan, sometimes causing storm and flood damage.

4
 LAND AND CLIMATE

Figure 1.2
Temperature and Precipitation (Normal value)
(1981-2010 average)
℃ Sapporo
30
A
J
20
J S
℃ Kanazawa M
30 10 O
A
J A N
J S
20 0 D
M M
O
F Jan.
A N
10 -10
M D 0 100 200 mm HOKKAIDO
F Jan.
0
0 100 200 300 400 mm

℃ Kyoto HONSHU ℃ Tokyo

30 J 30
A A
J
S J S
J
20 O
20
M M O
N A N A
10 10 D
D M KYUSHU M
Jan. F
Jan. F SHIKOKU
0 0
0 100 200 300 mm 0 100 200 300 mm

℃ Takamatsu
30 J
A
Naha OKINAWA M
J
℃ 20 S
40
O
A N A
J
30 S ℃ Kagoshima 10
30 D M
O J
N A Jan. F
20 A M J
D O S 0
M J
Jan. F 20 0 100 200 mm
10 N M
A
M
D
10
0
Jan. F
0 100 200 300 mm
0
0 100 200 300 400 500 mm

Source: Japan Meteorological Agency.

5
 LAND AND CLIMATE

Table 1.7
Temperature and Precipitation (Normal value) (1981-2010 average)
Temperature (℃) Precipitation (mm)
Observing
Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec. Annual 1)
station
High -0.6 0.1 4.0 11.5 17.3 21.5 24.9 26.4 22.4 16.2 8.5 2.1 12.9
Temp.
Sapporo Low -7.0 -6.6 -2.9 3.2 8.3 12.9 17.3 19.1 14.2 7.5 1.3 -4.1 5.3
Prec. 114 94 78 57 53 47 81 124 135 109 104 112 1,107
High 9.6 10.4 13.6 19.0 22.9 25.5 29.2 30.8 26.9 21.5 16.3 11.9 19.8
Temp.
Tokyo Low 0.9 1.7 4.4 9.4 14.0 18.0 21.8 23.0 19.7 14.2 8.3 3.5 11.6
Prec. 52 56 118 125 138 168 154 168 210 198 93 51 1,529
High 6.8 7.3 11.0 16.9 21.6 25.0 28.8 30.9 26.6 21.3 15.5 10.2 18.5
Temp.
Kanazawa Low 0.9 0.7 3.0 8.2 13.1 18.0 22.3 23.7 19.5 13.3 7.7 3.4 11.2
Prec. 270 172 159 137 155 185 232 139 226 177 265 282 2,399
High 8.9 9.7 13.4 19.9 24.6 27.8 31.5 33.3 28.8 22.9 17.0 11.6 20.8
Temp.
Kyoto Low 1.2 1.4 4.0 9.0 14.0 18.8 23.2 24.3 20.3 13.6 7.8 3.2 11.7
Prec. 50 68 113 116 161 214 220 132 176 121 71 48 1,491
High 9.4 10.1 13.4 19.5 24.1 27.3 31.2 32.4 28.4 22.8 17.2 12.1 20.7
Temp.
Takamatsu Low 1.6 1.8 4.4 9.4 14.4 19.3 23.6 24.4 20.7 14.2 8.5 3.7 12.2
Prec. 38 48 83 76 108 151 144 86 148 104 60 37 1,082
High 12.8 14.3 17.0 21.6 25.2 27.6 31.9 32.5 30.1 25.4 20.3 15.3 22.8
Temp.
Kagoshima Low 4.6 5.7 8.4 12.7 17.1 21.0 25.3 25.6 22.8 17.5 11.9 6.7 14.9
Prec. 78 112 180 205 221 452 319 223 211 102 92 71 2,266
High 19.5 19.8 21.7 24.1 26.7 29.4 31.8 31.5 30.4 27.9 24.6 21.2 25.7
Temp.
Naha Low 14.6 14.8 16.5 19.0 21.8 24.8 26.8 26.6 25.5 23.1 19.9 16.3 20.8
Prec. 107 120 161 166 232 247 141 241 261 153 110 103 2,041
1) Annual average for temperature and annual total for precipitation.
Source: Japan Meteorological Agency.

6
 “Statistical Handbook of Japan 2017” by Statistics Bureau, Japan

Chapter 2

Population
 POPULATION

1. Total Population

Japan's total population in 2016 was 126.93 million. This ranked eleventh
in the world and made up 1.7 percent of the world's total. Japan's
population density measured 340.8 persons per square kilometer in 2015,
ranking ninth among countries with a population of 10 million or more.

Figure 2.1
Population Pyramid

Age
77 years: Birth rate declined in 1938-39
100
100 due to the Sino-Japanese Incident.
and over
Males Females
90
70 and 71 years: Birth rate declined
80 around the end of World War Ⅱ.

70 67 to 69 years: Born in the first

"baby boom" period (1947-49).
60

50 50 years: Born in 1966, "the year of

2016 Hinoeuma" (turns around every 60
40 years). Superstition says girls born in
this year bring bad luck.
30 42 to 45 years: Born in the second
"baby boom" period (1971-74).
20

1935 10

0
1,200 800 400 0 0 400 800 1,200
Thousands

Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

Table 2.1
Countries with a Large Population (2016)
(Millions)
Country Population Country Population
World ................................ 7,433 Pakistan ........................... 193
China ............................. 1,382 Nigeria ............................. 187
India ............................... 1,327 Bangladesh ...................... 163
U.S.A. ............................ 324 Russia .............................. 143
Indonesia ....................... 261 Mexico ............................ 129
Brazil ............................. 210 Japan ................................ 127
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC; United Nations.

8
 POPULATION

Figure 2.2
Population Density by Country (2015)

Bangladesh 1236.8
Korea, Rep. of 517.3
Netherlands 501.9
Rwanda 470.6
India 441.0
Burundi 435.3
Haiti 388.6
Belgium 373.2
Japan 340.8
U.K. 267.5
Germany 231.5
Italy 203.3
= 50 persons
China 146.6 (per square kilometer)
France 117.6
U.S.A. 35.2
Brazil 24.9
Russia 8.8
Canada 4.0

Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC; United Nations.

From the eighteenth century through the first half of the nineteenth century,
Japan's population remained steady at about 30 million. Following the
Meiji Restoration in 1868, it began expanding in tandem with the drive to
build a modern nation-state. In 1926, it reached 60 million, and in 1967, it
surpassed the 100 million mark. However, Japan's population growth has
slowed in more recent years, with the rate of population change about one
percent from the 1960s through the 1970s. Since the 1980s, it has declined
sharply. Japan's total population was 127.09 million according to the
Population Census in 2015. This was a decrease by 962,607 people as
compared to the previous Census (2010), indicating the first population
decline since the initiation of the Population Census in 1920. In 2016, it
was 126.93 million, down by 162,000 from the year before.

9
 POPULATION

Table 2.2
Trends in Population (as of October 1)
Age composition (%) Rate of
Population (1,000) Population
population
Year 0-14 65 and density
15-64 change 2
Males years over (per km )
(%)
1872 1) 34,806 17,666 ... ... ... ... 91
1) 0.83 115
1900 43,847 22,051 33.9 60.7 5.4
1) 1.16 129
1910 49,184 24,650 36.0 58.8 5.2
1920 55,963 28,044 36.5 58.3 5.3 1.30 147
1930 64,450 32,390 36.6 58.7 4.8 1.42 169
1940 71,933 35,387 36.7 58.5 4.8 1.10 188
1950 84,115 41,241 35.4 59.6 4.9 1.58 226
1955 90,077 44,243 33.4 61.2 5.3 1.38 242
1960 94,302 46,300 30.2 64.1 5.7 0.92 254
1965 99,209 48,692 25.7 68.0 6.3 1.02 267
1970 104,665 51,369 24.0 68.9 7.1 1.08 281
1975 111,940 55,091 24.3 67.7 7.9 1.35 301
1980 117,060 57,594 23.5 67.4 9.1 0.90 314
1985 121,049 59,497 21.5 68.2 10.3 0.67 325
1990 123,611 60,697 18.2 69.7 12.1 0.42 332
1995 125,570 61,574 16.0 69.5 14.6 0.31 337
2000 126,926 62,111 14.6 68.1 17.4 0.21 340
2005 127,768 62,349 13.8 66.1 20.2 0.13 343
2010 128,057 62,328 13.2 63.8 23.0 0.05 343
2015 127,095 61,842 12.6 60.7 26.6 -0.15 341
2016 126,933 61,766 12.4 60.3 27.3 -0.13 340
(Projection, 2017)
2020 125,325 60,897 12.0 59.1 28.9 -0.32 336
2030 119,125 57,697 11.1 57.7 31.2 -0.51 319
2040 110,919 53,595 10.8 53.9 35.4 -0.71 297
2050 101,923 49,257 10.6 51.8 37.7 -0.84 273
1) As of January 1.
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC; Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare; Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

2. Households
(1) Household Size and Household Composition

The Population Census shows that Japan had 53.33 million private
households (excluding "institutional households" such as students in
school dormitories) in 2015, showing a consistent increase since the
initiation of the Census. Of that total, 55.9 percent were nuclear-family
households, and 34.6 percent were one-person households.

10
 POPULATION

Figure 2.3
Changes in Household Composition
%
0 20 40 60 80 100

2000 27.6 58.3 14.1

2005 29.5 57.7 12.8

2010 32.4 56.4 11.1

2015 34.6 55.9 9.4

▲ ▲ ▲
One-person households Nuclear-family households Others

Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

Table 2.3
Households and Household Members

Private Private
Members Population
house- Rate of household Rate of
Year per
holds private househods members population
household (1,000)
(1,000) change(%) 1) (1,000) change(%) 1)
1970 30,297 … 103,351 3.41 104,665 5.5
1975 33,596 10.9 110,338 3.28 111,940 7.0
1980 35,824 6.6 115,451 3.22 117,060 4.6
1985 37,980 6.0 119,334 3.14 121,049 3.4
1990 40,670 7.1 121,545 2.99 123,611 2.1
1995 43,900 7.9 123,646 2.82 125,570 1.6
2000 46,782 6.6 124,725 2.67 126,926 1.1
2005 49,063 4.9 124,973 2.55 127,768 0.7
2010 51,842 5.7 125,546 2.42 128,057 0.2
2015 53,332 2.9 124,296 2.33 127,095 -0.8
1) Change over preceding Population Census.
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

11
 POPULATION

From the 1920s to the mid-1950s, the average number of household

members remained at about five. However, due to the increase in
one-person households and nuclear families since the 1960s, the average
size of households was down significantly in 1970, to 3.41 members. The
number of household members has continued to decline, dropping to 2.33
in 2015. Although the Japanese population has shifted into decline, the
number of households is expected to continue to increase for some years to
come, as the size of the average household will shrink further. The number
of households is projected to peak in 2019 and then decrease thereafter.

(2) Elderly Households

The number of elderly households (private households with household

members 65 years of age or over) in 2015 was 21.71 million. They
accounted for 40.7 percent of private households. There were 5.93 million
one-person elderly households. Among these, there were approximately
two times as many women as men.

Table 2.4
Trends in Elderly Households
(Thousands)
Type of households 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015
Private households .......................... 43,900 46,782 49,063 51,842 53,332
Elderly households ...................... 12,790 15,057 17,220 19,338 21,713
(percentage) ............................. 29.1 32.2 35.1 37.3 40.7
One-person households ........... 2,202 3,032 3,865 4,791 5,928
Males ................................ 460 742 1,051 1,386 1,924
Females ................................ 1,742 2,290 2,814 3,405 4,003
1)
Aged-couple households ...... 2,763 3,661 4,487 5,251 6,079
1) Consisting of a husband 65 years of age and over and his wife 60 years of age and over.
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

12
 POPULATION

3. Declining Birth Rate and Aging Population

The population pyramid of 1950 shows that Japan had a standard-shaped

pyramid with a broad base. The shape of the pyramid, however, has
changed dramatically as both the birth rate and death rate have declined. In
2016, the aged population (65 years and over) was 34.59 million,
constituting 27.3 percent of the total population (i.e., one in every four
persons) and marking a record high.

Figure 2.4
Changes in the Population Pyramid
1950 2016 2050 (Projection)
years and over
100 100
90 90
Males Females
80 80
4.9% 65 and over 27.3% 37.7%
70 70
60 60
50 50
59.6 15-64 60.3 51.8
40 40
30 30
20 20
10 10
35.4 0-14 12.4 10.6
0 0
6 4 2 0 2 4 6 6 4 2 0 2 4 6 6 4 2 0 2 4 6
Millions Millions Millions

Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC; Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

In Japan, the period when the percentage of persons aged 65 and older
exceeded 10 percent was 1985, but when looking at the U.S. and European
countries, this occurred in 1940 in France, 1950 in Sweden, 1965 in Italy,
and 1975 in the U.S., which are all earlier than in Japan. However, in 2015,
the percentage of the population 65 and older in Japan was 26.6 percent,
exceeding the U.S. (14.8 percent), France (19.1 percent), Sweden (19.9
percent), and Italy (22.4 percent), indicating that the aging society in Japan
is progressing rapidly as compared to the U.S. and European countries.

13
 POPULATION

Figure 2.5
Proportion of Elderly Population by Country (Aged 65 years and over)
%
40

35
Japan
▼
30
Italy
▼
25

Sweden ▲
20 France ▼ U.S.A.

15
▲
10 Korea, Rep. of China
▼
▲
5 India

0
1950 60 70 80 90 00 10 20 30 40 50

Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC; Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare; United Nations.

Table 2.5
Age Structure of Population by Country
(%)
2015 2050 (projection)
Country 65 and 65 and
0-14 years 15-64 0-14 years 15-64
over over
Japan ..................... 12.6 60.7 26.6 10.6 51.8 37.7
Italy ....................... 13.7 63.9 22.4 13.0 51.9 35.1
Korea, Rep. of ...... 14.0 72.9 13.1 11.4 53.4 35.1
Germany ............... 12.9 65.9 21.2 12.4 55.2 32.3
China .................... 17.2 73.2 9.6 13.5 58.9 27.6
Canada .................. 16.0 67.9 16.1 14.9 58.7 26.4
France ................... 18.5 62.4 19.1 16.8 56.9 26.3
U.K. ...................... 17.8 64.5 17.8 16.6 58.7 24.7
Sweden ................. 17.3 62.8 19.9 17.4 58.8 23.8
Brazil .................... 23.0 69.1 7.8 15.0 62.2 22.8
U.S.A. ................... 19.0 66.3 14.8 17.5 60.3 22.2
Russia ................... 16.8 69.9 13.4 17.7 61.4 20.9
India ..................... 28.8 65.6 5.6 19.1 67.1 13.7
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC; Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare; United Nations.

14
 POPULATION

On the other hand, in 2016, the child population (0-14 years) in Japan
amounted to 15.78 million, accounting for 12.4 percent of the total
population, which was the lowest level on record. In terms of their
proportion of the total population, the aged (65 years and over) have
surpassed the child population since 1997. The productive-age population
(15-64 years) totaled 76.56 million. In share terms, it accounted for 60.3
percent of the entire population, continuing its decline since 1993. As a
result, the ratio of the dependent population (the sum of aged and child
population divided by the productive-age population) was 65.8 percent.

4. Births and Deaths

Population growth in Japan had primarily been driven by natural increase,

while social increase played only a minor part. However, in 2005, the
natural change rate (per 1,000 population) fell for the first time since 1899,
and has since been on a declining trend. In 2016, the natural change rate
was -2.6.

During the second baby boom, the live birth rate was at a level of 19 (per
1,000 population) between 1971 and 1973. Since the late 1970s, it has
continued to fall. The rate for 2016 was 7.8.

Figure 2.6
Natural Population Change
Per 1,000 population
30

25
Live birth rate
20

15

10

5
Death rate Natural change rate

-5
1950 60 70 80 90 00 10 *16
*16
Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

15
 POPULATION

Table 2.6
Vital Statistics
Rates per 1,000 population 1) Total Life expectancy at birth
Year Infant Natural fertility (years)
Live births Deaths 2)
mortality change rate Males Females
1950 28.1 10.9 60.1 17.2 3.65 a) 59.57 a) 62.97
1955 19.4 7.8 39.8 11.6 2.37 63.60 67.75
1960 17.2 7.6 30.7 9.6 2.00 65.32 70.19
1965 18.6 7.1 18.5 11.4 2.14 67.74 72.92
1970 18.8 6.9 13.1 11.8 2.13 69.31 74.66
1975 17.1 6.3 10.0 10.8 1.91 71.73 76.89
1980 13.6 6.2 7.5 7.3 1.75 73.35 78.76
1985 11.9 6.3 5.5 5.6 1.76 74.78 80.48
1990 10.0 6.7 4.6 3.3 1.54 75.92 81.90
1995 9.6 7.4 4.3 2.1 1.42 76.38 82.85
2000 9.5 7.7 3.2 1.8 1.36 77.72 84.60
2005 8.4 8.6 2.8 -0.2 1.26 78.56 85.52
2010 8.5 9.5 2.3 -1.0 1.39 79.55 86.30
2015 8.0 10.3 1.9 -2.3 1.45 80.79 87.05
2016* 7.8 10.5 2.0 -2.6 1.44 ... ...
1) The infant mortality rate is per 1,000 live births. 2) The average number of children that
would be born alive to a hypothetical cohort of women if, throughout their reproductive
years, the age-specific fertility rates for the specified year remained unchanged.
a) 1950-1952 period.
Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

The decline in the live birth rate may partly be attributable to the rising
maternal age at childbirth. The average mothers' age at first childbirth rose
from 25.6 in 1970 to 30.7 in 2016. The total fertility rate was on a
downward trend after dipping below 2.00 in 1975. It marked a record low
of 1.26 in 2005 and started to increase after that. The total fertility rate
reached 1.44 in 2016.

The death rate (per 1,000 population) was steady at 6.0 - 6.3 between 1975
and 1987, and maintained an uptrend since 1988, reflecting the aging of
the population. It reached 10.5 in 2016.

16
 POPULATION

Table 2.7
Changes of Mothers' Age at Childbirth
Number Distribution of mothers' age (%)
2)
Mean age
Year of births 40 and bearing first
(1,000) Under 19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39
1)
over child
1970 1,934 1.0 26.5 49.2 18.5 4.2 0.5 25.6
1980 1,577 0.9 18.8 51.4 24.7 3.7 0.4 26.4
1990 1,222 1.4 15.7 45.1 29.1 7.6 1.0 27.0
2000 1,191 1.7 13.6 39.5 33.3 10.6 1.2 28.0
2010 1,071 1.3 10.4 28.6 35.9 20.5 3.3 29.9
2015 1,006 1.2 8.4 26.1 36.3 22.7 5.3 30.7
2016* 977 1.1 8.4 25.7 36.3 22.9 5.6 30.7
1) Including mothers' ages that were not reported. 2) Percentage in relation to number of
births, excluding those for which mothers' ages were not reported.
Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

Average life expectancy in Japan climbed sharply after World War II, and
is today at the highest level in the world. In 2015, the life expectancy at
birth was 87.1 years for women and 80.8 years for men. Setting a new
all-time record for both genders.

Figure 2.7
Life Expectancy at Birth by Country
Years
45
0 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90
87.1
Japan (2015) 80.8
Switzerland 85.2
(2014) 81.0
85.0
France (2015) 78.9
84.0
Sweden (2015) 80.3
81.2
U.S.A. (2013) 76.4
78.8
Brazil (2014) 71.6
77.4
China (2010) 72.4
76.5
Russia (2014) 65.3 Females
72.9
Egypt (2015)
70.1
South Africa 57.2 Males
(2009) 53.5

Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

17
 POPULATION

5. Marriages and Divorces

The annual number of marriages in Japan exceeded one million couples in

the early 1970s, which, coupled with the marriage rate (per 1,000
population) hovering over 10.0, showed an apparent marriage boom.
However, both the number of couples and the marriage rate started
declining thereafter. They rose again in the late 1980s, but in recent years,
they have been on a declining trend in general. In 2011, 661,895 couples
married, marking the first time this number fell below 700,000 couples. In
2016, 620,523 couples married, and the marriage rate was 5.0.

The mean age of first marriage was 31.1 for men and 29.4 for women in
2016. These were the same ages for both men and women as the previous
year. The mean age of first marriage for men rose by 2.6 years, while that
of women rose by 3.0 years over the past 20 years. (in 1996: grooms, 28.5;
brides, 26.4). In addition, there has been an increasing trend in the
percentage of lifetime non-marriages, reaching 23.4 percent for males and
14.1 percent for females in 2015, the highest percentages ever. The
declining marriage rate, rising marrying age and increased choice of
unmarried life in recent years as described above is one explanation for the
dropping birth rate.

Table 2.8
Mean Age of First Marriage
Year Groom Bride
1950 25.9 23.0
1955 26.6 23.8
1960 27.2 24.4
1965 27.2 24.5
1970 26.9 24.2
1975 27.0 24.7
1980 27.8 25.2
1985 28.2 25.5
1990 28.4 25.9
1995 28.5 26.3
2000 28.8 27.0
2005 29.8 28.0
2010 30.5 28.8
2015 31.1 29.4
2016* 31.1 29.4
Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

18
 POPULATION

In contrast, divorces have shown an upward trend since the late 1960s,
hitting a peak of 289,836 couples in 2002. Subsequently, both the number
of divorces and the divorce rate have been declining since 2003. In 2016,
the number of divorces totaled 216,805 couples, and the divorce rate (per
1,000 population) was 1.73.

Figure 2.8
Changes in Marriage Rate and Divorce Rate

Per 1,000 population

12

10

8 Marriage rate
▼
6

4
Divorce rate
2 ▼

0
1970 80 90 00 10 *16

Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

6. Population Density and Regional Distribution

(1) Population Density

In 2015, Tokyo Metropolis had the largest population of 13.52 million

among Japan's 47 prefectures, followed in decreasing order by the
prefectures of Kanagawa, Osaka, Aichi, and Saitama. These five
prefectures each had a population of seven million or more, and together
accounted for 36.4 percent of the total population.

In addition, the population density in Tokyo Metropolis was the highest

among Japan's prefectures, at 6,168.7 persons per square kilometer. This
was almost 18.1 times the national average (340.8 persons per square
kilometer).

19
 POPULATION

Figure 2.9
Population Density by Prefecture (2015)
(per square km)

Under 200
200 - 299
300 - 499
500 - 999
1,000 persons and over

Tokyo Metropolis

Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

In 2015, there were 12 cities in Japan with a population of one million or

more. Their total population topped 29 million, a figure equivalent to 23.2
percent of the national total. The largest single city was the 23 Cities of
Tokyo Metropolis, with 9.27 million citizens. It was followed in
decreasing order by Yokohama City (3.72 million), Osaka City (2.69
million), and Nagoya City (2.30 million).

20
 POPULATION

Table 2.9
Population of Major Cities
(Thousands)
Population Population
Cities Cities
2010 2015 2010 2015
Tokyo, 23 Cities ........ 8,946 9,273 Kobe City ................... 1,544 1,537
Yokohama City .......... 3,689 3,725 Kawasaki City ............ 1,426 1,475
Osaka City ................. 2,665 2,691 Kyoto City .................. 1,474 1,475
Nagoya City ............... 2,264 2,296 Saitama City .............. 1,222 1,264
Sapporo City .............. 1,914 1,952 Hiroshima City ........... 1,174 1,194
Fukuoka City ............. 1,464 1,539 Sendai City ................. 1,046 1,082
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

(2) Population Distribution

The percentage of the urban population started increasing in the late 1950s.
In 2010, 51.0 percent of the total population was concentrated in the three
major metropolitan areas: the Kanto, Chukyo, and Kinki major
metropolitan areas. Population density in the Kanto major metropolitan
area was 2,631 persons per square kilometer. In the Chukyo major
metropolitan area, it was 1,288 persons per square kilometer, and in the
Kinki major metropolitan area, it was 1,484 persons per square kilometer.

Table 2.10
Population of Three Major Metropolitan Areas 1) (2010)

Population (1,000)
Percentage Surface Population
Areas
of the total Area density
2 2
(%) (km ) (per km )
Kanto major metropolitan area ....................... 36,923 28.8 14,034 2,631
Chukyo major metropolitan area ..................... 9,107 7.1 7,072 1,288
Kinki major metropolitan area ........................ 19,342 15.1 13,033 1,484
Total of three major metropolitan areas .......... 65,373 51.0 34,138 1,915
1) Major metropolitan areas consist of central cities (Kanto: 23 Cities of Tokyo Metropolis,
Yokohama City, Kawasaki City, Sagamihara City, Saitama City, and Chiba City;
Chukyo: Nagoya City; Kinki: Osaka City, Sakai City, Kyoto City, and Kobe City) and
surrounding areas (cities, towns and villages).
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

21
 “Statistical Handbook of Japan 2017” by Statistics Bureau, Japan

Chapter 3
Economy
 ECONOMY

1. Economic Development
During the 1960s, Japan's economy grew at a rapid pace of over 10 percent
per annum. This rapid economic growth was supported by: (i) the
expansion of private investments in plant and equipment, backed by a high
rate of personal savings; (ii) a large shift in the working population from
primary to secondary industries and "an abundant labour force supplied by
a high rate of population growth"; and (iii) an increase in productivity
brought about by adopting and improving foreign technologies.

Figure 3.1
Economic Growth Rates 1)
%
25

20 1995-2015 data: 2008 SNA

(standard prices in 2011;
by chain-linked method)
15

At nominal prices
10
▼

5 At actual prices
▼

-5
1956-1980 data: 1968 SNA 1981-1994 data: 1993 SNA
(standard prices in 1990; (standard prices in 2000;
by fixed-based method) by chain-linked method)
-10
1956 60 70 80 90 00 10 16

1) Data was estimated using a different method beginning in 1995.

Source: Cabinet Office.

In the 1970s, the sharp increase of Japan's exports of industrial products to

the U.S.A. and Europe began to cause international friction. In 1971, the
U.S.A. announced it would end the convertibility of the dollar into gold. In
December 1971, Japan revalued the yen from 360 yen against the U.S.
dollar, which had been maintained for 22 years, to 308 yen. In February
1973, Japan adopted a floating exchange-rate system.

23
 ECONOMY

In October 1973, the fourth Middle East War led to the first oil crisis,
triggering high inflation. Accordingly, Japan recorded negative economic
growth in 1974 for the first time in the post-war period. Following the
second oil crisis in 1978, efforts were made to change Japan's industrial
structure from "energy-dependent" to "energy-saving", enabling Japan to
successfully overcome inflation.
In the 1980s, the trade imbalance with advanced industrial countries
expanded because of the yen's appreciation. As part of administrative and
financial reforms, Japan National Railways and Nippon Telegraph and
Telephone Public Corporation were privatized. As a result, domestic
demand-led economic growth was achieved.

2. Bubble Economy and Its Collapse

At the end of the 1980s, Japan's economy enjoyed favorable conditions,
with stable wholesale prices and a low unemployment rate. Corporate
profits were at their highest level in history, and corporate failures were at
their lowest level, while investments in plant and equipment for
manufacturing products, such as semiconductors, were very active. Stock
and land prices continued to rise rapidly, and large-scale urban
developments and resort facility developments in rural areas progressed at
a very fast pace. However, excessive funds flowed into the stock and real
estate markets, causing abnormal increases in capital asset values (forming
an economic bubble).
At the end of 1980, Japan's net worth (national wealth) stood at 1,363
trillion yen, 5.6 times the GDP. It then increased, reaching 3,531 trillion
yen, 8.0 times the GDP, at the end of 1990, owing to increasing land and
stock prices. After that, Japan's national wealth began to decrease due to
the collapse of the bubble economy. At the end of 2015, it was 3,290
trillion yen.
At the beginning of 1990, stock prices plummeted, followed by sharp
declines in land prices. This marked the start of major economic recession
(collapse of the bubble economy). Japan's financial and economic systems,
which were excessively dependent on land, consequently approached
collapse.

24
 ECONOMY

Figure 3.2
National Wealth 1)
Trillion yen
4,500

4,000
Net external assets
3,500

3,000

2,500
Non-produced assets
2,000

1,500

1,000 Fixed assets and

inventories
500

0
1980 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 98 00 02 04 06 08 10 12 1415

1) Data was estimated using a different method beginning in 1994.

Source: Cabinet Office.

Massive bad debts were created in financial institutions' loan portfolios, as

corporate borrowers suffered serious losses due to declining land prices.
As a result, shareholders' equity in financial institutions shrank. In 1997,
large banks began to fail. In 1998 and 1999, the government injected
public money into the banking sector to stabilize the financial system.
The Japanese economy began to make a moderate recovery in February
1999. This, however, was only a temporary phenomenon, as investments in
plant and equipment were weak and the economy was too dependent on
foreign demand and information and communication technologies. With
the global decline in IT demand from mid-2000, Japan's exports to Asia
dropped, necessitating adjustments of excess inventory and production
facilities. In line with this, the Japanese economy again entered into an
economic downturn in 2001.

25
 ECONOMY

Figure 3.3
Gross Domestic Product (Nominal prices, converted into U.S. dollars)

Trillion U.S. dollars Thousand U.S. dollars

20 60
France Total Per capita
Germany 50
16
U.K.
U.S.A. 40
12 Japan
30
8
20

4
10

0 0
1990 00 10 16 1990 00 10 16

Source: OECD.

Through the economic recovery starting at the beginning of 2002, the

corporate sector, centering on export-related industries, became favorable
based on a reflection of the steady recovery of the global economy, and
shifted mainly with a bullish tone up until mid-2007.

3. Recent Economic Trends

At the start of 2008, the Japanese economy was faced with a standstill in
its path to recovery as private consumption and investments in plant and
equipment fell flat and so did production. This occurred against the
backdrop of soaring crude petroleum and raw material prices and
repercussions from the American subprime mortgage loan problem that,
since mid-2007, rapidly clouded future prospects for the world economy
further. In addition, the bankruptcy of the major American securities firm
Lehman Brothers in September 2008 led to a serious financial crisis in
Europe and the U.S.A. Japan was also affected by the yen's rise and the
sudden economic contraction in the U.S.A. and other countries. Declining
exports contributed to a large drop in production and a sharp rise in
unemployment.

26
 ECONOMY

Table 3.1
Gross Domestic Product 1) (Expenditure approach)
(Billion yen)
Item 2013 2014 2015 2016
Gross domestic product (GDP) .......................... 508,781.4 510,489.2 515,973.4 521,206.9
Domestic demand ............................................... 517,680.9 519,525.0 523,120.9 525,159.2
Private demand ................................................ 389,141.2 390,134.9 392,680.6 394,091.1
Private final consumption expenditure ......... 298,980.7 296,435.1 295,235.3 296,297.6
Private Residential Investment ..................... 15,877.2 15,202.2 14,959.3 15,794.0
Private plant and equipment ......................... 74,892.8 78,762.9 79,645.3 80,696.5
Changes in inventories of private sectors ..... -632.8 -308.6 2,792.9 1,186.7
Public demand ................................................. 128,539.7 129,390.3 130,440.8 131,069.1
Government final consumption expenditure ... 102,382.2 102,930.0 104,639.2 106,036.0
Gross capital formation by public sectors .... 26,181.3 26,374.2 25,816.9 25,040.6
Changes in inventories of public sectors ...... -23.1 72.3 -1.4 51.3
Net exports of goods and services ...................... -8,910.3 -8,892.0 -7,194.4 -4,142.3
Exports of goods and services ...................... 73,835.6 80,695.2 83,071.2 84,054.4
(less) Imports of goods and services ............. 82,745.9 89,587.3 90,265.6 88,196.7
(Reference)
Trading gains/losses ........................................... -1,695.2 -2,304.2 5,161.0 9,471.3
Gross domestic income ...................................... 507,086.2 508,185.0 521,134.4 530,678.2
Net income from the rest of the world ................ 17,014.3 18,287.6 19,994.8 17,190.6
Incomes from the rest of the world .................. 23,808.7 26,973.8 29,731.3 27,477.1
(less) Incomes to the rest of the world ............. 6,794.5 8,686.1 9,736.5 10,286.5
Gross national income (GNI) ............................. 524,100.5 526,472.6 541,129.2 547,868.8
1) Standard prices in 2011; by chain-linked method
Source: Cabinet Office.

Subsequently, the Japanese economy recovered with foreign demand and

economic measures after April 2009, and came to a standstill starting
around October 2010. In early 2011, however, it began to rally. The Great
East Japan Earthquake that took place on March 11, 2011 and the nuclear
power plant accident it caused weakened the economic recovery.
In order to achieve an early end to deflation and break free of economic
stagnation, in January 2013, the government set forth its "three-arrows"
strategy (also known as "Abenomics").
The first "arrow" is "aggressive monetary policy". The Bank of Japan
(BOJ) made it clear that it would set a consumer price index annual growth
rate of two percent as a "price stabilization target". The BOJ also
introduced "quantitative and qualitative monetary easing" to double the
monetary base over two years.

27
 ECONOMY

The second "arrow" is "flexible fiscal policy". An emergency economic

stimulus package with a scale of approximately 10 trillion yen was
developed.
The third "arrow" is "growth strategy that promotes private investment".
Efforts are being made in growth strategies such as encouraging
investments by private corporations based on the easing of regulations.

Figure 3.4
Economic Growth Rates 1) (Quarterly changes)
%
3

-1

-2

-3
Ⅰ Ⅱ Ⅲ Ⅳ Ⅰ Ⅱ Ⅲ Ⅳ Ⅰ Ⅱ Ⅲ Ⅳ Ⅰ Ⅱ Ⅲ Ⅳ Ⅰ Ⅱ Ⅲ Ⅳ Ⅰ

2012 13 14 15 16 17

1) Quarterly estimates of GDP, 2008 SNA (standard prices in 2011; by chain-linked method;
seasonally adjusted).
Source: Cabinet Office.

Under such approaches, the profits of companies shifted at high levels, and
the employment and income environment improved and continued a
moderate recovery. The latest economic recovery is thought to be in the
process of continuation after bottoming out in November 2012. As the
Japanese economy moves out of a deflation through approaches based on
financial, monetary and growth policies, fiscal consolidation has been
progressing and primary deficit has been shrinking, such as by centering
on increased tax revenue, etc.

28
 ECONOMY

4. Industrial Structure
Japan's industrial structure has undergone a major transformation over the
half century since the end of World War II. The chronological changes in
the industrial structure during this period by industry share of employed
persons and GDP show that shares in the primary industry in particular
have fallen dramatically since 1970, when Japan experienced rapid
economic growth. During the 1980s, the secondary industry's share of
employed persons and GDP also began to decline gradually. On the other
hand, the tertiary industry's shares of both employed persons and GDP
have risen consistently.

Table 3.2
Changes in Industrial Structure
(%)
1)
Employed persons Gross domestic product (GDP) 2)
Year Primary Secondary Tertiary Primary Secondary Tertiary
industry industry industry industry industry industry
1950 48.6 21.8 29.7 - - -
1955 41.2 23.4 35.5 19.2 33.7 47.0
1960 32.7 29.1 38.2 12.8 40.8 46.4
1965 24.7 31.5 43.7 9.5 40.1 50.3
1970 19.3 34.1 46.6 5.9 43.1 50.9
1975 13.9 34.2 52.0 5.3 38.8 55.9
1980 10.9 33.6 55.4 # 3.5 # 36.2 # 60.3
1985 9.3 33.2 57.5 3.0 34.9 62.0
1990 7.2 33.5 59.4 2.4 35.4 62.2
1995 # 6.0 # 31.3 # 62.7 # 1.8 # 30.4 # 67.8
2000 5.2 29.5 65.3 1.6 28.4 70.0
2005 4.9 26.4 68.6 1.2 25.8 73.0
2010 4.2 25.2 70.6 1.2 25.2 73.6
2015 4.0 25.0 71.0 1.1 26.2 72.7
1) Due to the revision of the Japan Standard Industrial Classification, the figures from 1995
onward are not strictly consistent with those for 1990 or earlier. 2) Data from 1955 to 1979
are based on the 1968 SNA. Data from 1980 onward are based on the 1993 SNA. Data in
1994 and afterwards differs in the estimation method.
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC; Cabinet Office.

29
 ECONOMY

In 1970, the primary industry accounted for 19.3 percent of employed

persons, the secondary industry for 34.1 percent, and the tertiary industry
for 46.6 percent. In 2015, the corresponding shares of these three sectors
were 4.0 percent, 25.0 percent and 71.0 percent, respectively.
As for GDP by type of economic activity, in 1970, the primary, secondary
and tertiary industries accounted for 5.9 percent, 43.1 percent and 50.9
percent, respectively. In 2015, these figures for the primary, secondary and
tertiary industries were 1.1 percent, 26.2 percent and 72.7 percent,
respectively.

Table 3.3
Gross Domestic Product by Type of Economic Activity (2015)
(%)
1995 2000 2005 2010 2015
Primary industry
Agriculture, forestry and fishing ......................... 1.7 1.5 1.1 1.1 1.1
Secondary industry
Mining ................................................................. 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1
Manufacturing ..................................................... 23.5 22.6 21.6 20.8 20.4
Construction ........................................................ 7.8 6.9 5.6 4.8 5.5
Tertiary industry
Electricity, gas and water supply,
waste management service ............................... 3.0 3.2 2.9 2.8 2.7
Wholesale and retail trade ................................... 13.8 13.1 14.4 13.8 13.9
Transport and postal activities ............................ 5.5 4.9 5.1 5.0 5.1
Accommodation and food service activities ....... 3.1 3.1 2.7 2.6 2.5
Information and communications ....................... 3.2 4.6 4.9 5.1 5.0
Finance and insurance ......................................... 5.0 4.9 6.0 4.8 4.4
Real estate .......................................................... 9.9 10.3 10.4 11.9 11.4
Professional, scientific and technical activities ... 4.8 5.8 6.4 7.0 7.3
Public administration .......................................... 4.8 5.2 5.1 5.3 5.0
Education ............................................................ 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.6
Human health and social work activities ............ 4.4 5.3 5.5 6.4 6.8
Other service activities ........................................ 5.2 5.2 4.9 4.7 4.4
Source: Cabinet Office.

According to the "2016 Economic Census for Business Activity", there

were 5.4 million establishments (excluding businesses whose operational
details are unknown, national government services, and local government
services) in Japan, at which a total of 57.4 million persons were employed.
The average number of persons engaged per establishment was 10.7

30
 ECONOMY

establishments with less than 10 persons accounted for 77.2 percent of the
total.

Figure 3.5
Shares of Establishments and Persons Engaged by Scale of Operation 1)
(2016)
100 persons and over 1.2
1-4 persons 5-9 10-19 20-99
▼ ▼ ▼ ▼
2)
Establishments 57.2 19.9 12.3 9.4

Persons engaged 11.4 12.2 15.4 32.4 28.7

0
0% 20 40 60 80 100 %
100%
1) Preliminary tabulation. Excluding businesses whose operational details are unknown, national
government services, and local government services. 2) Excluding establishments consisting of
only loaned or dispatched employees.
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

The number of establishments by the major groupings of the Japan

Standard Industrial Classification was the most numerous in the
"wholesale and retail trade" category, numbering 1.4 million, followed by
"accommodations, eating and drinking services" and "construction". In
terms of the number of persons engaged, establishments in the "wholesale
and retail trade" ranked first as they employed 12.0 million persons,
followed by "manufacturing" and "medical, health care and welfare".

31
 ECONOMY

Table 3.4
Number of Establishments and Persons Engaged 1) (2016)
Persons
Item Establishments
engaged

Total ............................................................................................ 5,359,975 57,439,652

By industry
Primary industry
Agriculture, forestry and fisheries ....................................... 32,675 366,949
Secondary industry
Mining and quarrying of stone and gravel ........................... 1,957 21,269
Construction ........................................................................ 495,608 3,728,873
Manufacturing ..................................................................... 453,810 8,925,749
Tertiary industry
Electricity, gas, heat supply and water ................................. 4,874 194,036
Information and communications ........................................ 64,527 1,663,836
Transport and postal activities ............................................. 131,213 3,235,442
Wholesale and retail trade ................................................... 1,357,030 12,012,080
Finance and insurance ......................................................... 84,330 1,530,071
Real estate and goods rental and leasing ............................. 355,102 1,479,307
Scientific research, professional and technical services ...... 221,414 1,815,209
Accommodations, eating and drinking services .................. 701,241 5,460,685
Living-related and personal services and amusement services ... 470,744 2,419,128
Education, learning support ................................................. 166,415 1,824,961
Medical, health care and welfare ......................................... 430,265 7,419,831
Compound services ............................................................. 33,872 480,172
Services, n.e.c. ..................................................................... 354,898 4,862,054
By type of legal organizations
Individual proprietorships ................................................... 2,011,800 5,740,540
Corporations ........................................................................ 3,319,000 51,574,686
Companies ........................................................................ 2,895,256 43,212,387
Organizations other than corporations ................................. 29,175 124,426
1) Preliminary tabulation. Excluding businesses whose operational details are unknown,
national government services, and local government services.
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

The domestic manufacturing industry has progressed in relocating

production bases overseas, stemming from approaches to cutting back on
production costs, production in consumption areas, and fluctuations in
exchange rates.

32
 ECONOMY

According to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's "Survey of

Overseas Business Activities", which surveys Japanese companies that
have local affiliates overseas, the number of overseas affiliates in the
manufacturing industry was 11,080 companies at the end of fiscal 2015,
and the overseas production ratio was 25.3 percent in actual performance
in fiscal 2015, indicating a 1.0 percentage point increase as compared to
the previous fiscal year, reaching the highest level ever.

Table 3.5
Trends of Overseas Affiliated Company (Manufacturing Industries)
Overseas Value of Ratio of overseas
Number of
Fiscal Value of Sales production capital capital
overseas
year ratio 1) investment investment 2)
affiliates
(Million yen) (%) (Million yen) (%)
2006 8,287 99,679,316 18.1 3,948,396 20.0
2007 8,318 111,040,510 19.1 4,231,847 19.5
2008 8,147 91,180,733 17.0 3,608,939 18.4
2009 8,399 78,305,761 17.0 2,058,685 15.9
2010 8,412 89,327,934 18.1 2,325,418 17.1
2011 8,684 88,289,996 18.0 3,082,273 21.5
2012 10,425 98,384,657 20.3 3,815,707 25.8
2013 10,545 116,997,649 22.9 4,646,055 29.4
2014 10,592 129,712,997 24.3 4,649,364 28.1
2015 11,080 134,996,164 25.3 4,571,639 25.5
1) Overseas production ratio = Sales of overseas affiliates/(Sales of overseas affiliates +
Sales of domestic companies) × 100. 2) Ratio of overseas capital investment = Amount of
capital investment in overseas affiliates/(Amount of capital investment in overseas affiliates
+ Amount of capital investment in domestic companies) × 100.
Source: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

In the future, it is anticipated that companies in the manufacturing industry

in Japan will expand their overseas business. There are many companies
that are planning on expanding their business to India, China, Indonesia
and Vietnam.

33
 “Statistical Handbook of Japan 2017” by Statistics Bureau, Japan

Chapter 4
Finance
 FINANCE

1. National and Local Government Finance

(1) National Government Finance

Japan's fiscal year starts in April, and ends in March of the following year.
In setting the national budget, the government submits a proposed budget
for the upcoming fiscal year to the Ordinary Session of the Diet, which
begins in January. The proposal is then discussed, and an initial budget is
approved usually before the fiscal year begins in April. In the event that
the Diet does not approve the budget by the end of March, an interim
budget comes into effect. The interim budget is effective from the
beginning of April until such time when the proposed budget is approved.
If it becomes necessary to amend the budget in the course of a fiscal year,
the government submits a supplementary budget for Diet approval.

Japan's national budget consists of the general account, special accounts,

and the budget for government-affiliated agencies. Using revenues from
general sources such as taxes, the general account covers core national
expenditures such as social security, public works, culture/education/
science, and national defense.

Special accounts are accounts established for the national government to

carry out projects with specific objectives, and are managed and
administered independently of the general account. The number and
particulars of special accounts change from year to year; for fiscal 2017, a
total of 13 special accounts have been established, including the national
debt consolidation fund, the grants of allocation tax and transferred tax and
the Great East Japan Earthquake recovery fund.

Government-affiliated agencies are entities established by special laws and

are entirely funded by the government. Currently, the Japan Finance
Corporation, the Okinawa Development Finance Corporation, Japan Bank
of International Cooperation, and the Japan International Cooperation
Agency (Loan Aid Section) are operated as government-affiliated
agencies.

35
 FINANCE

Figure 4.1
Revenues and Expenditures in the General Account 1)
Trillion yen
120

100 Expenditures

80

60 Tax Revenues

40
Government bond issues 2)

20

0
FY1990 95 00 05 10 15 17

1) Based on settlements until FY2015, initial and supplementary budgets for FY2016, and draft
budget for FY2017. 2) Excludes some special accounts.
Source: Ministry of Finance.

In national government finance, expenditure has continued to surpass

revenue. Since fiscal 2008 in particular, the worsening economy has
decreased tax revenue, contributing to an increasing gap between revenue
and expenditure. Since fiscal 2009, bond issues have exceeded tax revenue
in most years, but since fiscal 2013, tax revenue exceeded borrowing (on
an initial budget basis).

The size of the general account budget for fiscal 2017 was 97 trillion yen,
an increase of 0.7 trillion yen (0.8 percent) from the initial budget of fiscal
2016. This is equivalent to 17.6 percent of the fiscal 2017 GDP, forecasted
by the government at 554 trillion yen.

36
 FINANCE

Table 4.1
Expenditures of General Account
(Billion yen)
General
Fiscal Total expendi- Education
Social National Public
year tures and Pensions
security defense works
science
(A)+(B)+(C) (A)
1995 75,939 50,816 14,543 6,667 1,707 4,720 12,795
2000 89,321 52,046 17,636 6,872 1,418 4,907 11,910
2005 85,520 49,343 20,603 5,701 1,065 4,878 8,391
2010 95,312 56,978 28,249 6,051 709 4,670 5,803
2014 98,813 59,532 30,171 5,866 444 5,063 7,321
2015 98,230 58,966 31,398 5,574 387 5,130 6,378
2016 1) 100,222 62,548 32,466 5,842 342 5,236 7,548
2017 2) 97,455 58,359 32,473 5,357 295 5,125 5,976
Local
National
Small- and Food allocation
Fiscal Economic medium-sized Energy debt
stable Others tax grants,
year cooperation business measures service
supply etc.
promotion
(B) (C)
1995 1,034 623 708 269 7,751 12,820 12,302
2000 1,012 933 677 247 6,434 21,446 15,829
2005 784 237 493 657 6,536 18,736 17,441
2010 746 830 845 1,122 7,953 19,544 18,790
2014 655 417 1,303 1,074 7,218 22,186 17,096
2015 661 340 968 1,276 6,854 22,464 16,801
2016 1) 750 466 971 1,283 7,645 22,335 15,339
2017 2) 511 181 963 1,017 6,460 23,528 15,567
1) Revised budget. 2) Initial budget.
Source: Ministry of Finance.

In fiscal 2017, major expenditures from the initial general account budget
include social security (33.3 percent), national debt service (24.1 percent),
local allocation tax grants, etc. (16.0 percent), public works (6.1 percent),
education and science (5.5 percent), and national defense (5.3 percent).

With regard to revenue sources for the fiscal 2017 initial general account
budget, income tax, consumption tax and corporation tax account for 48.7
percent. Even with the addition of other taxes and stamp revenues, these
revenue sources only amount to 59.2 percent of the total revenue.

37
 FINANCE

Figure 4.2
Composition of Revenue and Expenditure of General Account Budget
(Initial budget, FY2017)

Primary
expenses
National 75.9%
debt
service Social
24.1 security
33.3
Expenditure
Others 97 trillion
9.7 yen

Local
allocation tax
National grants, etc.
defense 16.0
5.3
Education and
science Public works Government
5.5 6.1 bond issues
35.3

Special Income tax

deficit- 18.4
financing
bonds
29.0 Revenue Consump-
97 trillion tion tax Tax and
yen 17.6 stamp
revenues
Corpora- 59.2%
tion tax
12.7
Construction
bonds
6.3
Others
5.5 Other taxes
and stamp
revenues
Source: Ministry of Finance. 10.5

(2) Local Government Finance

There are two budget categories in local government finance: the ordinary
accounts and the public business accounts. The former covers all kinds of
expenses related to ordinary activities of the prefectural and municipal
governments. The latter covers the budgets of independently accounted
enterprises such as public enterprises (water supply and sewerage utilities,

38
 FINANCE

hospitals, etc.), the national health insurance accounts and the latter-stage
elderly medical care accounts.

While expenditures such as national defense are administered solely by the

national government, a large portion of expenditures that directly relate to
the people's everyday lives are disbursed chiefly through local
governments. In particular, a high proportion of the following expenditures
are disbursed through local governments: public hygiene and sanitation
expenses, which include areas such as medical service and waste disposal;
school education expenses; expenses covering judicial, police and fire
services; and public welfare expenses, which cover the development and
management of welfare facilities for children, the elderly and the mentally
and/or physically challenged.

The revenue composition of local governments usually remains almost the

same each fiscal year, while their budget scale and structure vary from
year to year. The largest portion of fiscal 2015 (net) revenues came from
local taxes, accounting for 38.4 percent of the total. The second-largest
source, 17.1 percent, was local allocation tax grants.

Table 4.2
Local Government Finance 1) (Ordinary accounts)
(Million yen)
Item FY2011 FY2012 FY2013 FY2014 FY2015
Revenues ....................................... 100,069,646 99,842,882 101,099,835 102,083,476 101,917,496
Local taxes .................................. 34,171,416 34,460,760 35,374,285 36,785,451 39,098,563
Local transfer taxes ..................... 2,169,911 2,271,480 2,558,842 2,936,867 2,679,246
Special local grants, etc. ............. 364,020 127,467 125,522 119,188 118,868
Local allocation tax .................... 18,752,268 18,289,826 17,595,454 17,431,428 17,390,640
Treasury disbursements .............. 15,927,963 15,425,766 16,412,481 15,461,868 15,221,213
Local government bonds ............ 11,760,270 12,337,932 12,284,850 11,518,456 10,688,010
Expenditures ................................ 97,002,646 96,418,554 97,412,028 98,522,799 98,405,225
General administration ............... 9,345,975 9,961,845 10,000,563 9,869,954 9,608,827
Public welfare ............................. 23,182,534 23,152,326 23,463,324 24,450,891 25,254,815
Sanitation .................................... 6,743,245 5,993,241 5,988,543 6,143,397 6,301,793
Agriculture, forestry and fishery 3,207,580 3,181,270 3,500,949 3,348,633 3,218,216
Commerce and industry .............. 6,547,758 6,206,903 5,915,650 5,509,540 5,516,105
Civil engineering work ............... 11,284,876 11,242,282 12,125,221 12,050,506 11,707,165
Education .................................... 16,176,813 16,147,943 16,087,778 16,658,138 16,795,536
1) Settled figures of the net total of prefectural and municipal government accounts after deducting
duplications. The breakdown consists of major items only.
Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

39
 FINANCE

(3) National and Local Government Finance

Finance refers to revenue and expenditure of administrative services from

national and local governments. In the initial budget for fiscal 2016, the
gross total of national government expenditure was 503 trillion yen, the net
total was 246 trillion yen after eliminating duplications. Furthermore, the
local public finance plan, which consists of the estimated sum of ordinary
accounts for the following fiscal year for all local governments, amounted
to 88 trillion yen. Therefore, after eliminating duplications between
national and local accounts (38 trillion yen), the net total of both national
and local government expenditures combined was 296 trillion yen.

Table 4.3
Expenditures of National and Local Governments (Initial budget)
(Billion yen)
Expenditures
Item
FY1995 FY2000 FY2005 FY2010 FY2015 FY2016
General account ............. 70,987 84,987 82,183 92,299 96,342 96,722
Special accounts ............ 241,718 318,689 411,944 367,074 403,553 403,852
Government-affiliated
agencies ....................... 8,086 7,661 4,678 3,135 2,216 2,077
Gross total (national) .... 320,792 411,337 498,805 462,508 502,111 502,650
Duplications ................ 160,054 200,435 257,490 244,744 262,184 256,212
Net total (national) ........ 160,738 210,902 241,316 217,764 239,927 246,438
Local public
finance plan ................. 82,509 88,930 83,769 82,127 87,768 87,670
Gross total
(national + local) ........ 243,247 299,832 325,084 299,891 327,694 334,108
Duplications ................ 32,035 37,216 32,689 31,563 35,484 37,937
Net total
(national + local) ........ 211,213 262,616 292,395 268,328 292,211 296,171
Source: Ministry of Finance.

The settlement amount for fiscal 2015, the net total of national and local
government expenditures was 168 trillion yen. The national government
disbursed 42 percent of this amount, while the local governments
disbursed 58 percent.

40
 FINANCE

Figure 4.3
Ratio of Net Total National and Local Expenditures by Function
%
40

35

30
Social security
25 Public bonds

20
Land preservation
and development
15
Education

10
General administration

5
Commerce and industry

0
FY1995 97 99 01 03 05 07 09 11 13 15

Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

A function-by-function breakdown of expenditures "directly related to

people's lives" showed that social security expenditure accounted for the
largest portion (33.7 percent), followed by public bonds (21.3 percent),
general administration (11.8 percent), education (11.7 percent), and then
land preservation and development (9.9 percent). Public bonds are issued
to compensate for shortages of national and local revenues. Their issue
volumes have increased mainly due to, for example, economic stimulus
measures and decreasing tax revenues after the bubble economy ended at
the beginning of 1990. A rising amount of public bond redemptions and an
increase in social security expenditures associated with the progression of
an aging society in recent years has resulted in public bonds and social
security expenditures making up a high percentage of government
expenditures net of overlaps. Issuance of government bonds increased after
fiscal 2009 in comparison to years leading up to then, due to the effects of
the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, but has decreased in recent years.

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 FINANCE

Figure 4.4
National Government Bond Issue 1)
Trillion yen %
60 60
Bond dependency ratio
Construction bonds (right scale)
(left scale)
50 Special deficit-financing 50
bonds (left scale) 2)
15.0
11.4
40 40
7.6 8.4
7.0
6.6 8.9
6.7 8.7 6.5 6.1
30 7.0 30
7.8
6.4
6.0
20 20
36.9 36.0
34.7 34.4 33.8 31.9 30.1
28.7 26.8 28.4 28.3
26.2
23.5
10 21.1 19.3 10

0 0
FY2003 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

1) Based on settlements until FY2015, initial and supplementary budgets for FY2016, and
draft budget for FY2017. 2) Excludes some special accounts.
Source: Ministry of Finance.

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 FINANCE

Japan's ratio of outstanding general government debt to GDP, a stock

measure in a fiscal context, has been increasing rapidly as compared to
major industrial countries due to a steady advance of fiscal consolidation
in the second half of 1990s, and is now the worst among major industrial
countries.

Figure 4.5
Ratio of General Government Gross Debt to GDP
%
300

250
Japan

200

150
Canada France U.S.A.
Italy

100

50 Germany
U.K.

0
2007 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Source: Ministry of Finance.

(4) Tax

Taxes consist of national tax (income tax, corporation tax, etc.), which is
paid to the national government, and local tax, which is paid to the local
government of the place of residence. The ratio of taxation burden, which
is the ratio of national and local taxes to national income, was 18.3 percent
in fiscal 1975. This ratio gradually increased thereafter, reaching 27.7
percent in fiscal 1989. The ratio subsequently decreased due to the decline
in tax revenue arising from the recession that ensued after the bubble

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 FINANCE

economy ended, reaching 20.6 percent in fiscal 2003. In fiscal 2017, it was
25.1 percent in terms of national and local taxes combined (15.2 percent
for national tax and 9.9 percent for local tax). Japan's ratio is lower in
comparison with other major industrial countries. However, the
consumption tax rate was raised from five to eight percent on April 1, 2014.
This was the first increase in 17 years. Hereafter, there is a possibility that
the taxation burden will become heavier due to an increase in welfare and
pension-related spending as the population ages.

Figure 4.6
Ratio of Taxation Burden to National Income by Country (Actual basis)
%
45
U.K.

40

35
France
Germany

30
U.S.A.

25 Japan

20

15
0
1993 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14
Source: Ministry of Finance.

2. Bank of Japan and Money Stock

As the central bank, the Bank of Japan (i) issues Bank of Japan notes, or
the currency of Japan; (ii) manages and stores treasury funds and provides
loans to the government; (iii) provides deposit and loan services to general

44
 FINANCE

financial institutions; and (iv) implements monetary policies by adjusting

the level of money stock to promote the sound development of the
economy.

At the end of 2016, currency in circulation totaled 107 trillion yen (102.5
trillion yen in Bank of Japan notes and 4.7 trillion yen in coins), up 4.0
percent from the year before.

Table 4.4
Currency in Circulation (Outstanding at year-end)
(Billion yen)
Item 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Total ................................................ 91,231 94,770 97,738 103,120 107,203

Bank of Japan notes ..................... 86,653 90,143 93,082 98,430 102,461
Coins ............................................ 4,578 4,627 4,656 4,690 4,742
Source: Bank of Japan.

The Bank of Japan compiles and publishes statistics on the following

indicators: (i) M1, or cash currency in circulation plus deposit money; (ii)
M2, or cash currency in circulation plus deposits in banks, etc. in Japan;
(iii) M3, or M1 plus quasi-money plus CDs (certificates of deposit); and
(iv) broadly-defined liquidity, which covers a broad range of liquidity,
including government securities. The average outstanding money stock in
2016 was 662 trillion yen in M1 and 939 trillion yen in M2.

Table 4.5
Money Stock 1) (Average amounts outstanding)
(Billion yen)
Broadly-
Year M2 M3 M1 Quasi-money CDs defined
liquidity
2012 816,530 1,122,568 534,555 555,606 32,406 1,452,613
2013 845,971 1,155,364 560,311 561,426 33,627 1,499,078
2014 874,836 1,187,430 586,756 564,803 35,871 1,550,886
2015 907,127 1,223,255 617,079 568,922 37,253 1,612,519
2016 938,622 1,259,091 661,513 564,782 32,797 1,649,034
1) "Money stock" indicates the balance of currency held by corporations, individuals, local
governments, etc.
Source: Bank of Japan.

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In January 2013, the government and the Bank of Japan decided to

strengthen policy coordination in order to overcome deflation and achieve
sustainable economic growth with stable prices. In April 2013, the Bank of
Japan changed the operating target for money market operations from the
uncollateralized overnight call rate to a monetary base to facilitate
quantitative easing. The Bank of Japan first introduced Quantitative and
Qualitative Monetary Easing (QQE) in April 2013; in January 2016, it
decided to introduce "QQE with a Negative Interest Rate". In September
2016, the Bank decided to introduce "QQE with Yield Curve Control" by
strengthening these two policy frameworks, in order to achieve the price
stability target at the earliest possible time.

Japan's monetary base is the amount of currency supplied by the Bank of

Japan. It is the combined total of banknotes in circulation, coins in
circulation, and current account balances. The monetary base was 462.2
trillion yen as of the end of April 2017, up 19.7 percent from the same
month of the previous year, and setting a new record high.

Table 4.6
Financial Markets (Interest rates, etc.)
(% per annum)
Basic discount
1) Prime lending Loan contract 10 years' newly
End of year rate and basic Call rates 2) 3) issued Govt.
rates rates bonds yields
loan rate
2007 0.75 0.459 1.875 1.673 1.500
2008 0.30 0.103 1.675 1.494 1.165
2009 0.30 0.094 1.475 1.256 1.285
2010 0.30 0.079 1.475 1.187 1.120
2011 0.30 0.075 1.475 1.102 0.980
2012 0.30 0.076 1.475 1.034 0.795
2013 0.30 0.068 1.475 0.880 0.740
2014 0.30 0.066 1.475 0.850 0.320
2015 0.30 0.038 1.475 0.778 0.265
2016 0.30 -0.058 1.475 0.623 0.040
1) Uncollateralized overnight. 2) Short-term loans. 3) Average of short-term loan contracts
of domestically licensed banks.
Source: Bank of Japan.

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3. Financial Institutions

In addition to the Bank of Japan, Japan's financial system is comprised of

private and public financial institutions. Private financial institutions
include those that accept deposits (banks, credit depositories, agricultural
cooperatives, etc.) and those that do not (securities companies, insurance
companies, etc.).

In the course of the financial system reform, mergers and restructuring

progressed among major banks, resulting in their being reorganized into
three major financial groups. Regional banks and credit depositories
operating in their respective regions have been making efforts to their
expand operations bases through corporate mergers. In September 2016,
the number of offices, including the branches of financial institutions
operated domestically, post offices handling postal savings had the largest
network with 24,105 offices. This was followed by domestically licensed
banks, including city banks and regional banks, with a combined total of
13,589 offices and branches.

The fundamental role of the bank sector was to adjust the surplus and
deficiency of funds, but as the corporate sector has been in a surplus in
recent years in Japan, the percentage of loans to bank funds has been on a
downward trend almost consistently. The decline in percentage of national
debt and increase in deposits in recent years are thought to be a result of
the Bank of Japan buying national debt owned by banks due to the
abovementioned monetary easing policy.

47
 FINANCE

Figure 4.7
Assets of Domestically Licensed Banks (Banking Accounts, end of year)
Trillion yen %
1,200 100
Others Loans
Stocks Corporate bonds
Local government bonds National debt
1,000 Deposits Ratio of loans to total (right scale)
80

800
60

600

40
400

20
200

0 0
2000 02 04 06 08 10 12 14 16
Source: Bank of Japan.

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 FINANCE

4. Financial Assets

The Flow of Funds Accounts Statistics, which is a comprehensive set of

records of financial transactions, assets and liabilities, indicates that
financial assets in the domestic sectors totaled 7,142 trillion yen according
to figures at the end of March 2016. Of these assets, those of the domestic
nonfinancial sector were 3,450 trillion yen. The household sector
(including the business funds of individual proprietorships) had assets of
1,752 trillion yen, in the forms of deposits, stocks and other financial
assets. In Japan, the household sector holds more than 50 percent of its
financial assets in currency and deposits.

Table 4.7
Financial Assets and Liabilities of Japan
(Billion yen)
Annual
March March
Sectors change
2015 2016
(%)
Financial assets
Domestic sectors ............................................................ 7,026,341 7,141,767 1.6
Financial institutions .................................................. 3,546,587 3,691,835 4.1
Domestic nonfinancial sector ..................................... 3,479,754 3,449,932 -0.9
Nonfinancial corporations ...................................... 1,085,407 1,092,207 0.6
General government ............................................... 579,701 549,774 -5.2
Households (incl. individual proprietorships) ........ 1,759,861 1,751,992 -0.4
Private nonprofit institutions serving households .. 54,785 55,959 2.1
Overseas ......................................................................... 589,434 573,617 -2.7
Financial liabilities
Domestic sectors ............................................................ 6,682,365 6,787,426 1.6
Financial institutions .................................................. 3,427,218 3,542,797 3.4
Domestic nonfinancial sector ..................................... 3,255,148 3,244,629 -0.3
Nonfinancial corporations ...................................... 1,643,578 1,576,911 -4.1
General government ............................................... 1,206,272 1,245,089 3.2
Households (incl. individual proprietorships) ........ 376,575 391,826 4.0
Private nonprofit institutions serving households .. 28,722 30,804 7.2
Overseas ......................................................................... 929,900 924,536 -0.6
Source: Bank of Japan.

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5. Stock Market

Stock prices in Japan rose sharply in the second half of the 1980s,
spearheading the bubble economy. However, the stock market started to
fall in 1990 ahead of land prices. At the end of 1989, the total market
capitalization of the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange was 591
trillion yen, but only three years later, at the end of 1992, it had dropped by
more than 50 percent to 281 trillion yen. Even after recovering to 442
trillion yen at the end of 1999, the stock market repeatedly fell and rose
afterwards. The September 2008 the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers led to
a fall in total market capitalization, which amounted to 251 trillion yen at
the end of 2011.

Figure 4.8
Stock Price Index and Total Market Capitalization
(Tokyo Stock Exchange, first section, end of year)
Trillion yen
700 3,000
Total market
600 capitalization
(left scale)
500 TOPIX 1)
(right scale) 2,000
400

300
1,000
200

100

0 0
80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 98 00 02 04 06 08 10 12 14 16

1) Index of the total market capitalization of all stocks listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock
Exchange against a base value of 100 as of January 4, 1968. There is no continuity between figures
through June 2013 and those from July 2013 due to the integration of cash equity markets between
the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the Osaka.
Source: Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc.

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 FINANCE

In 2012, the high yen in Japanese economy was corrected due to

expectations toward anti-deflationary economic and fiscal policies by the
new government, and share prices soared. In April 2013, changes in
policies of the Bank of Japan were regarded as affecting stocks and
markets, and the Nikkei Stock Average at the end of 2013 was 16,291.31
yen, representing an increase of 56.7 percent as compared to the end of
2012 (10,395.18 yen) and the first significant gain in 41 years. Afterwards,
the Nikkei Stock Average in April 2015 recovered to the 20,000 yen level
for the first time in 15 years and stood at 19,114.37 yen at the end of 2016.

Table 4.8
Stock Prices (Tokyo Stock Exchange, first section)

Number
Total Total TOPIX 1) 2) Nikkei
market trading Tokyo stock Stock Average
Year of listed 1)
1) capitalization value price index, (225 issues) 1)
companies
(million yen) (million yen) average (yen)
1998 1,340 267,783,547 96,001,269 1,086.99 13,842.17
1999 1,364 442,443,338 178,041,139 1,722.20 18,934.34
2000 1,447 352,784,685 242,632,346 1,283.67 13,785.69
2001 1,491 290,668,537 199,844,292 1,032.14 10,542.62
2002 1,495 242,939,136 190,869,955 843.29 8,578.95
2003 1,533 309,290,031 237,905,753 1,043.69 10,676.64
2004 1,595 353,558,256 323,918,214 1,149.63 11,488.76
2005 1,667 522,068,129 459,136,406 1,649.76 16,111.43
2006 1,715 538,629,548 644,308,788 1,681.07 17,225.83
2007 1,727 475,629,039 735,333,528 1,475.68 15,307.78
2008 1,715 278,988,813 568,538,950 859.24 8,859.56
2009 1,684 302,712,168 368,679,737 907.59 10,546.44
2010 1,670 305,693,030 354,598,763 898.80 10,228.92
2011 1,672 251,395,748 341,587,524 728.61 8,455.35
2012 1,695 296,442,945 306,702,280 859.80 10,395.18
2013 1,774 458,484,253 640,193,836 1,302.29 16,291.31
2014 1,858 505,897,342 576,525,070 1,407.51 17,450.77
2015 1,934 571,832,889 696,509,496 1,547.30 19,033.71
2016 2,002 560,246,997 643,205,780 1,518.61 19,114.37
2017 Jan. 2,001 560,628,734 49,990,077 1,521.67 19,041.34
Feb. 2,001 565,825,277 50,914,304 1,535.32 19,118.99
Mar. 2,011 558,610,633 55,089,902 1,512.60 18,909.26
1) End of year or month. 2) Index of the total market value of all stocks listed on the first
section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange against a base value of 100 as of January 4, 1968.
Source: Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc.; Bank of Japan; Nikkei Inc.

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 FINANCE

At the end of March 2016, the total number of individual stockholders

(individuals of Japanese nationality and domestic groups without corporate
status) in possession of stocks listed on the Tokyo/Nagoya/Fukuoka/
Sapporo Stock Exchanges totaled 49.4 million. In value terms, the ratio of
stocks they possessed was 17.5 percent. The ratio of Japanese stocks held
by foreign investors (total of corporations and individuals) was 29.8
percent in value terms, decline for the first time in four years.

A survey conducted of 257 securities firms by the Japan Securities Dealers

Association (JSDA) showed that 27.6 percent of those companies offered
Internet trading at the end of September 2016. Internet trading thus
accounted for 20.6 percent of the total value of stock brokerage
transactions from the period of April 2016 to September 2016.

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 “Statistical Handbook of Japan 2017” by Statistics Bureau, Japan

Chapter 5
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
 AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES

1. Overview of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

Over the course of Japan's economic growth, its agricultural, forestry and
fishing industries employ fewer and fewer workers every year, and their
GDP share has also dropped. The number of workers decreased from 13.40
million in 1960 (30.2 percent of the total workforce) to 2.28 million in
2015 (3.6 percent), and the GDP share of the industries fell from 12.8
percent in 1960 to 1.1 percent in 2015.

2. Agriculture
(1) Agricultural Production
Japan's total agricultural output in 2015 was 8.80 trillion yen, up 5.2
percent from the previous year. Crops yielded 5.63 trillion yen, up 4.9
percent from the previous year.

Table 5.1
Agricultural, Forestry and Fisheries Output
(Billion yen)
Item 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Total ................................................. 10,082 10,333 10,327 10,319 10,826
Agriculture .................................... 8,246 8,525 8,467 8,364 8,798
Crops .......................................... 5,639 5,879 5,703 5,363 5,625
Rice ......................................... 1,850 2,029 1,781 1,434 1,499
Vegetables ............................... 2,134 2,190 2,253 2,242 2,392
Fruits and nuts ........................ 743 747 759 763 784
Livestock and its products .......... 2,551 2,588 2,709 2,945 3,118
Beef cattle ............................... 463 503 519 594 689
Dairy cattle .............................. 751 775 778 805 840
Pigs ......................................... 536 537 575 633 621
Chickens ................................. 753 724 784 853 905
Forestry ......................................... 417 392 425 451 436
Fisheries ........................................ 1,419 1,417 1,436 1,504 1,592
Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

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 AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES

Table 5.2
Agricultural Production
(Thousand tons)
Products 2000 2005 2010 2014 2015
Cereal grains
Rice ............................................ 9,490 9,074 8,483 8,439 7,989
Wheat ......................................... 688 875 571 852 1,004
Vegetables, potatoes and legumes
Potatoes ...................................... 2,898 2,752 2,290 2,456 2,406
Sweet potatoes ............................ 1,073 1,053 864 887 a) 814
Soybeans, dried .......................... 235 225 223 232 243
Cucumbers .................................. 767 675 588 549 550
Tomatoes .................................... 806 759 691 740 727
Cabbages .................................... 1,449 1,364 1,360 1,480 1,469
Chinese cabbages ....................... 1,036 924 889 914 895
Onions ........................................ 1,247 1,087 1,042 1,169 1,265
Lettuces ...................................... 537 552 538 578 568
Japanese radishes ....................... 1,876 1,627 1,496 1,452 1,434
Carrots ........................................ 682 615 596 633 633
Fruits
Mandarin oranges ....................... 1,143 1,132 786 875 778
Apples ........................................ 800 819 787 816 812
Grapes ........................................ 238 220 185 189 181
Japanese pears ............................ 393 362 259 271 247
Industrial crops
Crude tea .................................... a) 85 100 85 84 80
1)
Sugar beets .............................. 3,673 4,201 3,090 3,567 3,925
1), a) Figures are total of major producing prefectures.
Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Table 5.3
Production of Meat, Milk and Eggs
(Tons)
Products 2000 2005 2010 2014 2015
Pork ....................... 1,270,685 1,244,963 1,292,451 1,263,599 1,254,283
Beef ....................... 529,674 498,428 514,078 501,480 480,419
Veal ....................... 629 1,042 881 655 601
Horse meat ............ 7,215 7,129 5,880 5,379 5,113
Broilers .................. 1,551,101 1,702,001 1,835,091 1,946,449 …
Cow milk ............... 8,497,278 8,285,215 7,720,456 7,334,264 7,379,234
Eggs ....................... 2,540,075 2,481,000 2,515,323 2,501,921 2,520,873
Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

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 AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES

(2) Farmers and Farmland

In 2015, the number of farm households engaged in commercial farming
(which refers to households with cultivated land under management of 0.3
hectares and over, or with annual sales of agricultural products amounting
to 500,000 yen or more) was 1.33 million. Of these commercial farm
households, 33.3 percent were full-time farm households, 12.4 percent
were part-time farm households with farming income exceeding
non-farming income, and 54.3 percent were part-time farm households
with non-farming income exceeding farming income.
Of the commercial farm household members, 2.10 million people were
engaged in farming as their principal occupation (commercial farmers) in
2015, of whom 63.5 percent were aged 65 years and over.
In 2015, the total income per commercial farm household was 4.96 million
yen, up 8.7 percent from the previous year. Of that amount, 1.53 million
yen was from farming income, 1.47 million yen from non-farming income,
and 1.95 million yen from pension benefits and other sources.

Table 5.4
Commercial Farm Households and Commercial Farmers

Commercial farm households (1,000) Commercial farmers

Part-time Aged 65
Year Total years and
Full-time Mainly Mainly
(1,000) over
farming other job (%)
1995 2,651 428 498 1,725 4,140 43.5
2000 2,337 426 350 1,561 3,891 52.9
2005 1,963 443 308 1,212 3,353 58.2
2010 1,631 451 225 955 2,606 61.6
2015 1,330 443 165 722 2,097 63.5
Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Japan's cultivated acreage shrank year after year from 6.09 million
hectares in 1961 to 4.47 million hectares in 2016. In the one-year period of
2016, there were 4,530 hectares of new cultivation but also a
29,900-hectare decrease. The most common cause for the decrease was
degraded farmland, accounting for approximately 50 percent of all cases,

56
 AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES

followed by land-use conversion for residential and other land uses,

making up approximately 20 percent.

3. Forestry
Japan's forest land area is 25.08 million hectares (approximately 70
percent of the entire surface area of the country). Of this, natural forests
account for 54 percent while planted forests, most of which are conifer
plantations, make up 41 percent. Meanwhile, Japan's forest growing stock
is 4,901 million cubic meters, of which 3,042 million cubic meters are
from planted forests.
The growing stock of Japan's forest has increased, centering on planted
forests on deforested sites right after World War II and during the period of
rapid growth. Such forests are in a period of full-scale use as resources.
From the perspectives of effective use of forest resources, proper
development of preservation and multi-faceted functions of forests, and
promotion of forestry industry and of mountainous areas, the use of
domestic wood is being promoted through the use of timber in housing,
public buildings, etc., energy use as woody biomass, and through PR and
popularization activities to expand timber use.
Table 5.5
Forest Land Area and Forest Resources (2012)
National Non-national forest
Item Total
forest Municipal Private Others
Forest land area (1,000 ha) ............. 25,081 7,674 2,919 14,437 51
Forest growing stock (million m3) .. 4,901 1,152 558 3,184 7
Planted forest
Land area (1,000 ha) ................. 10,289 2,327 1,287 6,662 14
Growing stock (million m3) ...... 3,042 467 350 2,221 3
Natural forest
Land area (1,000 ha) ................. 13,429 4,717 1,495 7,186 30
3
Growing stock (million m ) ...... 1,858 684 207 963 4
Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Domestic wood supply (log conversion) totaled 21.8 million cubic meters
in 2015, which is equivalent to about 40 percent of the peak in 1967 (52.7

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 AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES

million cubic meters). In 2015, Japan's self-sufficiency rate for lumber was
30.8 percent. Currently, Japan depends mostly on imported lumber for
pulp, woodchip, and plywood materials.

Figure 5.1
Industrial Wood Supply and Self-Sufficiency Rate 1)

Million cubic meters %

140 100
Self-sufficiency rate Imported wood
(right scale) Domestic wood (left scale)
120
(left scale)
80

100

60
80

60
40

40

20
20

0 0
1960 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 00 05 10 15

1) The volume in log equivalent.

Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Although the number of workers engaged in forestry has declined due to a

slowdown in domestic lumber production activities, the pace of decline
has slackened in recent years. In 2015, there were 63,663 workers engaged
in forestry, approximately one out of five workers was aged 65 and over,
highlighting the aging of the labour force.

58
 AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES

4. Fisheries
(1) Fishery Production
In Japan, a country surrounded by the ocean, the fishing industry has been
developing since ancient times, and has contributed greatly to the lives of
the Japanese, not only in economic terms, but also in promoting a food
culture that is boasted to the world as Washoku. However, in recent years,
the consumption of seafood has decreased due to changes in the
environment surrounding food in Japan.
Japan's fishery output has been on the decline since 1989. Its 2016 fishery
production totaled 4.31 million tons. Of this, marine fishery and
aquaculture production amounted to 4.25 million tons.

Figure 5.2
Production by Type of Fishery

Million tons
14

12

10
Inland water
8 fisheries and
aquaculture

6
Marine
aquaculture
4
Coastal fisheries
2
Offshore fisheries
0 Pelagic fisheries
1985 90 95 00 05 10 111) 15 16

1) Excluding figures lost in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures because of the Great East
Japan Earthquake.
Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

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 AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES

Table 5.6
Production by Fishery Type and Species
(Thousand tons)
Fishery type and species 2000 2005 2010 2015 2016*
Total ......................................... 6,384 5,765 5,313 4,688 4,312
Marine fisheries ..................... 5,022 4,457 4,122 3,550 3,217
Tunas ................................... 286 239 208 190 166
Bonito .................................. 369 399 331 264 208
Sardine ................................ 150 28 70 340 375
Mackerels ............................ 346 620 492 557 489
Alaska pollack ..................... 300 194 251 180 134
Crabs ................................... 42 34 32 29 28
Squids ................................. 624 330 267 168 107
Marine aquaculture ................ 1,231 1,212 1,111 1,069 1,032
Yellowtails .......................... 137 160 139 140 141
Oysters ................................ 221 219 200 164 157
Laver ................................... 392 387 329 297 302
Wakame Sea weed .............. 67 63 52 49 48
Pearl (tons) .......................... 30 29 21 20 20
Inland water fisheries ............. 71 # 54 # 40 # 33 # 28
Salmons and trouts .............. 17 # 19 # 14 # 13 #8
Sweetfish ............................. 11 #7 #3 #2 #2
Shellfishes ........................... 20 # 14 # 14 # 13 # 12
Inland water aquaculture ........ 61 # 42 39 36 35
Eel ....................................... 24 19 21 20 19
Trouts .................................. 15 12 9 8 8
Common carp ...................... 11 4 4 3 3
Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

(2) Fishery Workers

The number of workers in the marine fishery industry (the workers who
engage in work at sea for 30 days or more yearly) has been decreasing
constantly. In 2016, there was a 4.0 percent decrease from the previous
year, bringing the count to 160,020 workers. In every age group, the
number of workers in the marine fishery industry decreased from the
previous year.

60
 AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES

Table 5.7
Enterprises and Workers Engaged in the Marine Fishery/
Aquaculture Industry
Enterprises Workers
Year Individual Corporate Self-
Total Total Hired
households entities employed
2000 145,930 137,690 8,240 260,200 … …
2005 126,020 118,930 7,090 222,170 … …
2010 103,740 98,300 5,440 202,880 128,270 74,610
2015 85,210 80,570 4,640 166,610 100,520 66,100
2016 81,880 77,370 4,500 160,020 95,740 64,280
Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

As the aging of fishing vessels progresses and the fishery workers aging
increases, fisheries have been gaining attention as a place for employment,
based on the diversification of values regarding work and life, and support
is also being provided for new fishery workers.

5. Self-Sufficiency in Food
Japan's food self-sufficiency rate in terms of calories, although there is a
downward trend over the long term, the ratio has been fluctuating at a level
of around 40 percent since fiscal 1997. Whereas the ratio was 53 percent in
fiscal 1980, the ratio was 39 percent in fiscal 2015. The major reason
behind the decrease in the food self-sufficiency rate is that despite a
decrease in the domestic production force caused by a decline in
agricultural workers, etc., westernization of the Japanese dietary life, and
decline in consumption of rice, of which self-sufficiency within Japan is
possible, consumption of livestock products and oils and fats, for which
overseas dependence for feed and raw materials is inevitable, increased.
In fiscal 2015, the self-sufficiency rate (on an item-specific weight basis)
was 100 percent for rice, 15 percent for wheat, nine percent for beans, 80
percent for vegetables, 40 percent for fruits, 54 percent for meats, and 59
percent for seafood. Although completely self-sufficient in rice, the staple
food of its people, Japan relied almost entirely on imports for the supply of
wheat and beans.

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 AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES

Table 5.8
Supply of Cereal Grains
Supplies for domestic
Area planted Production Yield per Imports
Fiscal year consumption
(1,000 ha) (1,000 t) hectare (t) (1,000 t)
(1,000 t)
Rice
1995 2,118 10,748 5.07 495 10,290
2000 1,770 9,490 5.36 879 9,790
2005 1,706 8,998 5.27 978 9,222
2010 1,628 8,554 5.25 831 9,018
2015* 1,506 8,429 5.60 834 8,600
Wheat
1995 151 444 2.93 5,750 6,355
2000 183 688 3.76 5,688 6,311
2005 214 875 4.10 5,292 6,213
2010 207 571 2.76 5,473 6,384
2015* 213 1004 4.71 5,660 6,581
Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Figure 5.3
5.2
Self-Sufficiency Rates for Selected Categories of Agricultural Produce
Wheat
Wheat Fruits
Fruits Meats
Meats
Milliontons
Million tons %
12
14 100
100
80
80
12 Supplies for Domestic
10 60
60
Production
Consumption (left scale)
(left scale) %
10 ProductionDomestic supply 40
40
(left scale)(left scale) Self-sufficiency
8 Self-sufficiency
rate (right scale) 20
20
rate (right scale)
8
00
6
20
20
6
40
40
4
4 60
60

2 80
80
2
100
100
0 120
120
FY1995
FY95
FY1990 00 05
FY95 0010 14
05 15
10 * FY1995
FY95
FY1990 00 05
FY95 0010 14
05 15
10 * FY1995
FY95
FY1990 00 05
FY95 0010 14
05 15
10*

Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

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 AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES

Japan's present food self-sufficiency rate is the lowest among major

industrialized countries, and Japan is thus the world's leading net importer
of agricultural products.

Figure 5.4
Trends in Food Self-Sufficiency Rates of Major Countries 1)
(In terms of calories)
%
300

250

200 Canada
▼

150 France U.S.A.

▼ ▼

100 Germany
Switzerland U.K.
▼
▼
50

Japan
0
1998 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11
1) Estimates.
Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

63
 “Statistical Handbook of Japan 2017” by Statistics Bureau, Japan

Chapter 6
Manufacturing and Construction
 MANUFACTURING AND CONSTRUCTION

1. Overview of the Manufacturing Sector

The proportion of added value produced in Japan's manufacturing sector to
its nominal GDP has been around 20 percent recently, and the sector has a
large ripple effect on other sectors.
In Japan, the September 2008 Lehman Brothers Bankruptcy led to a sharp
drop in worldwide demand for the mainstays of Japan's manufacturing
industries, namely, consumer durables such as automobiles and capital
goods such as machine tools. Additionally, in 2011, the Great East Japan
Earthquake, the historically high yen, and the slowing global economy
contributed to sluggish domestic production. Anxiety about industrial
hollowing out increased. Against such background, the Japanese
government announced an economic policy ("Abenomics") in January
2013, resulting in the Japanese economy shifting to a recovery. Afterwards,
in April 2014, there were impacts caused by a response to last-minute
demand associated with the increase in consumption tax. However, the
economy has continued a gradual upward momentum, and improvements
in earnings can also be seen in enterprises in the manufacturing industry.
In 2014, there were 202,410 establishments (with four or more persons
engaged) in the manufacturing sector. By industry, "food" had the most,
with 27,115 establishments (component ratio of 13.4 percent), followed by
"fabricated metal products" with 26,797 establishments (13.2 percent) and
"production machinery" with 19,083 establishments (9.4 percent).
There were 7.40 million persons engaged, and by industry, "food" had the
most, with 1.11 million persons engaged (component ratio of 15.0 percent),
followed by "transportation equipment" with 0.98 million persons engaged
(13.2 percent) and "fabricated metal products" with 0.58 million persons
engaged (7.8 percent).
The value of manufactured goods shipments was 305.1 trillion yen, and by
industry, "transportation equipment" had the most at 60.1 trillion yen
(component ratio of 19.7 percent), followed by "chemical and related
products" at 28.1 trillion yen (9.2 percent) and "food" at 25.9 trillion yen
(8.5 percent).

65
 MANUFACTURING AND CONSTRUCTION

Table 6.1
Establishments, Persons Engaged and Value of Manufactured Goods
Shipments of the Manufacturing Industry 1) (2014)
Value of manu-
Number of Number of
factured goods
Industries establish- persons shipments
ments engaged
(billion yen)
Manufacturing ........................................................ 202,410 7,403,269 305,140
Food ................................................................... 27,115 1,112,433 25,936
Beverages, tobacco and feed .............................. 4,128 99,451 9,597
Textile mill products .......................................... 13,430 268,135 3,822
Lumber and wood products 2) ............................ 5,547 91,497 2,520
Furniture and fixtures ......................................... 5,550 96,824 1,915
Pulp, paper and paper products .......................... 5,969 181,868 6,974
Printing and allied industries ............................. 11,664 268,880 5,416
Chemical and related products ........................... 4,669 343,416 28,123
Petroleum and coal products .............................. 931 24,830 18,659
Plastic products 3) ............................................... 12,936 405,938 11,533
Rubber products ................................................. 2,525 110,987 3,207
Leather tanning, leather products and fur skins ....... 1,394 22,380 348
Ceramic, stone and clay products ...................... 9,974 237,733 7,332
Iron and steel ...................................................... 4,222 214,988 19,202
Non-ferrous metals and products ....................... 2,594 138,587 9,422
Fabricated metal products .................................. 26,797 576,707 13,933
General-purpose machinery ............................... 7,141 308,841 10,103
Production machinery ........................................ 19,083 550,642 16,591
Business oriented machinery ............................. 4,159 204,404 7,034
Electronic parts, devices and electronic circuits....... 4,267 382,110 13,818
Electrical machinery, equipment and supplies ... 8,953 481,936 17,032
Information and communication electronics
equipment ......................................................... 1,501 151,851 8,628
Transportation equipment .................................. 10,415 980,505 60,063
Miscellaneous manufacturing products, n.e.c. ... 7,446 148,326 3,933
1) Establishments with four or more persons engaged. 2) Excluding furniture.
3) Excluding plastic furniture, plastic plate making for printing, etc., which are included in other
industrial classification.
Source: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

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 MANUFACTURING AND CONSTRUCTION

Based on the Indices on Mining and Manufacturing (2010 average=100),

the production index for 2016 was 97.7, down 0.1 percent from the
previous year, while shipments stood at 96.3, a decrease of 0.6 percent
from the year before.
Table 6.2
Indices on Mining and Manufacturing (2016)
(2010 average=100)
1) 2) 3)
Production Shipments Inventory Inventory Ratio

Industries Annual Annual Annual Annual

growth growth growth growth
(%) (%) (%) (%)
Mining and manufacturing .. 97.7 -0.1 96.3 -0.6 106.4 -5.3 114.2 0.0
Manufacturing ........................ 97.7 -0.1 96.3 -0.6 106.4 -5.3 114.2 0.0
Foods and tobacco ................ 96.6 0.1 94.8 -0.5 95.8 17.1 100.3 13.7
Textiles ................................. 93.3 -2.2 92.7 -1.8 115.8 1.1 122.3 4.9
Pulp, paper and paper
products ............................... 98.3 0.6 96.8 0.5 102.0 -1.4 117.6 3.5
Chemicals ............................. 100.1 3.1 97.1 3.2 102.7 -6.4 116.2 -1.4
Petroleum and coal
products ............................... 91.4 0.3 93.1 -1.9 78.9 -9.8 89.4 -3.4
Plastic products .................... 98.6 1.5 96.6 1.4 106.4 -2.9 113.0 0.3
Ceramics, stone and clay
products ...............................
98.5 -0.7 99.3 -0.5 102.1 -5.4 112.1 0.4
Iron and steel ........................
92.4 -1.0 94.1 -0.5 119.9 3.7 126.5 9.0
Non-ferrous metals ............... 98.5 2.1 97.3 2.1 109.0 -8.0 115.8 -4.7
Fabricated metals .................. 92.8 -2.3 93.1 -2.4 109.6 -2.1 131.6 3.3
General-purpose machinery .. 99.5 -2.0 99.6 -1.8 112.6 -3.1 117.8 -4.5
Production machinery ........... 122.5 -1.2 124.1 -0.2 158.7 -14.3 122.8 3.5
Business oriented machinery 102.6 1.4 105.1 0.8 111.3 -13.0 127.5 -2.7
Electronic parts and devices ..... 96.4 -6.3 106.1 -8.8 82.1 -25.5 127.1 -5.7
Electrical machinery ............. 100.1 -0.9 95.6 -2.6 153.3 7.5 148.3 10.8
Information and communication
electronics equipment ................ 55.3 0.7 46.5 -4.5 73.1 -3.6 129.5 3.4
Transport equipment ............ 100.1 1.3 98.0 1.2 73.8 -18.4 82.7 -19.2
Other manufacturing ............ 93.0 -0.7 94.2 -0.7 96.9 0.0 100.1 -1.8
Mining .................................... 89.8 -0.7 87.6 -1.2 99.9 3.6 119.0 8.8

(Reference)
Electricity, gas, heat supply
and water ............................... 88.9 -1.9 90.8 -1.3 - - - -
1) Value added weights. 2) End of the year.
3) Inventory ratio = Inventory quantity / Shipments quantity
Source: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

67
 MANUFACTURING AND CONSTRUCTION

Figure 6.1
Trends in Indices on Mining and Manufacturing 1)
(2010 average=100)
160

140

Inventory 3)
Inventory ratio 4)
120 ▼

100
▲
▲ Production 2)
80 Shipments

60
Ⅰ Ⅱ Ⅲ Ⅳ Ⅰ Ⅱ Ⅲ Ⅳ Ⅰ Ⅱ Ⅲ Ⅳ Ⅰ Ⅱ Ⅲ Ⅳ Ⅰ Ⅱ Ⅲ Ⅳ Ⅰ Ⅱ Ⅲ Ⅳ Ⅰ Ⅱ Ⅲ Ⅳ
2010 11 12 13 14 15 16

1) Seasonal adjustment indices. 2) Value added weights. 3) End of the quarter.

4) Inventory ratio = Inventory quantity / Shipments quantity
Source: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

2. Principal Industries in the Manufacturing Sector

This section describes the major industries in the manufacturing sector. For
each industry, (a) is described by the "Census of Manufactures 2014 (with
four or more persons engaged)", and (b) is described by the "Indices on
Mining and Manufacturing" (2010 average=100).

(1) Machinery Industry

(A) Transport Equipment Industry

(a) In 2014, a total of 10,415 establishments, employed 980,505 persons,
and shipped 60.1 trillion yen worth of products.
(b) In 2016, production and shipments increased by 1.3 percent and 1.2
percent, respectively, from the previous year. Production increased for the
first time in two years, while shipments increased for the first time in four

68
 MANUFACTURING AND CONSTRUCTION

years. These increases were due to an increase in the production and

shipments of "passenger cars", "motor vehicle parts", etc.

(B) Electrical Machinery, Equipment and Supplies Industry

(a) In 2014, a total of 8,953 establishments, employed 481,936 persons,
and shipped 17.0 trillion yen worth of products.
(b) In 2016, production and shipments decreased by 0.9 percent and 2.6
percent, respectively, from the previous year, representing their second
consecutive year of decrease. These decreases (in both production and
shipments) were due to a decrease in "electrical rotating machinery",
"wiring devices and luminaries", etc.

(C) Production Machinery Industry

(a) In 2014, a total of 19,083 establishments, employed 550,642 persons,
and shipped 16.6 trillion yen worth of products.
(b) In 2016, production and shipments decreased by 1.2 percent and 0.2
percent, respectively, from the previous year, representing their first
decrease in two years. These decreases (in both production and shipments)
were due to a decrease in "engineering and construction machinery",
"metal cutting machinery", etc.

(D) Electronic Parts and Devices Industry

(a) In 2014, a total of 4,267 establishments, employed 382,110 persons,
and shipped 13.8 trillion yen worth of products.
(b) In 2016, production and shipments decreased by 6.3 percent and 8.8
percent, respectively, from the previous year, representing their first
decrease in four years. These decreases (in both production and shipments)
were due to a decrease in "electronic parts", "integrated circuits", etc.

69
 MANUFACTURING AND CONSTRUCTION

(E) Information and Communication Electronics Equipment Industry

(a) In 2014, a total of 1,501 establishments, employed 151,851 persons,
and shipped 8.6 trillion yen worth of products.
(b) In 2016, production increased by 0.7 percent and shipments decreased
by 4.5 percent from the previous year. This marked the first increase in
production in six years, and the sixth consecutive year of decrease in
shipments. The increase in production was due to an increase in
"household electronic machinery" and "electronic computers". The
decrease in shipments was due to a decrease in "household electronic
machinery", "electronic computers", etc.

(2) Chemical Industry

(a) In 2014, a total of 4,669 establishments, employed 343,416 persons,
and shipped 28.1 trillion yen worth of products.
(b) In 2016, production and shipments increased by 3.1 percent and 3.2
percent, respectively, from the previous year, representing their second
consecutive year of increase. The increase in production was due to an
increase in "cosmetics", "soap, synthetic detergent and surface-active
agents", etc. The increase in shipments was due to an increase in "plastic
materials", "cosmetics", etc.

(3) Iron and Steel Industry

(a) In 2014, a total of 4,222 establishments, employed 214,988 persons,
and shipped 19.2 trillion yen worth of products.
(b) In 2016, production and shipments decreased by 1.0 percent and 0.5
percent, respectively, from the previous year, representing their second
consecutive year of decrease. The decrease in production was due to a
decrease in "crude steel (incl. Semi-finished steel)", etc. The decrease in
shipments was due to a decrease in "hot rolled steel", etc.

70
 MANUFACTURING AND CONSTRUCTION

Table 6.3
Steel Production
(Thousand tons)
Products 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Pig iron ................................... 81,405 83,849 83,872 81,011 80,186
Ferro-alloys ............................ 908 938 923 937 885
Crude steel .............................. 107,232 110,595 110,666 105,134 104,775
Semi-finished steel ................. 104,571 107,991 107,856 102,858 102,574
Ordinary hot-rolled steel ........ 74,911 77,006 76,968 74,133 73,187
Special hot-rolled steel ........... 19,896 19,960 20,914 18,887 19,449
Source: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

(4) Fabricated Metal Products Industry

(a) In 2014, a total of 26,797 establishments, employed 576,707 persons,
and shipped 13.9 trillion yen worth of products.
(b) In 2016, production and shipments decreased by 2.3 percent and 2.4
percent, respectively, from the previous year. Production decreased for the
fourth consecutive year, while shipments decreased for the third
consecutive year. These decreases (for both production and shipments)
were due to a decrease in "metal products of building", "fabricated
structural metal products", etc.

3. Construction
The construction industry, accounting for about 10 percent of both GDP
and all employed persons, is one of the core industries in Japan.
Construction investments at current prices had been on a declining trend
after reaching a peak of 84 trillion yen in fiscal 1992, and fell to half of
this peak (42 trillion yen) in fiscal 2010, but turned upward in fiscal 2011.
Construction investments in fiscal 2015 amounted to 51.0 trillion yen at
current prices, down 0.6 percent compared to the previous fiscal year; they
totaled 46.6 trillion yen at constant fiscal 2005 prices, down 0.1 percent
from the previous fiscal year.

71
 MANUFACTURING AND CONSTRUCTION

A breakdown of construction investment shows that building construction

totaled 27.1 trillion yen (up 2.1 percent from the previous fiscal year),
while civil engineering works amounted to 23.8 trillion yen (down 3.5
percent).
In terms of public and private construction investment in fiscal 2015,
public investment amounted to 21.6 trillion yen (down 6.1 percent from
the previous fiscal year), while private investment totaled 29.4 trillion yen
(up 4.0 percent). Public investment accounted for 42.3 percent of total
construction investment, while private investment accounted for 57.7
percent.

Table 6.4
Construction Investment (Current prices)
(Billion yen)
Item FY2012 FY2013 FY2014* FY2015*
Total ................................................ 45,291 51,298 51,240 50,950
Building construction ................... 23,513 27,078 26,560 27,130
Dwellings .................................... 14,577 16,464 14,920 15,140
Public sector ............................. 483 675 800 700
Private sector ............................ 14,094 15,789 14,120 14,440
Non-dwellings ............................ 8,936 10,614 11,640 11,990
Public sector ............................. 1,695 2,195 2,330 1,990
Private sector ............................ 7,240 8,419 9,310 10,000
Mining and manufacturing ..... 1,249 1,344 … …
Others ..................................... 5,991 7,075 … …
Civil engineering works ................ 21,779 24,220 24,680 23,820
Public sector ............................... 17,539 19,691 19,830 18,860
Public works ............................. 14,966 17,069 17,190 16,160
Others ....................................... 2,574 2,622 2,640 2,700
Private sector .............................. 4,240 4,529 4,850 4,960
Total
Public investment ......................... 19,717 22,561 22,960 21,550
Private investment ........................ 25,574 28,738 28,280 29,400
Building construction
Public investment ......................... 2,178 2,870 3,130 2,690
Private investment ........................ 21,335 24,208 23,430 24,440
Civil engineering works
Public investment ......................... 17,539 19,691 19,830 18,860
Private investment ........................ 4,240 4,529 4,850 4,960
Source: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

72
 MANUFACTURING AND CONSTRUCTION

The 2016 total floor space of building construction starts was 132.96
million square meters, up 2.7 percent from the previous year. In particular,
the floor space of buildings for wholesale and retail trade use increased by
6.1 percent compared to the previous year, to 8.02 million square meters.
Meanwhile, the number of housing construction starts (in the case of
apartment buildings, the number of apartment units was counted) increased
for owned houses, rented and built-for-sale units alike, totaling 0.97
million housing units, up 6.4 percent from the previous year. This was an
increase for the second consecutive year.

Figure 6.2
Building Construction Started by Use Objective (2016)
%
0 20 40 60 80 100

Number of
buildings

Floor space

Construction Dwelling 1) Others

cost

Manufacturing Medical, healthcare

and welfare
Wholesale and retail trade

1) Including dormitories and dormitories-industry concurrent use.

Source: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

73
 “Statistical Handbook of Japan 2017” by Statistics Bureau, Japan

Chapter 7
Energy
 ENERGY

1. Supply and Demand

Japan is dependent on imports for 90.5 percent of its energy supply. Since
experiencing the two oil crises of the 1970s, Japan has taken measures to
promote energy conservation, introduce alternatives to petroleum such as
nuclear power, natural gas, coal, etc., and secure a stable supply of
petroleum through stockpiling and other measures. As a result, its
dependence on petroleum declined from 75.5 percent in fiscal 1973 to 43.5
percent in fiscal 2010. However, since the Great East Japan Earthquake,
the percentage of fossil fuels has been increasing, as a substitute for
nuclear power as fuel for power generation. The level of dependence on
petroleum, which had been on a declining trend in recent years, increased
to 47.2 percent in fiscal 2012. However, it is once again on a declining
trend as the switch to LNG power and renewable energy progresses.

In fiscal 2015, the total primary energy supply in Japan was 20,934
petajoules, down 0.9 percent from the previous fiscal year. Its breakdown
was: 44.7 percent in petroleum, 24.6 percent in coal, 22.3 percent in
natural gas, 3.4 percent in hydro power, and 0.4 percent in nuclear power.
Other sources were also used, though only in small quantities, including
energy from waste, geothermal, and natural energy (photovoltaic, wind
power, biomass energy, etc.).

Energy units

Joule (J) is employed as a common unit (International System of Units: SI)

for energy across all energy sources in presenting international statistical
information. The unit Petajoule (PJ: 1015 or quadrillion joules) is used here
to reduce the number of digits. The energy of one kiloliter of petroleum is
calculated using the following formulae:

1 kiloliter of petroleum = 3.87×1010 joules

1 petajoule = 1015 joules

Petroleum is traded internationally using the volume unit of barrels. One

barrel equals approximately 158.987 liters.

75
 ENERGY

The government has been working to construct a new energy

supply-demand structure oriented toward stable supply of energy and
lowering energy costs. In this process, energy-saving and renewable
energy that takes global warming into consideration has been introduced,
and aims are being made toward reducing dependency on nuclear power.

Figure 7.1
Total Primary Energy Supply 1)

Petajoules
30,000
Others 2)
Nuclear 3)
25,000
Hydro

20,000
Natural gas
15,000
Coal

10,000

Petroleum
5,000

0
FY1965 70 75 80 85 90 95 00 05 10 15
1) A different statistical method was used for the figures for FY1989 and prior. 2) Photovoltaic,
wind power, geothermal energy, etc. 3) In fiscal 2014, the domestic suppy of nuclear energy was
zero due to the suspended operation of all nuclear power plants in Japan.
Source: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

76
 ENERGY

Table 7.1
Trends in Total Primary Energy Supply and Percentage
by Energy Source
(Petajoules)
Item FY2000 FY2005 FY2010 FY2014 FY2015
Total primary energy supply ..... 23,622 23,755 # 23,200 21,119 20,934
1)
Energy self-sufficiency (%) .. 19.6 18.3 # 19.4 8.8 9.5
Petroleum ................................. 12,008 11,634 10,088 9,436 9,358
Coal .......................................... 4,286 4,829 4,997 5,088 5,156
Natural gas ............................... 3,061 3,288 4,002 4,963 4,662
Hydro ....................................... 778 668 703 687 710
Nuclear .................................... 2,873 2,662 2,465 a) 0 79
Others 2) ................................... 616 674 # 944 944 970
Percentage
Petroleum ................................. 50.8 49.0 43.5 44.7 44.7
Coal .......................................... 18.1 20.3 21.5 24.1 24.6
Natural gas ............................... 13.0 13.8 17.2 23.5 22.3
Hydro ....................................... 3.3 2.8 3.0 3.3 3.4
Nuclear .................................... 12.2 11.2 10.6 0.0 0.4
2)
Others ................................... 2.6 2.8 4.1 4.5 4.6
1) Domestic production of primary energy (including nuclear)/Domestic supply of primary
energy × 100 2) Photovoltaic, wind power, geothermal energy, etc.
a) In fiscal 2014, the domestic supply of nuclear energy was zero due to the suspended
operation of all nuclear power plants in Japan.
Source: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Figure 7.2
International Comparison of Energy/GDP Ratio 1) (2014)
(Japan = 1)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
U.K.
Italy
Japan
Germany
Australia
France
U.S.A.
Canada
Korea, Rep. of
China
India
Russia

1) Total primary energy supply (tons of oil equivalent)/GDP (thousand 2010 U.S. dollars).
Source: International Energy Agency.

77
 ENERGY

Total primary energy supply per GDP is lower in Japan than in other
industrialized countries. This indicates that Japan is one of the most
energy-efficient countries in the world.

Energy consumption in Japan increased from the 1970s to 1990s, during

which there were two oil shocks and a decrease in crude oil prices.
However, in the 2000s, as crude oil prices rose again, energy consumption
peaked in fiscal 2004, and then started decreasing. In fiscal 2014, real GDP
was lower than in fiscal 2013, which added to a decrease in final energy
consumption.

Figure 7.3
Trends in Final Energy Consumption and Real GDP 1)

1018J trillion yen, 2005 Japanese yen

18 600
Real GDP (right scale)

15 500

12 400

9 300

6 200

3 100

0 0
FY1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 14

1) A different statistical method was used for the figures for FY1989 and prior.
Source: Cabinet Office, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Final energy consumption in fiscal 2014 decreased 3.2 percent from the
previous fiscal year, and even by sector, it has decreased in the industry
sector, residential sector, and transportation sector.

78
 ENERGY

Figure 7.4
Trends in Final Energy Consumption by Sector 1)
1018J
18

15
Residential

12 Commercial Industry

9
Transportation

3 Industry

0
FY1965 70 75 80 85 90 95 00 05 10 14
1) A different statistical method was used for figures of FY1989 and prior.
Source: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Figure 7.5
Total Final Energy Consumption by Country (2014)
Petajoules Gigajoules
80,000 60,000 40,000 20,000 0 0 50 100 150 200 250 300

China
U.S.A
India Per capita
Total
Russia
Japan
Brazil
Germany
Canada
Source: United Nations.

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 ENERGY

2. Electric Power
Approximately half of Japan's primary energy supply of petroleum, coal
and other energy sources is converted into electric power.
Electricity output (including in-house power generation) in Japan totaled
1,024 billion kWh in fiscal 2015, down 2.8 percent from the previous
fiscal year. Of this total, thermal power accounted for 88.7 percent; hydro
power, 8.9 percent; nuclear power, 0.9 percent.

Table 7.2
Trends in Electricity Output and Power Consumption 1)
(Million kWh)
Item FY2000 FY2005 FY2010 FY2014 FY2015
Electricity Output
Total ................................................. 1,091,500 1,157,926 1,156,888 1,053,717 1,024,179
Thermal ............................................ 669,177 761,841 771,306 955,352 908,779
Hydro ............................................... 96,817 86,350 90,681 86,942 91,383
Nuclear ............................................. 322,050 304,755 288,230 - 9,437
2)
Others ........................................... 3,456 4,980 6,671 11,423 14,580
Percentage
Total ................................................. 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Thermal ............................................ 61.3 65.8 66.7 90.7 88.7
Hydro ............................................... 8.9 7.5 7.8 8.3 8.9
Nuclear ............................................. 29.5 26.3 24.9 - 0.9
Others 2) ........................................... 0.3 0.4 0.6 1.1 1.4
Power Consumption
Total ................................................. 982,066 1,043,800 1,056,441 969,430 955,235
Generated by electric power suppliers .. 858,078 918,265 931,059 855,353 841,542
Consumption of in-house generation .... 123,988 125,535 125,382 114,078 113,693
1) Including in-house generation. 2) Photovoltaic, wind power, geothermal energy, etc.
Source: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

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3. Gas
Gas production was 1,372 petajoules in fiscal 2015, down 0.7 percent from
the previous fiscal year. Of this total, natural gas plus liquefied natural gas
(LNG) accounted for 96.5 percent; and the remaining 3.5 percent was
made up of petroleum gases, such as volatile oil and liquefied petroleum
gas. Gas purchases for fiscal 2015 totaled 238 petajoules.
Gas sales for fiscal 2015 totaled 1,526 petajoules, or a year-on-year drop
of 1.7 percent. Of this total, 55.2 percent was sold to industry, 25.3 percent
to residential use, and 11.6 percent to the commercial sector.

Table 7.3
Trends in Production and Purchases, and Sales of Gas 1)
(Petajoules)
Item FY2005 FY2010 FY2014 FY2015
Production and purchases 1,394 1,547 1,634 1,610
Production ......................... 1,235 (100.0) 1,288 (100.0) 1,382 (100.0) 1,372 (100.0)
Petroleum gases 2) ........... 67 (5.4) 46 (3.6) 58 (4.2) 48 (3.5)
Natural gas and LNG ...... 1,168 (94.6) 1,241 (96.4) 1,324 (95.8) 1,324 (96.5)
Others .............................. - (-) - (-) - (-) - (-)
Purchases .......................... 159 (100.0) 259 (100.0) 252 (100.0) 238 (100.0)
Coal gases ....................... 2 (1.3) - (-) - (-) - (-)
Petroleum gases 3) ........... 10 (6.4) 6 (2.4) 4 (1.5) 3 (1.1)
Natural gas and LNG 4) ... 147 (92.3) 253 (97.6) 248 (98.4) 236 (98.9)
Others .............................. 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0)
Sales ................................... 1,359 (100.0) 1,477 (100.0) 1,553 (100.0) 1,526 (100.0)
Residential ...................... 416 (30.6) 410 (27.7) 401 (25.8) 387 (25.3)
Commercial .................... 205 (15.1) 198 (13.4) 181 (11.6) 177 (11.6)
Industrial ......................... 619 (45.5) 738 (50.0) 848 (54.6) 842 (55.2)
5)
Others .......................... 120 (8.8) 131 (8.9) 123 (7.9) 120 (7.9)
1) Figures in parentheses indicate a percentage. 2) Benzine gas, liquefied petroleum gas,
other petroleum-based gas. 3) Vaporized liquefied petroleum gas, other petroleum-based
gas. 4) Natural gas, vaporized liquefied natural gas. 5) Public offices, schools, medical
Source: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

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 “Statistical Handbook of Japan 2017” by Statistics Bureau, Japan

Chapter 8
Science and Technology/
Information and Communication

©
 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY/INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION

1. Science and Technology

(1) Researchers and R&D Expenditures
Japan's expenses for the research and development (R&D) of science and
technology are at a top level among major countries, and support the
technology-based nation of Japan. Researchers in the fields of science and
technology (including social sciences and humanities) as of the end of
March 2016 totaled 847,100. The total R&D spending in fiscal 2015
amounted to 19 trillion yen, a decrease of 0.2 percent from the previous
fiscal year. Relative to GDP, R&D spending was 3.56 percent and dropped
for the first time in three years.

Table 8.1
Trends in Research and Development
Number of R&D Ratio of R&D
1) Fiscal GDP
Year Females expenditures expenditures to GDP
Researchers 2) (%)
year
(billion yen) (billion yen) (%)
2007 826,600 12.4 2006 18,463 529,255 3.49
2008 827,300 13.0 2007 18,944 531,013 3.57
2009 839,000 13.0 2008 18,800 509,398 3.69
2010 840,300 13.6 2009 17,246 492,075 3.50
2011 842,900 13.8 2010 17,110 499,195 3.43
2012 844,400 14.0 2011 17,379 493,853 3.52
2013 835,700 14.4 2012 17,325 494,674 3.50
2014 841,600 14.6 2013 18,134 507,401 3.57
2015 866,900 14.7 2014 18,971 517,867 3.66
2016 847,100 15.3 2015 18,939 532,191 3.56
1) As of the end of March. 2) Business enterprises, non-profit institutions and public
organizations: Prorated by the percentage of time that researchers are actually engaged in R&D
activities. Universities and colleges: headcount.
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

As of the end of March 2016, the number of researchers amounted to

486,200 persons in business enterprises, 38,800 persons in non-profit
institutions and public organizations, and 322,100 persons in universities
and colleges. In terms of R&D expenditures in fiscal 2015, business
enterprises spent 13.7 trillion yen (72.3 percent of total R&D expenditures),
non-profit institutions and public organizations spent 1.6 trillion yen (8.5
percent), and universities and colleges spent 3.6 trillion yen (19.2 percent).

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Universities and colleges spend more than 90 percent of their R&D

expenditure on natural sciences for basic research and applied research,
while business enterprises allocate over 70 percent for development
purposes.
Based on the Science and Technology Basic Law, which was promulgated
and enforced in 1995, the Japanese government has formulated a Basic
Plan since fiscal 1996, and has promoted science and technology policies.
Currently, the Fourth Science and Technology Basic Plan (fiscal 2011 to
fiscal 2015), which orients the recovery and reconstruction from the Great
East Japan Earthquake as one of its main pillars, is being promoted. Within
R&D spending in fiscal 2015, the amount of expenses used for the three
fields the government should address as priority issues set in the Fourth
Science and Technology Basic Plan consisted of 935 billion yen towards
"Promotion of Life Innovation", 585.1 billion yen towards "Promotion of
Green Innovation" and 82.3 billion yen towards "Recovery and
Reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake".
Approximately 90 percent of the 486,200 researchers at business
enterprises at the end of March 2016, or 428,700 persons, were in the
manufacturing industries; the largest number was in the information and
communication electronics equipment industry, followed by the motor
vehicles, parts and accessories industry, then by the business oriented
machinery industry.
In terms of R&D expenditures in fiscal 2015, of 13.7 trillion yen spent by
business enterprises, 11.9 trillion yen was spent by manufacturing
industries. The motor vehicles, parts and accessories industry spent the
most, followed by the information and communication electronics
equipment industry, then by the medicines industry.

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Figure 8.1
Researchers and Expenditures by Industry (Business enterprises)

Researchers (as of end-March 2016) Expenditures (FY2015)

① ②
16.1% 20.7%
Others Others
38.1 34.6
486,200 ② 13,686 ①
persons billion yen 11.3
15.2

③ ⑤ ⑦
⑥ ④ 9.8 6.0 ③
⑤ ④ 10.7
5.9 8.2
6.9 8.0 8.5

① Information and communication electronics equipment ② Motor vehicles, parts and accessories
③ Business oriented machinery ④ Electrical machinery, equipment and supplies ⑤ Chemical
products ⑥Electronic parts, devices and electronic circuits ⑦ Medicines
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

(2) Technology Balance of Payments (Technology Trade)

Technology trade is defined as the export or import of technology by
business enterprises with other countries, such as patents, expertise, and
technical guidance. In fiscal 2015, Japan earned 3949.8 billion yen from
technology exports, which was up 7.9 percent from the previous fiscal year.
This was the fourth consecutive increase. Of the total receipts, 74.7 percent
was from overseas parent/subsidiary companies. Meanwhile, payments
from technology imports stood at 602.6 billion yen, an increase of 17.5
percent compared with the previous fiscal year. It increased for the first
time in two years. Of this figure, 22.6 percent was for payments to
overseas parent/subsidiary companies.

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Table 8.2
Technology Trade by Business Enterprises 1)
Exports
Exports Imports
Fiscal value
year Value Annual increase Value Annual increase Imports
(billion yen) rate (%) (billion yen) rate (%) value
1990 339.4 3.0 371.9 12.7 0.91
1995 562.1 21.6 391.7 5.7 1.43
2000 1,057.9 10.1 443.3 8.0 2.39
2005 2,028.3 14.6 703.7 24.0 2.88
2010 2,436.6 20.9 530.1 -0.9 4.60
2014 3,660.3 7.8 513.0 -11.2 7.13
2015 3,949.8 7.9 602.6 17.5 6.55
1) The survey coverage was expanded in FY1996 and FY2001.
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

In fiscal 2015, Japan exported 3949.8 billion yen of technologies; major

export destinations were: the U.S.A. (1,597.9 billion yen, or 40.5 percent
of total exports), followed by China (476.5 billion yen), Thailand (327.3
billion yen), and the U.K. (234.1 billion yen). On the other hand, Japan
imported 602.6 billion yen of technologies, mainly from the U.S.A. (424.9
billion yen, or 70.5 percent of total imports), followed by the Netherlands
(27.4 billion yen), Germany (19.3 billion yen) and Switzerland (18.4
billion yen).

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Figure 8.2
Composition of Technology Trade by Major Country/Region
(FY2015)

Exports (receipts) Imports (payments)

Switzerland
3.1 Others
Others U.S.A. 18.7
Mexico 23.1
2.8 40.5% U.S.A.
Germany
3949.8 3.2 602.6 70.5%
billion yen billion yen
India 3.6
Indonesia Netherlands
3.7 China 4.5
8.3 12.1
U.K. 5.9

Thailand

Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

2. Patents
The total number of patent applications remained robust in and after 1998
as more than 400,000 applications were filed every year, but a gradual
drop has been seen since 2006. It fell significantly in 2009. In 2015, there
were 318,721 applications (down 2.2 percent from the previous year).

Table 8.3
Patents
(Cases)
Item 1995 2000 2005 2010 2014 2015
Applications ........................... 369,215 436,865 427,078 344,598 325,989 318,721
Registrations .......................... 109,100 125,880 122,944 222,693 227,142 189,358
Existing vested rights ............. 681,459 1,040,607 1,123,055 1,423,432 1,920,490 1,946,568
Source: Japan Patent Office.

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Table 8.4
PCT International Applications by Country of Origin

Change
Country 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 from 2014
(%)
Total .......................... 182,436 195,334 205,292 214,314 218,000 1.7
U.S.A. ................... 49,210 51,860 57,455 61,477 57,385 -6.7
Japan ..................... 38,864 43,523 43,771 42,381 44,235 4.4
China ..................... 16,398 18,620 21,515 25,548 29,846 16.8
Germany ................ 18,846 18,750 17,920 17,983 18,072 0.5
Korea, Rep. of ....... 10,357 11,787 12,381 13,117 14,626 11.5
France .................... 7,406 7,802 7,905 8,260 8,476 2.6
U.K. ....................... 4,875 4,917 4,847 5,269 5,313 0.8
Netherlands ........... 3,511 4,077 4,188 4,206 4,357 3.6
Switzerland ........... 4,045 4,222 4,372 4,100 4,280 4.4
Sweden .................. 3,476 3,600 3,946 3,913 3,858 -1.4
Source: World Intellectual Property Organization.

Over 150 countries, including Japan, have joined the international patent
system of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) as of
March 2017. In 2015, the number of international patent applications filed
under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) was 218,000, of which 44,235
were from Japan, accounting for 20.3 percent.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office ranked first among major
patent offices for applications filed by Japanese applicants in 2015, with
85,706 applications. The number of patent applications filed by Japanese
applicants at the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic
of China was 40,078.

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 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY/INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION

Figure 8.3
Changes in Patent Applications with Major Offices by Japanese
Applicants
100,000

90,000

80,000
USPTO
70,000

60,000

50,000

40,000 SIPO

30,000 EPO

20,000

10,000
KIPO
0
2005 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15

EPO: European Patent Office; KIPO: Korean Intellectual Property Office; SIPO: State
Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China; USPTO: United States Patent and
Trademark Office.
Source: Japan Patent Office.

3. Information and Communication

(1) Diffusion of the Internet
The population of Internet users, the commercial use of which began in
1993, continues to increase. Since the end of 2013, the number of people
who used the Internet over the past year as of the end of 2015 (individuals
who are 6 years of age and older; Internet connected equipment includes
any and all types of Internet connection devices, including PCs, cell
phones, PHS (personal handyphone systems), smartphones, tablets and
game consoles) exceeded 100 million people. According to the individual
Internet usage rate by age group, the usage rate exceeded 90 percent in the

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 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY/INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION

age group of 13 to 59 year olds, and there is also a trend of expansion of

usage by the age group of 60 to 79 year olds.

Figure 8.4
Trends in Internet Usage Rate by Age Group 1)
%
100
2005
2015
80

60

40

20

0
Total
Total 6-12 13-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-64 65-69 70-79 80 and
over
1) Ages 6 years and over.
Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

According to the status of Internet use by terminal by age group as of the

end of 2015, the usage rate of PCs was the highest (56.8 percent), followed
by smartphones (54.3 percent). Figures for the rate of Internet use by
terminal by age group show that over 70 percent of people in each age
group between 13 and 49 years use smartphones, surpassing usage of PCs.

Table 8.5
Status of Internet Use by Terminal by Age Group (2015)
%
Usage 6-12 60 and
Item 13-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59
rate years over
PCs .................................. 56.8 35.8 57.4 73.3 68.9 71.5 64.9 38.3
Mobile phones ................ 15.8 5.6 7.4 8.7 13.0 17.5 20.8 20.6
Smartphones ................... 54.3 32.8 78.3 91.3 84.6 73.6 54.8 15.9
Tablet Terminals ................ 18.3 27.6 23.5 20.4 23.5 24.5 20.1 8.1
Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

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 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY/INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION

As of the end of 2015, 16.2 percent of enterprises had introduced

teleworking. The most frequent teleworking pattern was mobile work, 60.3
percent, followed by working from home, 22.9 percent and working from a
satellite office, 15.8 percent.

(2) Progress of Communication Technologies

The number of broadband (connection) subscribers as of the end of March
2016 was 160 million. Among the number of broadband subscribers, those
with subscriptions for 3.9-4G mobile phones (LTE) were the highest,
amounting to 87 million subscriptions and accounting for 54.5 percent of
the total. Those with BWA (Broadband Wireless Access) service (access
service connecting to networks via broadband wireless access systems
using the 2.5GHz band [WiMAX, etc.]) was the second highest, with 35
million subscribers, making up 21.9 percent of the total.
Meanwhile, IP phone services (voice phone services that use Internet
Protocol technology across part or all of the communication network),
which use broadband circuits as access lines, entered full-scale use
between 2002 and 2003. As of the end of March 2016, the total number of
IP phone subscribers was 38 million.
Table 8.6
Subscribers to Telecommunications Services 1)
(Thousands)
Item 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2016
Public phones (NTT 2) only) ......... 801 736 442 283 184 171
Fixed phone services .................... 59,936 55,547 51,626 37,918 24,081 21,703
Mobile phone 3) ............................. 4,331 56,846 91,474 116,295 157,857 160,478
IP phone ........................................ - - 8,305 23,172 35,641 38,456
ISDN (Integrated Services
Digital Network) ............................ 344 6,683 7,981 5,421 3,652 3,374
DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) ...... - 0 13,676 9,735 3,753 3,204
Cable Internet ................................ - 216 2,961 5,314 6,430 6,732
FTTH (Fiber To The Home) ......... - - 2,890 17,802 26,607 27,868
BWA (Broadband Wireless Access) .. - - - 153 19,466 35,208
3.9-4G mobile phones (LTE) ............ - - - - 67,781 87,390
International phone calls,
sent and received ....................... 599,400 801,200 # 1,103,700 1,101,600 599,300 500,600
1) End of March. 2) Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation.
3) Cell phones and PHS (Personal Handyphone System).
Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

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 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY/INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION

In 2015, the number of fixed broadband subscribers in Japan was 39

million, the third-largest after China, 277 million and the U.S.A., 101
million.

Figure 8.5
International Comparison of Fixed Broadband Subscribers (2015)

Millions
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240 260 280

China

U.S.A.

Japan

Germany

Russia

France

Brazil

U.K.

Korea, Rep. of

India

Source: International Telecommunication Union.

(3) Telephones
The number of fixed phone service subscription contracts has continued to
decrease in recent years. As of the end of March 2016, the number of fixed
phone subscribers was 22 million (down 9.9 percent from the previous
year). Meanwhile, the number of mobile phone subscribers (cell phones
and personal handyphone systems) totaled 158 million at the end of March
2015, marking a rise by 1.7 percent year-on-year to 160 million at the end
of March 2016.

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Figure 8.6
Telephone Service Subscribers
Millions
180
160
140
Fixed phones
120 Mobile phones 1)
100
80
60
40
20
0
1999 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

1) Subscribers of cell phones and PHS (Personal Handyphone System).

Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

(4) Postal Service

As of the end of March 2017, Japan Post Co., Ltd. had 24,421 post offices
nationwide. In fiscal 2016, post offices handled 21.9 billion items of
domestic mail (including parcels), which was a 0.7 percent decrease from
the previous fiscal year. Furthermore, the total quantity of international
mail (letters, Express Mail Services [EMS], and parcels) sent in fiscal
2016 amounted to 46.5 million items, a decrease of 4.9 percent from the
previous fiscal year.

Table 8.7
Postal Services
(Millions)
Item FY1995 FY2000 FY2005 FY2010 FY2015 FY2016
Domestic
Letters .................... 24,262.9 26,114.4 22,666.1 19,757.9 17,981.0 17,684.0
Parcels .................... 400.2 310.5 2,075.0 2,968.4 4,052.4 4,195.3
International
Sent ........................ 122.8 106.0 77.5 54.2 48.9 46.5
1)
Letters ............. 119.9 104.3 76.1 52.8 44.1 42.3
Parcels ................ 2.9 1.7 1.5 1.4 4.8 4.1
1) Including Express Mail Services (EMS).
Source: Japan Post Co., Ltd.

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 “Statistical Handbook of Japan 2017” by Statistics Bureau, Japan

Chapter 9
Transport
 TRANSPORT

1. Domestic Transport

Various modes of domestic transport are used in Japan; almost all

passenger transport is by railway, while nearly all freight transport is by
motor vehicle and cargo ship.

Figure 9.1
Composition of Domestic Transport
Passengers Airlines
▼ Motor vehicles
FY Passenger
2005
15.0% Railways 69.5 14.8 ships 0.7

FY
12.1 72.4 14.9 0.5
2015

0 100 200 300 400 500 600

Billion passenger-km

Freight Railways

FY
Motor vehicles 58.6% Cargo ships 37.2 4.0 Airlines 0.2
2005

FY
2015
50.2 44.3 5.3 0.3

0 100 200 300 400 500 600

Billion ton-km
Source: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

(1) Domestic Passenger Transport

No major changes have been observed in recent years in the volume of

domestic passenger transport. Under these circumstances, a shift from
private automobiles to public transportation should be promoted as a
measure against global warming, along with promotion of the development
and distribution of environment-friendly vehicles and measures for traffic
flow improvement. Therefore, in addition to the promotion of
computerization, such as adoption of IC cards (multiple-use IC [integrated

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 TRANSPORT

circuit] cards) and increased convenience in public transportation through

the improvement of transfers, workplace "eco-commuting" measures have
been promoted.

In fiscal 2015, the number of domestic transport passengers was 30.51

billion (up 2.2 percent from the previous fiscal year). The total volume of
passenger transport was 590.28 billion passenger-kilometers (up 2.4
percent).

Table 9.1
Domestic Passenger Transport
Passengers carried Passenger kilometers
Item (thousands) (millions)
FY2014 FY2015 FY2014 FY2015
Total transport volume ......... 29,838,333 30,505,204 576,235 590,284
Railways ............................. 23,599,851 24,289,894 413,970 427,486
JR (Japan Railways) ......... 9,088,121 9,308,375 260,097 269,394
Other than JR ................... 14,511,730 14,981,519 153,873 158,092
Motor vehicles .................... 6,057,426 6,031,303 72,579 71,443
Buses (Commercial use) .. 4,500,163 4,565,210 65,649 64,936
Taxis and limousine hires 1,557,263 1,466,093 6,930 6,508
Airlines ............................... 95,197 96,063 86,763 88,216
Passenger ships .................. 85,859 87,944 2,923 3,139
Source: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

In fiscal 2015, the Japan Railways (JR) group reported 9.31 billion
passengers (up 2.4 percent from the previous fiscal year) and 269.39
billion passenger-kilometers (up 3.6 percent). Railways other than JR
reported 14.98 billion passengers (up 3.2 percent) and 158.09 billion
passenger-kilometers (up 2.7 percent).

To promote the use of buses, approaches to improve punctuality and speed

using bus lanes and to make buses more convenient, such as by
introducing a bus location system that provides locational information of
buses as well as an IC card system that enables smooth bus rides, are being
carried out. Commercial buses recorded an increase in passengers to 4.57
billion (up 1.4 percent from the previous fiscal year), but a decline in
passenger-kilometers to 64.94 billion (down 1.1 percent) in fiscal 2015.

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 TRANSPORT

In recent years, in order to beef up Japan's competitiveness in the global

arenas of business and tourism, development of aviation networks has
been carried out, such as through enhancements to the functions of the
metropolitan airports, promotion of entry of LCCs that could create new
demand for aviation through the expansion of domestic tourism, etc. Fiscal
2015 air transport records show that there were 96.06 million passengers
(up 0.9 percent from the previous fiscal year), and passenger-kilometers
amounted to 88.22 billion (up 1.7 percent).

In fiscal 2015, passenger ships reported 87.94 million passengers (up 2.4
percent from the previous fiscal year) and 3.14 billion
passenger-kilometers (up 7.4 percent).

(2) Domestic Freight Transport

In the area of domestic freight, a total of 4.70 billion metric tons (down 0.7
percent from the previous fiscal year) of freight was transported for a total
of 407.27 billion ton-kilometers (down 1.9 percent) in fiscal 2015. As for
transport tonnage volume in fiscal 2015, motor vehicle transport accounted
for more than 90 percent of the total.

Table 9.2
Domestic Freight Transport
Freight tonnage Ton kilometers
Item (thousands) (millions)
FY2014 FY2015 FY2014 FY2015
Total transport volume .......................... 4,729,581 4,698,710 415,207 407,272
Railways .............................................. 43,424 43,210 21,029 21,519
Motor vehicles ..................................... 4,315,836 4,289,000 210,008 204,316
Commercial use ................................ 2,934,361 2,916,827 181,160 175,981
Non-commercial use ......................... 1,381,475 1,372,174 28,848 28,335
Cargo ships .......................................... 369,302 365,486 183,120 180,381
1)
Airlines ............................................. 1,019 1,014 1,050 1,056
1) Including overweight baggage and postal mail.
Source: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

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 TRANSPORT

2. International Transport
(1) International Passenger Transport

The global economic downturns after September 2008, the spread of new
influenza in early 2009, and the influence of the Great East Japan
Earthquake decreased international air passenger transport with Japanese
airlines. In 2012, this trend reversed to an increase, and in 2015, Japanese
airlines transported 18.25 million passengers (up 11.6 percent from the
previous year) on international flights, and registered 82.11 billion
passenger-kilometers (up 11.5 percent). Both recorded their fourth
consecutive year of increase.

The number of Japanese overseas travelers in 2016 was 17.12 million (up
5.6 percent from the previous year). The number of foreign visitors to
Japan in 2016 was 24.04 million, representing an increase of 21.8 percent
from the previous year. The number of visitors was the highest ever since
statistics came to be recorded in 1964.

Figure 9.2
Japanese Overseas Travelers and Foreign Visitor Arrivals
Millions
26
24 Foreign visitors
Japanese travelers (Females)
22
20 Japanese travelers (Males)
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
2007 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Source: Ministry of Justice; Japan National Tourism Organization.

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 TRANSPORT

According to reports on arrivals by tourist offices in countries around the

world, the U.S.A., China and the Republic of Korea had many Japanese
visitors in 2015.

Table 9.3
Japanese Travelers
2013 2014 2015
Country or area
Number of Annual Number of Annual Number of Annual
of destination
arrivals change (%) arrivals change (%) arrivals change (%)
U.S.A. 1) 2) ............... 3,730,287 0.9 3,620,224 -3.0 3,758,297 3.8
3)
China .................... 2,877,533 -18.2 2,717,600 -5.6 2,497,700 -8.1
3)
Korea, Rep. of ..... 2,747,750 -21.9 2,280,434 -17.0 1,837,782 -19.4
4)
Taiwan ................. 1,381,142 -0.8 1,594,911 15.5 1,586,489 -0.5
2)
Thailand ............... 1,515,718 13.0 1,254,858 -17.2 1,349,388 7.5
Hong Kong SAR 2) .. 607,877 -21.5 636,432 4.7 632,959 -0.5
Germany 4) ............... 711,529 -3.1 670,804 -5.7 647,243 -3.5
2)
France ................... 660,841 -6.6 776,870 17.6 682,121 -12.2
1) Including territories and dependencies (Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, American
Samoa, Puerto Rico and United States Virgin Islands, etc.). 2) Arrivals of non-resident
tourists at national borders, by country of residence. 3) Arrivals of non-resident visitors at
national borders, by nationality. 4) Arrivals of non-resident tourists in all types of
accommodation establishments, by country of residence.
Source: Japan National Tourism Organization.

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 TRANSPORT

The number of foreign visitors to Japan in 2016 broken down by

country/region, the number of visitors from Asian countries was highest,
totaling 20.43 million (up 22.7 percent from the previous year). Among
Asian countries, the number of visitors from China was highest, amounting
to 6.37 million, a figure that accounted for 26.5 percent of the total number
of foreign visitors to Japan.

This increase is attributed to expanding aviation networks, an increase in

demand for visits to Japan by foreigners through continuous promotion of
tourism, visa alleviation measures for various Southeast Asian countries,
expansion of the consumption tax exemption program, etc.

Table 9.4
Foreign Visitors
2014 2015 2016*
Region, country or
Number of Percentage Number of Percentage Number of Percentage
area of origin
arrivals distribution arrivals distribution arrivals distribution
1)
Total arrivals ........ 13,413,467 100.0 19,737,409 100.0 24,039,053 100.0
Asia ........................10,819,211 80.7 16,645,843 84.3 20,428,224 85.0
China ................... 2,409,158 18.0 4,993,689 25.3 6,372,948 26.5
Korea, Rep. of ..... 2,755,313 20.5 4,002,095 20.3 5,090,302 21.2
Taiwan ................. 2,829,821 21.1 3,677,075 18.6 4,167,504 17.3
Hong Kong SAR . 925,975 6.9 1,524,292 7.7 1,839,189 7.7
Thailand ............... 657,570 4.9 796,731 4.0 901,458 3.7
Singapore ............. 227,962 1.7 308,783 1.6 361,804 1.5
Europe.................... 1,048,731 7.8 1,244,970 6.3 1,422,032 5.9
U.K. ..................... 220,060 1.6 258,488 1.3 292,457 1.2
Africa...................... 28,336 0.2 31,918 0.2 33,770 0.1
North America ....... 1,112,317 8.3 1,310,606 6.6 1,570,400 6.5
U.S.A. .................. 891,668 6.6 1,033,258 5.2 1,242,702 5.2
Canada ................. 182,865 1.4 231,390 1.2 273,211 1.1
South America ....... 56,873 0.4 74,198 0.4 77,985 0.3
Oceania................... 347,339 2.6 429,026 2.2 505,541 2.1
Australia .............. 302,656 2.3 376,075 1.9 445,237 1.9
1) Including stateless people, etc.
Source: Japan National Tourism Organization.

In 2016, of the total number of foreign visitors to Japan, tourists numbered

21.05 million people, or 87.6 percent of total foreign visitors. The highest
number of tourists came from China, with 5.53 million travelers, followed
by the Republic of Korea, with 4.59 million travelers.

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 TRANSPORT

(2) International Freight Transport

The volume of seaborne foreign transport in 2015 was 1,056 million tons,
up 2.0 percent over the previous year. Of this figure, total exports
increased by 4.1 percent to 61 million tons, and total imports increased by
1.8 percent to 545 million tons.

Table 9.5
Seaborne Foreign Transport
(Thousand tons)
Year Total Exports Imports Cross Transport
1995 703,606 38,761 529,929 134,916
2000 739,377 34,960 538,875 165,542
2005 777,869 45,404 529,239 203,225
2010 819,075 44,758 465,898 308,419
2014 1,035,239 58,431 535,244 441,563
2015* 1,056,144 60,802 544,702 450,639
Source: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

Air-shipped international freight in 2015 totaled 1.40 million tons in terms

of volume (up 0.9 percent from the previous year) and 7.95 billion tons in
terms of ton-kilometers (up 3.3 percent).

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 “Statistical Handbook of Japan 2017” by Statistics Bureau, Japan

Chapter 10
Commerce
 COMMERCE

1. Wholesale and Retail

The "2014 Economic Census for Business Frame" showed that 1.41
million wholesale and retail establishments were in operation in Japan. The
number of persons engaged at such establishments became 12.03 million.
Sales in the wholesale and retail industries amounted to 425.69 trillion yen,
accounting for 30.9 percent of the total of all industries.

(1) Wholesale Trade

The number of wholesale establishments was 382,000 in 2014. Observed

by size of operation in terms of persons engaged, establishments with less
than 20 persons accounted for 89.4 percent of the total. A total of 87.1
percent were corporations, while 12.8 percent were individual
proprietorships.

Table 10.1
Establishments and Persons Engaged in the Wholesale and Retail Sector (2014)
Item Total Wholesale Retail
Number of Establishments .............................................. 1,407,235 382,354 1,024,881
Size of operation (persons engaged)
1-4 persons ................................................................ 809,916 190,323 619,593
5-9 ............................................................................. 298,416 96,811 201,605
10-19 ......................................................................... 177,077 54,538 122,539
20-29 ......................................................................... 55,568 17,187 38,381
30-49 ......................................................................... 32,132 11,685 20,447
50-99 ......................................................................... 19,320 6,486 12,834
100 and over .............................................................. 9,141 3,366 5,775
Loaned or dispatched employees only ....................... 5,665 1,958 3,707
Persons engaged ............................................................... 12,031,345 4,009,494 8,021,851
Regular employees ......................................................... 10,152,342 3,485,161 6,667,181
Full-time employees ................................................. 5,340,113 2,806,083 2,534,030
1)
Other than full-time employees .............................. 4,812,229 679,078 4,133,151
Temporary employees .................................................... 413,291 77,218 336,073
Loaned or dispatched employees from
the separately operated establishments ...................... 322,235 128,786 193,449
Loaned or dispatched employees to
the separately operated establishments ...................... 117,395 87,583 29,812
1) Among regular employees, excludes workers generally referred to as "full-time employees" and
"regular members of staff" and includes those referred to as "contract employees", "non-regular
members of staff", "part-timers", and similar appellations.
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

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 COMMERCE

The number of persons engaged in wholesale was 4.01 million in 2014, of

which 756,000 were persons other than full-time employees (including
those who are referred to as "contract employees", "non-regular members
of staff", "part-timers", and similar appellations) and temporary employees,
making up 18.9 percent of the total.

(2) Retail Trade

The number of retail establishments in operation totaled 1.02 million in

2014. Observed by size of operation in terms of persons engaged,
establishments with less than 10 persons accounted for 80.1 percent of the
total. By type of legal organization, 59.5 percent of retail establishments
were corporations, while 40.3 percent were individual proprietorships. The
proportion of individual proprietorships was higher in the retail sector than
in the wholesale sector.

The number of persons engaged in retail was 8.02 million in 2014, of

which 4.47 million were persons other than full-time employees (including
those referred to as "contract employees", "non-regular members of staff",
"part-timers", and similar appellations) and temporary employees,
comprising 55.7 percent of the total.

2. Eating and Drinking Places

There were 620,000 eating and drinking places establishments in operation

and 4.23 million persons engaged at them in 2014.

Table 10.2
Eating and Drinking Places (2014)
Size of operation Establishments Persons engaged
(persons engaged) Number Ratio (%) Number Ratio (%)
Total ........................................................ 619,629 100.0 4,230,881 100.0
1-4 persons ......................................... 382,051 61.7 820,526 19.4
5-9 ....................................................... 119,600 19.3 777,767 18.4
10-19 ................................................... 69,025 11.1 938,339 22.2
20-29 ................................................... 27,491 4.4 649,378 15.3
30 and over ......................................... 20,813 3.4 1,044,871 24.7
Loaned or dispatched employees only .. 649 0.1 - -
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

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 “Statistical Handbook of Japan 2017” by Statistics Bureau, Japan

Chapter 11
Trade, International Balance of Payments, and
International Cooperation
 TRADE, INTERNATIONAL BALANCE OF PAYMENTS, AND
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

1. Trade
(1) Overview of Trade
In 2016, Japan's international trade on a customs clearance basis decreased,
together with exports and imports. Exports (in FOB value) amounted to
70.0 trillion yen, which was a 7.4 percent decrease as compared to the
previous year, and a decrease for the first time in four years. Imports (in
CIF value) amounted to 66.0 trillion yen, which was a 15.8 percent
decrease as compared to the previous year. It decreased for the second
consecutive year. Trade surplus totaled 4.0 trillion yen. This was for the
first time in six years.

Figure 11.1
Foreign Trade
Trillion yen
90

80
Exports
70

60
Imports
50

40

30

200
2003 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Source: Ministry of Finance.

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Table 11.1
Trends in Foreign Trade and Indices of Trade
Value (billion yen) Indices of trade (2010=100)
(Customs clearance basis) Exports Imports
Year Unit Unit
Exports Imports Value Quantum Value Quantum
Balance value value
(FOB) (CIF) index index 1) index index 1)
index index
2007 83,931 73,136 10,796 124.5 111.4 111.8 120.4 103.2 116.7
2008 81,018 78,955 2,063 120.2 109.7 109.6 129.9 102.5 126.7
2009 54,171 51,499 2,671 80.4 80.5 99.8 84.8 87.8 96.5
2010 67,400 60,765 6,635 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
2011 65,546 68,111 -2,565 97.3 96.2 101.1 112.1 102.6 109.3
2012 63,748 70,689 -6,941 94.6 91.6 103.3 116.3 105.0 110.8
2013 69,774 81,243 -11,468 103.5 90.2 114.8 133.7 105.3 127.0
2014 73,093 85,909 -12,816 108.4 90.7 119.6 141.4 106.0 133.4
2015 75,614 78,406 -2,792 112.2 89.8 125.0 129.0 103.0 125.3
2016 70,036 66,042 3,994 103.9 90.0 115.5 108.7 102.6 105.9
1) Quantum index = Value index / Unit value index × 100
Source: Ministry of Finance.

Japan's 2016 exports decreased by 7.6 percent from the previous year in
terms of unit value index (the first decrease in seven years), and increased
by 0.2 percent from the previous year in terms of quantum index (the first
increase in two years).
Japan's imports in 2016, unit value index and quantum index, decreased by
15.5 percent and 0.4 percent compared to the previous year; both indices
recorded a decrease for the second consecutive year.

(2) Trade by Commodity

Japan's exports in 2016 consisted of transport equipment, which accounted
for the largest portion of the total export value, 24.8 percent, followed by
general machinery and electrical machinery, making up 19.4 percent and
17.6 percent, respectively. Motor vehicles, which are in the transport
equipment category, constituted 16.2 percent of the total export value,
down 0.7 percent in quantity and down 5.9 percent in value from the
previous year. One characteristic of Japan's exports is the large proportion
of high value-added products manufactured with advanced technology,
such as motor vehicles, iron and steel, and integrated circuits.

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INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

The leading import item category was mineral fuels, which represented
18.2 percent of the total value imported, followed by electrical machinery
and chemicals, with 16.3 percent and 10.8 percent, respectively. Crude
petroleum and partially refined petroleum, in the mineral fuels category,
constituted 8.4 percent of the total import value, down 0.5 percent in
quantity and down 32.4 percent in value from the previous year.

Figure 11.2
Component Ratios of Foreign Trade by Commodity (2016)
Manufactured
goods 1) Transport
Foodstaffs equipment 4.7
Electrical General Raw
Mineral fuels machinery Chemicals machinery materials Others
▼ ▼ ▼
Imports
66.0 trillion yen
18.2% 16.3 10.8 9.6 9.6 9.2 6.1 15.4

Manufactured Mineral fuels 1.3

General machinery goods 1)
Electrical Raw materials 1.4 Foodstaffs 0.9
Transport equipment machinery Chemicals Others
▼ ▼ ▼ ▼
Exports
70.0 trillion yen
24.8% 19.4 17.6 11.2 10.2 13.3

0
0% 20 40 60 80 100 %
100%
1) Consisting of iron and steel products, non-ferrous metals, textile yarn and fabrics, etc.
Source: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

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Table 11.2
Value of Exports and Imports, by Principal Commodity
(Billion yen)
Annual
Item 2013 2014 2015 2016 growth
(%)

Exports, total ............................................ 69,774 73,093 75,614 70,036 -7.4

Foodstuffs ............................................... 436 482 599 607 1.4
Raw materials ......................................... 1,206 1,194 1,137 947 -16.7
Mineral fuels ........................................... 1,533 1,517 1,245 898 -27.9
Chemicals ............................................... 7,507 7,818 7,759 7,123 -8.2
Plastic materials ................................... 2,259 2,413 2,444 2,272 -7.1
Manufactured goods 1) ............................ 9,177 9,464 9,220 7,847 -14.9
Iron and steel products ......................... 3,793 3,958 3,668 2,843 -22.5
General machinery .................................. 13,359 14,218 14,424 13,613 -5.6
Power generating machinery ................ 2,520 2,540 2,591 2,416 -6.8
Electrical machinery ............................... 12,052 12,650 13,289 12,322 -7.3
Semiconductors and
other electronic parts ......................... 3,553 3,691 3,915 3,607 -7.8
Transport equipment ............................... 16,332 16,907 18,141 17,338 -4.4
Motor vehicles ...................................... 10,413 10,919 12,046 11,333 -5.9
Others ...................................................... 8,172 8,844 9,801 9,340 -4.7
Scientific and optical instruments ........ 2,223 2,436 2,376 2,046 -13.9

Imports, total ............................................ 81,243 85,909 78,406 66,042 -15.8

Foodstuffs ............................................... 6,473 6,732 7,002 6,363 -9.1
Raw materials ......................................... 5,358 5,590 4,853 4,012 -17.3
Mineral fuels ........................................... 27,444 27,692 18,218 12,052 -33.8
Petroleum, crude and partially refined . 14,245 13,873 8,185 5,532 -32.4
Chemicals ............................................... 6,464 6,864 7,748 7,111 -8.2
Medical and pharmaceutical products .. 2,138 2,214 2,924 2,780 -4.9
Manufactured goods 1) ............................. 6,245 6,994 7,039 6,068 -13.8
Non-ferrous metals ............................... 1,541 1,692 1,683 1,344 -20.1
General machinery .................................. 5,969 6,761 7,068 6,357 -10.1
Computers and units ............................. 1,928 2,122 1,973 1,724 -12.6
Electrical machinery ............................... 10,309 11,532 12,014 10,792 -10.2
Communication equipment................... 2,679 2,865 2,933 2,722 -7.2
Transport equipment ............................... 2,788 3,056 3,126 3,094 -1.0
Others ...................................................... 10,192 10,688 11,336 10,193 -10.1
Clothing and clothing accessories ........ 3,248 3,260 3,415 2,998 -12.2
1) Consisting of iron and steel products, non-ferrous metals, textile yarn and fabrics, etc.
Source: Ministry of Finance.

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 TRADE, INTERNATIONAL BALANCE OF PAYMENTS, AND
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Figure 11.3
Japan's Major Export and Import Commodities (2016)

Exports Imports
Motor vehicles Petroleum
(11,333 billion yen)
(12,046 (8,185
(5,532 billion yen)

Others Saudi Arabia

Others
Others 17.2
16.3
U.S.A Iran 6.4 35.3%
45.5 U.S.A 33.1%
43.6 38.9%
36.4%
Russia 6.5
U.A.E.
U.A.E.
25.4
26.1
Australia 6.0 Russia
Qatar 9.2
8.9
Canada 2.7 China 4.7
U.A.E. 4.1

Semiconductors Clothing
(3,915
(3,607 billion yen) (2,998 billion yen)
(3,415
China
Others
Others Others
27.8 25.4%
25.6% 19.5
21.5
26.9 Indonesia 3.4
3.3
China
China
66.9%
Viet Nam 11.5
10.3 63.6%
17.9
16.2
U.S.A 7.0 15.7
15.4
Taiwan
Korea, Rep. of 7.2
Hong Kong SAR

Motor
Iron and
vehicles,
steel parts and Semiconductors
Semiconductors
(2,843 billion(3,668
accessories yen) billion (2,515
(2,996billion
billionyen)
yen)
yen) China

16.3%
15.1% Korea, Rep. of
Others
Malaysia 4.5
5.0 16.5
15.7 Taiwan
Taiwan
Others 14.2 38.1%
35.8%
14.0
44.6
44.3 Korea, Rep. of 7.3
9.4
13.1 13.9 China
12.6 China
23.0
Thailand U.S.A. 20.5

Taiwan 5.4 U.S.A. 6.7

Source: Ministry of Finance.

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 TRADE, INTERNATIONAL BALANCE OF PAYMENTS, AND
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

(3) Trade by Country/Region

Japan has maintained a trade surplus with Asia and the U.S.A., while
having a continuous trade deficit with the Middle East and Oceania.

Table 11.3
Trends in Exports and Imports by Country/Region
(Billion yen)
1) Middle
Year Total Asia Korea,
China Taiwan U.S.A. EU 28 East
Oceania
Rep. of
Exports from Japan
2012 63,748 34,855 11,509 4,911 3,673 11,188 6,501 2,262 1,837
2013 69,774 37,867 12,625 5,512 4,061 12,928 # 7,000 2,478 2,029
2014 73,093 39,518 13,381 5,456 4,232 13,649 7,585 2,988 1,958
2015 75,614 40,329 13,223 5,327 4,473 15,225 7,985 3,167 2,099
2016 70,036 37,107 12,361 5,020 4,268 14,143 7,982 2,585 2,010
Imports to Japan
2012 70,689 31,306 15,039 3,234 1,921 6,082 6,642 13,542 4,901
2013 81,243 35,972 17,660 3,493 2,315 6,815 # 7,649 15,667 5,376
2014 85,909 38,618 19,176 3,531 2,568 7,543 8,169 15,826 5,706
2015 78,406 38,358 19,429 3,244 2,817 8,060 8,625 9,571 4,887
2016 66,042 33,199 17,019 2,722 2,495 7,322 8,152 6,501 3,843
1) EU member countries were 27 countries, before July 2013.
Source: Ministry of Finance.

(A) Trade with Asia

Japan's 2016 trade balance with Asia resulted in a 3.9 trillion yen in
surplus, an increase for the second consecutive year (up 98.4 percent from
the previous year). Exports (in FOB value) totaled 37.1 trillion yen (down
8.0 percent), a decrease for the first time in four years; this was mainly due
to the contributions for the decrease in manufactured goods and electrical
machinery. Imports (in CIF value) amounted to 33.2 trillion yen (down
13.5 percent), a decrease for the second consecutive year; this was mainly
attributed to the decrease in mineral fuels.
In 2016, Japan's trade with China amounted to 12.4 trillion yen in exports
and 17.0 trillion yen in imports. The percentage of the total amount of
Japan's imports and exports that is accounted for by imports and exports
between Japan and China is approximately 20 percent, signifying that
China is Japan's largest trading counterpart.

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 TRADE, INTERNATIONAL BALANCE OF PAYMENTS, AND
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

(B) Trade with U.S.A.

Japan's 2016 trade balance with the U.S.A. showed a surplus of 6.8 trillion
yen (down 4.8 percent from the previous year), a decrease for the first time
in two years. The U.S.A. has been the biggest export counterpart for Japan
for four consecutive years. Exports (in FOB value) totaled 14.1 trillion yen
(down 7.1 percent), declining for the first time in five years. This was due
mainly to the drops in general machinery and electrical machinery. Imports
(in CIF value) totaled 7.3 trillion yen (down 9.2 percent), declining for the
first time in seven years. This was due mainly to the drops in foodstuffs
and chemicals.

(C) Trade with EU

In 2016, Japan's exports (in FOB value) to the EU (28 countries) decreased
by 0.04 percent year-on-year, to 8.0 trillion yen. Commodities such as
general machinery and electrical machinery contributed to the drop in
exports. Imports (in CIF value) from the EU (28 countries) totaled 8.2
trillion yen, down 5.5 percent from the previous year. Commodities such
as chemicals and general machinery contributed to the drop in imports. As
a result, Japan's trade balance with the EU (28 countries) registered a
deficit of 170.0 billion yen.

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 TRADE, INTERNATIONAL BALANCE OF PAYMENTS, AND
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

Figure 11.4
Trends in Japan's Trade by Country/Region
Exports from Japan Imports to Japan
Trillion yen Trillion yen
20 20

18 18
U.S.A China
16 16

14 14

12 China 12

10 10
EU 1) U.S.A.
8 8

6 Korea, Rep. of 6 EU 1)

4 4 Korea, Rep. of

2 Taiwan 2
Taiwan
0 0
2007 09 11 13 15 16 2007 09 11 13 15 16

1) 25 countries: from May 2004 to Dec. 2006, 27 countries: from Jan. 2007 to June 2013, 28
countries: from July 2013 onward.
Source: Ministry of Finance.

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 TRADE, INTERNATIONAL BALANCE OF PAYMENTS, AND
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2. International Balance of Payments

Breaking down the current account in 2016, goods and services rose by 7.2
trillion yen from the previous year to 4.4 trillion yen. This trade surplus
was for the first time in six years. This was due to the trade balance turning
into a surplus, and the service balance shrinking by the degree of deficit.
As a result, the current account totaled 20.3 trillion yen, and its surplus
bulged for the second consecutive year.
Breaking down the financial account in 2016, there was a decrease in net
assets for direct investment as compared to the previous year. However,
since there was an increase in net assets for portfolio investment as
compared to the previous year, the financial account amounted to 28.7
trillion yen.

Table 11.4
International Balance of Payments
(Billion yen)
Item 2013 2014 2015 2016
Current account .................................................. 4,456.6 3,921.5 16,235.1 20,342.1
Goods and services ....................................... -12,252.1 -13,498.8 -2,816.9 4,377.1
Goods ..................................................... -8,773.4 -10,465.3 -886.2 5,525.1
Exports ............................................. 67,829.0 74,074.7 75,274.2 68,979.7
Imports ............................................. 76,602.4 84,540.0 76,160.4 63,454.6
Services .................................................. -3,478.6 -3,033.5 -1,930.7 -1,148.0
Primary income ............................................ 17,697.8 19,414.8 21,018.9 18,101.1
Secondary income ........................................ -989.2 -1,994.5 -1,966.9 -2,136.1
Capital account ................................................... -743.6 -208.9 -271.4 -743.3
Financial account 1) ............................................ -408.7 6,278.2 21,592.0 28,698.5
Direct investment ......................................... 14,245.9 12,587.7 15,847.6 14,562.4
Portfolio investment ..................................... -26,565.2 -4,833.0 16,029.4 30,354.3
Financial derivatives (other than reserves) ... 5,551.6 3,764.4 2,143.9 -1,723.5
Other investment .......................................... 2,508.5 -6,130.6 -13,053.9 -13,916.6
Reserve assets ............................................... 3,850.4 889.8 625.1 -578.0
Net errors and omissions .................................... -4,121.7 2,565.6 5,628.3 9,099.7
1) Positive figures (+) show increase in net assets, negative figures (-) show decrease in net
assets.
Source: Ministry of Finance.

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Japan's external assets (the balance of overseas assets held by residents in

Japan) as of the end of 2016 amounted to 997.8 trillion yen, while its
external liabilities (assets held in Japan by nonresidents) were 648.7
trillion yen. As a result, Japan's net external assets (external assets minus
external liabilities) were 349.1 trillion yen.

Table 11.5
Trends in Japan's International Investment Position 1)
(Billion yen)
Item 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Assets .................................... 658,927 797,686 942,381 949,919 997,771
Liabilities .............................. 359,625 471,955 578,971 610,702 648,658
Net assets .............................. 299,302 325,732 363,409 339,217 349,112
1) End of year.
Source: Ministry of Finance.

Japan's foreign reserve assets remained at around 220 billion U.S. dollars
during the period from 1996 to 1998. Beginning in 1999, foreign reserve
assets increased continuously. At the end of 2012, however, they began to
decrease, falling to 1,268.1 billion U.S. dollars (down 2.1 percent
year-on-year). Moreover, at the end of 2016, they were amounted to
1,216.9 billion U.S. dollars (down 1.3 percent), marking a fifth
consecutive annual decrease.

Table 11.6
Reserve Assets
(Million U.S. dollars)

Reserve Other
Foreign 2)
End of year Total 1) position SDRs Gold reserve
currency 3)
in IMF assets
2012 1,268,125 1,193,077 13,697 19,911 40,939 501
2013 1,266,815 1,202,443 14,202 20,129 29,560 481
2014 1,260,548 1,199,651 11,993 18,895 29,504 505
2015 1,233,214 1,179,004 9,531 18,048 26,134 497
2016 1,216,903 1,157,790 12,019 18,087 28,516 491
1) Including securities in market value. 2) Market value. 3) Including Asian Bond Fund.
Source: Ministry of Finance.

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The yen was worth 83.19 yen to the U.S. dollar in May 1995. The trend
subsequently shifted to a progressively weaker yen, which eventually
reached 143.79 yen to the U.S. dollar in July 1998. After hovering between
the 100 and 140 yen ranges for the most part, the yen began appreciating
sharply in late 2008. From 2011 into 2012, the yen stayed between the
higher 70 yen range and the lower 80 yen range. In April 2013, the Bank
of Japan introduced quantitative and qualitative monetary easing to put an
end to deflation. Based on this, the exchange rate shifted towards yen
depreciation. Afterwards, after continuing to hold steady, there was a trend
towards somewhat of a yen appreciation. As of April 2017, the exchange
rate was 111.29 yen per U.S. dollar.

Figure 11.5
Yen Exchange Rate against the U.S. Dollar

Yen
70

80

90

100

110

120

130

140

150

160
1995 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Source: Bank of Japan.

3. International Cooperation
In Japan, there are diverse international cooperation donors: official
development assistance (ODA) by the government, direct investments and
export credits by private corporations, grants by private nonprofit agencies,
assistance activities by NGOs and volunteer citizen groups, etc. In addition,
there are various forms of assistance, including bilateral assistance and
assistance through multilateral institutions.

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Table 11.7
Net Flow of Development Cooperation 1)
(Million U.S. dollars)
Item 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Total value ............................................................... 61,828 48,977 58,459 40,718 37,909
Official flows ......................................................... 13,736 15,997 12,867 8,584 8,148
Official development assistance (ODA) .............. 10,831 10,605 11,582 9,483 9,203
Bilateral official development assistance 2) ....... 6,943 6,402 8,611 6,129 6,147
2)
Grants ........................................................... 8,567 6,759 9,836 5,197 4,991
2)
Grants-in-aid ............................................... 5,033 3,117 7,032 2,567 2,623
Technical cooperation .................................... 3,534 3,641 2,804 2,630 2,369
Loans, etc. ........................................................ -1,624 -356 -1,224 932 1,156
3)
Contributions to multilateral institutions ....... 3,888 4,202 2,970 3,355 3,055
Other official flows (OOF) .................................. 2,905 5,393 1,286 -899 -1,055
Official export credits (over one year) ............... -622 -623 -441 -56 -66
Direct investment finance, etc. .......................... 3,889 6,829 1,946 -843 -990
Concessional lending to multilateral institutions ..... -362 -813 -219 - -
Private flows (PF) .................................................. 47,594 32,494 45,133 31,667 29,262
Private export credits (over one year) .................. 1,853 -3,951 3,271 -736 2,694
Direct investment ................................................. 40,315 31,215 38,715 27,329 25,800
Bilateral investment in securities, etc. ................. 5,844 6,470 4,859 6,254 576
Concessional lending to multilateral institutions ....... -419 -1,241 -1,712 -1,180 193
Grants by private nonprofit agencies ..................... 497 487 458 467 498
ODA as percentage of GNI (%) ............................... 0.18 0.17 0.22 0.20 0.21
ODA as percentage of GNI (DAC average) (%) ..... 0.31 0.29 0.30 0.30 0.30
1) Net disbursement at current prices. Negative figures (-) indicate that loan repayments, etc.,
exceeded the disbursed amount. 2) Including bilateral grants through multilateral
institutions. 3) Expenditures clearly addressing a country at the point of disbursement are
considered as bilateral ODA.
Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ministry of Finance; OECD.

In the ODA framework, Japan's spending (on the basis of net disbursement
at current prices) in 2015 decreased by 3.0 percent over the previous year
to 9.2 billion U.S. dollars. Japan has contributed to the growth of
developing countries as the world's number-one ODA donor for ten
consecutive years up until 2000. Recently, Japan's ODA budget has been
declining because of the country's severe economic and financial situation.
In the 2015 comparison of the ODA provided by the member countries of
the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD, Japan was
the fourth-largest contributor behind the U.S.A., the U.K. and Germany.

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 TRADE, INTERNATIONAL BALANCE OF PAYMENTS, AND
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The ratio of Japan's ODA to Gross National Income (GNI) was 0.21
percent, or an increase of 0.01 percentage points compared with that of the
previous year.
Figure 11.6
Trends in ODA by Country 1)

Billion U.S. dollars

35

U.S.A
30

25

20
Germany
15 U.K.
France
Japan
10
Sweden

5
Norway
0
2002 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15

1) Net disbursement at current prices.

Source: OECD.

Of the 9.2 billion U.S. dollars in ODA provided by Japan in 2015, 6.1
billion was bilateral ODA (up 0.3 percent year-on-year), and 3.1 billion
was ODA contributed through multilateral institutions (down 8.9 percent).
Bilateral ODA provided in 2015 consisted of 2.6 billion U.S. dollars in
grants-in-aid, 2.4 billion in technical cooperation, and 1.2 billion in loans,
etc.
By region, bilateral ODA (net disbursement at current prices, including
assistance to graduated countries) was distributed as follows: Sub-Saharan
Africa, 1,789 million U.S. dollars; Asia, 1,626 million U.S. dollars; Middle
East and North Africa, 864 million U.S. dollars; Oceania, 112 million U.S.
dollars; Europe, 48 million U.S. dollars; and Latin America and the
Caribbean, -17 million U.S. dollars (the negative value indicates a larger
amount of repayment received in 2015 than the amount lent in the same
year).

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Table 11.8
Regional Distribution of Bilateral ODA 1)
(Million U.S. dollars)
Region 1990 2000 2010 2014 2015
Total .................................................. 6,940 9,640 7,428 6,085 6,116
Asia ................................................ 4,117 5,284 2,529 1,977 1,626
2)
ASEAN .................................... 2,299 # 3,126 902 807 570
Middle East and North Africa ....... 666 727 1,592 927 864
Sub-Saharan Africa ........................ 831 970 1,733 1,557 1,789
Latin America and the Caribbean .. 561 800 -344 30 -17
Oceania .......................................... 114 151 176 109 112
Europe ............................................ 158 118 181 132 48
Multiple regions, etc. ..................... 494 1,592 1,562 1,353 1,694
1) Net disbursement at current prices. Including assistance to graduated countries. Negative
figures (-) indicate that loan repayments, etc., exceeded the disbursed amount. 2) The data in
1990: 6 countries, the data from 2000: 10 countries.
Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Bilateral ODA in 2015 (including assistance to graduated countries) was

broken down by purpose (on a commitment basis) as follows: 52.9 percent
for improving economic infrastructure, followed in descending order by
social and administrative infrastructure (including education, water supply
and sanitation), with 18.1 percent.

Figure 11.7
Distribution of Bilateral ODA by Sector 1) (2015)

Others
12.9
Production Economic infrastructure
7.4
19.53
Multi-sector 8.9 billion
52.9%
U.S. dollars

18.1
Social and administrative
infrastructure

1) Commitment basis. Including assistance to graduated countries.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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In addition to the financial assistance described above, Japan has also been
active in the areas of human resources development and technology
transfer, both vital to the growth of a developing country, through its ODA
activities.

Table 11.9
Number of Persons Involved in Technical Cooperation by Type 1)
Type of cooperation FY2005 FY2010 FY2013 FY2014 FY2015
Total ............................................. 37,291 41,212 42,632 43,660 46,771
Trainees received ....................... 24,504 23,978 22,240 24,101 25,203
Dispatched
Experts ..................................... 3,488 8,296 10,359 9,889 11,134
Research team ......................... 6,862 7,046 8,615 8,056 8,914
Japan Overseas
Cooperation Volunteers ........ 1,804 1,459 1,081 1,267 1,198
Other volunteers ...................... 633 433 337 347 322
1) Numbers of persons newly received/dispatched in the aforementioned fiscal year.
Source: Japan International Cooperation Agency.

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 “Statistical Handbook of Japan 2017” by Statistics Bureau, Japan

Chapter 12
Labour
 LABOUR

Because of the effects of the Great East Japan Earthquake which occurred
in March 2011, the data on labour in 2011 (1. Labour Force - 3.
Unemployment) are supplementary estimated figures.

1. Labour Force
After the population in Japan aged 15 years and over peaked at 111.17
million people in 2011, it has been on falling trend. Since 2014, however,
this population has been increasing, and reached 111.11 million people in
2016.
The labour force (among the population aged 15 years and over, the total
of persons who are employed and persons who are unemployed) was
decreasing in the 2000s in association with aging of the population, but
shifted to an increase in 2013. The labour force numbered 66.73 million
people in Japan in 2016, up 480,000 (0.7 percent) for the fourth
consecutive year of increase.
The 2016 labour force participation rate (rate of the labour force to the
population aged 15 years and over) was 60.0 percent (up 0.4 percentage
points from the previous year). Observed by gender, the rate was 70.4
percent for men (up 0.1 percentage points) and 50.3 percent for women (up
0.7 percentage points).

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Table 12.1
Population by Labour Force Status
(Thousands)
Population Unemploy-
Labour force Not in labour
Year aged 15 years ment rate
force
and over Total Employed Unemployed (%)
Total
2000 108,360 67,660 64,460 3,200 40,570 4.7
2005 110,080 66,510 63,560 2,940 43,460 4.4
2010 111,110 66,320 62,980 3,340 44,730 5.1
2013 111,070 65,930 63,260 2,650 45,100 4.0
2014 111,090 66,090 63,710 2,360 44,940 3.6
2015 111,100 66,250 64,010 2,220 44,790 3.4
2016 111,110 66,730 64,650 2,080 44,320 3.1
Males
2000 52,530 40,140 38,170 1,960 12,330 4.9
2005 53,230 39,010 37,230 1,780 14,160 4.6
2010 53,650 38,500 36,430 2,070 15,130 5.4
2013 53,620 37,830 36,200 1,630 15,760 4.3
2014 53,630 37,760 36,350 1,420 15,830 3.7
2015 53,650 37,730 36,390 1,350 15,880 3.6
2016 53,660 37,810 36,550 1,260 15,820 3.3
Females
2000 55,830 27,530 26,290 1,230 28,240 4.5
2005 56,850 27,500 26,330 1,160 29,300 4.2
2010 57,460 27,830 26,560 1,280 29,600 4.6
2013 57,460 28,090 27,070 1,030 29,340 3.7
2014 57,460 28,320 27,370 960 29,110 3.4
2015 57,460 28,520 27,640 890 28,910 3.1
2016 57,450 28,920 28,100 820 28,500 2.8
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

The female labour force participation rate by age group shows an

M-shaped curve. This curve indicates that women leave the labour force
when they get married or give birth and then rejoin the labour force after
their child has grown and the burden of child-rearing is reduced. A
comparison with the data from twenty years ago (1996) shows that, in
2016, the 35-39 age group replaced the 30-34 age group to form the
bottom of the M-shaped curve. The participation rate rose by 18.4

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percentage points in the 30-34 age group and by 11.0 percentage points in
the 35-39 age group, resulting in the bottom of the M-shaped curve
becoming flatter and more gradual. Although this is thought to be greatly
affected by the progression of enhancement of the legal system with
respect to establishing both work and child-rearing, and development of a
work environment such as at companies, there are also effects from the
trend of getting married and having children later in life.
Figure 12.1
Labour Force Participation Rate by Gender
% %
100 100

Males Females
80 80

60 60

40 40
1996
2016
20 20

0 0
15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70
｜ ｜ ｜ ｜ ｜ ｜ ｜ ｜ ｜ ｜ ｜＋ ｜ ｜ ｜ ｜ ｜ ｜ ｜ ｜ ｜ ｜ ｜＋
19 24 29 34 39 44 49 54 59 64 69 19 24 29 34 39 44 49 54 59 64 69

Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

2. Employment
The number of employed persons continued to decline continuously since
1998, but began to rise in 2004 and continued rising for four years in a row.
Although a downward trend set in once again in 2008, the number of
employed persons increased again starting in 2013, which led to an
increase of 640,000 in 2016, from 64.01 million (57.6 percent of the
population aged 15 years and over) in the previous year to 64.65 million
(58.1 percent).

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(1) Employment by Industry

In 2016, the primary industry accounted for 3.5 percent of employment;
the secondary industry, 24.2 percent; and the tertiary industry, 72.3
percent.

Figure 12.2
Structure of Employment by Country
%
100

80

Tertiary
60 industry

40

20 Secondary
industry
Primary
0
industry
Japan U.K. U.S.A. Poland Turkey Viet Nam
(1980) (2000) (2016) (2016) (2016) (2016) (2016) (2014)

Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC; International Labour Organization; U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics

Over the long term, the percentage employed in the primary industry has
been continually falling, while the percentage employed in the tertiary
industry has been continually rising. The percentage employed in the
secondary industry has also been trending downward. By industry, the
number of persons employed in the primary industries of agriculture and
forestry has been on a downward trend.
Depending on the industrial sector, a difference was seen in the
employment tendency between men and women. In 2016, of male
employment was highest in "electricity, gas, heat supply and water" (86.7
percent), followed by "construction" (85.0 percent) and "transport and
postal activities" (80.5 percent). The percentage of female employment
was highest in "medical, health care and welfare" (74.9 percent), followed
by "accommodations, eating and drinking services" (61.6 percent) and
"living-related and personal services and amusement services" (59.6
percent).

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Table 12.2
Employment by Industry
(Thousands)
Percentage
Industries 2013 2014 2015 2016
Males Females
1)
Total ................................................. 63,260 63,710 64,010 64,650 56.5 43.5
Primary industry ............................ 2,340 2,310 2,290 2,230 62.3 37.7
Agriculture and forestry ................. 2,180 2,100 2,090 2,030 61.6 38.4
Fisheries ......................................... 160 210 200 200 70.0 30.0
Secondary industry ........................ 15,440 15,530 15,440 15,430 74.8 25.2
Mining and quarrying of stone
and gravel ................................. 30 30 30 30 66.7 33.3
Construction ................................... 5,000 5,070 5,020 4,950 85.0 15.0
Manufacturing ................................ 10,410 10,430 10,390 10,450 69.9 30.1
Tertiary industry ........................... 44,580 44,880 45,270 46,000 50.2 49.8
Electricity, gas, heat supply
and water .................................. 310 290 290 300 86.7 13.3
Information and communications .. 1,920 2,040 2,090 2,080 73.6 26.4
Transport and postal activities ....... 3,410 3,370 3,360 3,390 80.5 19.5
Wholesale and retail trade .............. 10,600 10,620 10,580 10,630 48.9 51.1
Finance and insurance .................... 1,650 1,550 1,540 1,630 46.0 54.0
Real estate and goods rental
and leasing ............................... 1,110 1,130 1,210 1,240 61.3 38.7
Scientific research, professional
and technical services .............. 2,070 2,120 2,150 2,210 66.1 33.9
Accommodations, eating
and drinking services .................. 3,850 3,860 3,840 3,910 38.4 61.6
Living-related and personal services
and amusement services .............. 2,420 2,380 2,300 2,340 40.4 59.6
Education, learning support ........... 3,000 3,010 3,040 3,080 43.2 56.8
Medical, health care and welfare ... 7,380 7,600 7,880 8,110 25.1 74.9
Compound services ........................ 550 570 590 620 62.3 37.7
Services, n.e.c. ............................... 4,020 3,990 4,090 4,150 60.7 39.3
Government 2)................................. 2,290 2,350 2,310 2,310 73.0 27.0
1) Including "Industries unable to classify". 2) Excluding elsewhere classified.
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

In the tertiary industry, which accounted for approximately 70 percent of

all industry, employment increased from the previous year by 230,000 and
90,000 in the "medical, health care and welfare" and "finance and
insurance" sectors, respectively. Meanwhile, employment in "information
and communications" decreased by 10,000.

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Figure 12.3
Distribution of Employment by Industry (2016)
%
0 20 40 60 80 100
Primary industry Industries unable to classify
Secondary industry Tertiary industry

Wholesale and
Manufacturing 16.4 Others
retail trade

Medical, health Education,

Agriculture, care and welfare
forestry and learning support
fisheries Construction Transport and
Mining, quarrying postal activities
Accommodations,
of stone and gravel eating and drinking services

Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

(2) Employment by Occupation

In terms of occupation, employment in the "agricultural, forestry and
fishery workers", "sales workers" and "manufacturing process workers"
categories has been declining in recent years. The number of "agricultural,
forestry and fishery workers" was 2.17 million in 2016, down 2.7 percent
from the previous year's 2.23 million. In contrast, "service workers" such
as home-care workers have been on a rising trend over the past few years
due to a trend toward a service-oriented economy, the aging population,
and improvements to welfare services. There is also a rising trend in the
number of "professional and engineering workers".

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Table 12.3
Employment by Occupation
(Thousands)
Percentage
Occupation 2013 2014 2015 2016
Males Females
1)
Total ..................................................... 63,260 63,710 64,010 64,650 56.5 43.5
Administrative and managerial workers ...... 1,430 1,420 1,450 1,470 87.1 12.9
Professional and engineering workers..... 10,070 10,280 10,590 10,850 53.1 46.9
Clerical workers....................................... 12,390 12,480 12,620 12,820 40.4 59.6
Sales workers .......................................... 8,620 8,570 8,560 8,550 55.9 44.1
Service workers....................................... 7,810 7,900 7,890 8,050 32.4 67.6
Security workers ..................................... 1,260 1,270 1,260 1,270 92.9 7.1
Agricultural, forestry and fishery workers ... 2,290 2,250 2,230 2,170 64.5 35.5
Manufacturing process workers .............. 9,020 9,040 8,870 8,800 71.0 29.0
Transport and machine operation workers ... 2,240 2,230 2,180 2,180 97.7 2.3
Construction and mining workers ........... 3,030 3,050 2,990 2,990 98.0 2.0
Carrying, cleaning, packaging,
and related workers............................ 4,280 4,330 4,470 4,580 55.3 44.7
1) Including figures not repoted.
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

In 2016, the percentages of male and female employed persons by

occupation show that men were particularly prominent among
"construction and mining workers" (98.0 percent) and "transport and
machine operation workers" (97.7 percent). Women were prominent
among "service workers" (67.6 percent) and "clerical workers" (59.6
percent).

(3) Employment by Employment Pattern

When looking at the trends in the number of employed persons by
employment pattern, regular staff members have been on a slight declining
trend since the early 2000s, but increased for the second consecutive year
in 2016. Recently, the number of non-regular staff members, such as
part-time workers and agency-dispatched workers, has also been
increasing continuously for the seventh consecutive year.
In 2016, there were 53.72 million employees (excluding company
executives), of whom 20.16 million, or 37.5 percent, were non-regular
staff members. The ratio of non-regular staff members among all male
employees was 22.1 percent, while the corresponding ratio for females was

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55.9 percent, revealing a large difference between the genders.

When looking at the percentage of non-regular staff members to the total
of regular and non-regular staff members by gender and age group, for
males, the percentages of young people aged 15 to 24 years, and the
elderly aged 65 or older were high. Among females, non-regular staff
members accounted for more than 50 percent across all age groups, with
the exception of females aged 25 to 34 years old.

Table 12.4
Employment by Employment Pattern (2016)
(Thousands)
1)
Employees Regular staff Percentage Non-regular staff Percentage
Total ............ 53,720 33,550 62.5 20,160 37.5
Males ........ 29,260 22,780 77.9 6,480 22.1
Females ..... 24,450 10,780 44.1 13,670 55.9
1) Excluding company executives.
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

Figure 12.4
Employment Pattern by Gender and Age (2016)

Males Females
% %
100 100
Regular
staff
80 80

60 60

40 40

Non-regular
20 staff
20

0 0
15 25 35 45 55 65 15 25 35 45 55 65
| | | | | + | | | | | +
24 34 44 54 64 24 34 44 54 64

Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

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When looking at the main reasons for the current employment patterns of
males and females who are non-regular staff members, for males, the
reason "For working at convenient times" was the most popular, on
average in 2016, with 1.48 million males (25.0 percent) choosing this
reason, representing an increase by 100,000 people as compared to the
previous year. The most popular reason among females was also "For
working at convenient times", with 3.66 million females (28.1 percent)
choosing this reason, representing an increase by 120,000 people.
The employment rate of new graduates had been worsening as a result of
the economic slowdown since 2008, but in recent years, their employment
situation has been improving continuously.

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3. Unemployment
In 2016 the unemployed numbered 2.08 million people, down 6.3 percent
from the previous year and representing a decline for the seventh
consecutive year. The unemployment rate was 3.1 percent, down 0.3
percentage points from the previous year.
After the ratio of job openings to job seekers peaked in 2006, it has been
on a falling trend in recent years. Since 2009, the ratio has been increasing.
The ratio of job openings to job seekers was 1.36 times in 2016, up 0.16
points from the previous year. The ratio of job openings to job seekers in
April 2017 was 1.48 times, exceeding the record high of 1.46 times during
the bubble economy in July 1990. Since hitting 1.53 times in February
1974, this marked the first time in 43 years and 2 months that a high level
was recorded for this ratio.

Figure 12.5
Unemployment Rate and Ratio of Job Openings to Job Seekers
% Times
6 1.6
Unemployment rate 1)
(left scale) 1.4
5 ▼
1.2
4
1.0

3 0.8

0.6
2
▲ 0.4
Ratio of job openings to job seekers
1
(right scale) 0.2

0 0.0
1986 88 90 92 94 96 98 00 02 04 06 08 10 12 14 16
1) The data for 2011 indicates supplementary estimated figure.
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC; Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

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 LABOUR

A breakdown by gender shows that the unemployment rate in 2016 was

3.3 percent among men, and 2.8 percent among women. The
unemployment rate has been higher among men for the nineteenth
consecutive year since 1998.
The unemployment rate was seen as notably higher in younger age groups
than in other age groups, in men and women alike.

Figure 12.6
Unemployment Rates by Gender and Age (2016)
%
0 2 4 6 8 10

Males
15-24
Females

25-34

35-44

45-54

55-64

65+

Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

Analyzing the total number of unemployed in 2016 (2.08 million people),

by reason for job-seeking, the major reasons were: (i) involuntarily
dismissed due to corporate or business circumstances, or reaching
retirement age limit, 0.58 million persons; (ii) voluntarily left a job for
personal or family reasons, 0.87 million persons; (iii) new job seekers due
to the necessity to earn income, 0.29 million; and (iv) new job seekers just
graduated from school, 0.08 million.
In terms of the duration of unemployment, most were unemployed for
"one year or more" (0.76 million persons), followed by "less than three
months" (0.68 million persons).

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Figure 12.7
Unemployment Rates by Country
%
14

12

France
U.S.A.
10
Germany

8
Canada
Italy

6
Japan 1)
U.K.
4

Korea, Rep. of
2

0
2007 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
1) The data for 2011 indicates supplementary estimated figure.
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC; Cabinet Office.

4. Hours of Work and Wages

In 2016, the monthly average of total hours worked was 143.7 per regular
employee (in establishments with five or more regular employees), down
0.6 percent from the previous year, and an annual average of 1,724 hours.
Of the total monthly hours worked, 132.9 were scheduled working hours,
representing a decrease of 0.5 percent from the previous year.
Non-scheduled work such as overtime work averaged 10.8 hours per
month, representing a decrease of 1.5 percent from the previous year.
Working days averaged 18.6 days per month in 2016.

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In 2016, the monthly average of total cash earnings per regular employee
(in establishments with five or more regular employees) was 315,590 yen.
This total amount includes 259,737 yen in "contractual cash earnings"
(which include "scheduled cash earnings" plus "non-scheduled cash
earnings" for working overtime, on holidays and late at night, as well as
other allowances), and 55,853 yen in "special cash earnings" (which
include summer and year-end bonuses, payments to celebrate employees'
marriages, etc.).

Table 12.5
Hours of Work and Wages 1) (Monthly average)
Hours of Work Wages (1,000 yen)
Days
Year Non- Non- Special 2)
worked Total Scheduled Total Contractual Scheduled
scheduled scheduled
2000 20.0 154.4 144.6 9.8 355 284 265 19 72
2005 19.5 150.2 139.8 10.4 335 273 253 19 62
2010 19.0 146.2 136.2 10.0 317 263 245 18 54
2014 18.8 145.1 134.1 11.0 317 261 241 20 56
2015 18.7 144.5 133.5 11.0 314 259 240 20 55
2016 18.6 143.7 132.9 10.8 316 260 240 19 56
Indices (2015 average = 100) 3)
2000 - 106.9 108.1 91.3 111.7 107.9 108.9 - -
2005 - 104.4 104.9 97.0 105.8 104.2 104.7 - -
2010 - 101.5 102.2 93.0 101.0 101.4 102.1 - -
2014 - 100.3 100.4 101.0 100.0 99.8 99.7 - -
2015 - 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 - -
2016 - 99.5 99.6 98.5 100.6 100.2 100.3 - -
1) Establishments with five or more regular employees. 2) Bonuses and other special
allowances. 3) Data was recalculated for sample adjustments.
Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

Generally, the average earnings (scheduled cash earnings) in Japan go up

with age until roughly the 40s to mid-50s are reached and then decline.
Into the 1990s, an increasing number of enterprises reviewed their salary
system, resulting in a more widespread introduction of a merit-based pay
system placing emphasis on performance. In recent years, many
companies have also adopted wage determination based on job
performance skills with consistency.

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 LABOUR

Figure 12.8
Monthly Contractual Cash Earnings by Size of Enterprise (2016)
Thousand yen Thousand yen
600 600
Males Females
500 500

400 400

300 300

200 200
1,000 and over
100-999
100 100
10-99 workers

0 0
15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70
｜ ｜ ｜ ｜ ｜ ｜ ｜ ｜ ｜ ｜ ｜ + ｜｜｜｜｜｜｜｜｜｜｜ +
19 24 29 34 39 44 49 54 59 64 69 19 24 29 34 39 44 49 54 59 64 69

Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

135
 “Statistical Handbook of Japan 2017” by Statistics Bureau, Japan

Chapter 13
Family Budgets and Prices
 FAMILY BUDGETS AND PRICES

1. Family Budgets
In 2015, there were approximately 53 million households in Japan, of
which about 65 percent are two-or-more-person households and about 35
percent are one-person households. Family budgets vary significantly
depending on the employment situation and ages of their members. In this
section, family budgets in various types of households are described on the
basis of the 2016 results of the Family Income and Expenditure Survey.

(1) Income and Expenditure

(A) Two-or-more-person Households

The 2016 average monthly consumption expenditures per
two-or-more-person household (the average number of household
members being 2.99 and the average age of the household head being 59.2
years) was 282,188 yen. Compared to the previous year, it decreased by
1.8 percent in nominal terms and decreased by 1.7 percent in real terms.
The share of food expenses to total consumption expenditures (Engel's
coefficient) was 25.8 percent.
When looking at the real annual change in consumption expenditures,
although the width of decrease shrank in 2016 as compared to 2015, there
was a decrease in real terms for the third consecutive year.

Figure 13.1
Average Monthly Consumption Expenditures
(Two-or-more-person households) (2016)
%
0 20 40 60 80 100

Consumption
Food Others
expenditures 7.5 13.8 10.0 7.4
25.8% 13.4
282,188 yen
Housing 5.9 Social expenses
Fuel, light & water charges Culture & recreation
Furniture & household utensils 3.7 Education 4.0
Transportation & communication
Clothing & footwear 3.9
Medical care 4.6
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

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 FAMILY BUDGETS AND PRICES

(a) Workers' Households

A workers' household means a household of which the head is employed
by a company, public office, school, factory, store, etc. The average
income of workers' households (the average number of household
members being 3.39 and the average age of the household head being 48.5
years) was 526,973 yen in 2016, of which about 80 percent came from the
household head's income.

Table 13.1
Average Monthly Income and Expenditures (Workers' households 1))
(Thousand yen)
Item 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Income (A) ..................................................... 518.5 523.6 519.8 525.7 527.0
Wages and salaries ....................................... 479.6 486.6 483.3 485.6 487.9
Others .......................................................... 38.9 37.0 36.5 40.1 39.0
Disposable income (A-C) .............................. 425.0 426.1 423.5 427.3 428.7
Expenditures .................................................. 407.4 416.6 415.0 413.8 407.9
Consumption expenditures (B) .................... 313.9 319.2 318.8 315.4 309.6
2)
Non-consumption expenditures (C) .......... 93.5 97.5 96.2 98.4 98.3
Surplus ((A-C)-B) .......................................... 111.1 107.0 104.8 111.9 119.1
Net increase in deposits and insurance .......... 77.8 74.3 77.1 84.4 91.3
3)
Average propensity to consume (%) ........... 73.9 74.9 75.3 73.8 72.2
Ratio of net increase in deposits and insurance (%) 4) . 18.3 17.4 18.2 19.8 21.3
Engel's coefficient (%) ................................... 22.1 22.1 22.3 23.6 24.2
Annual change (%) (real terms)
Disposable income ....................................... 1.1 -0.2 -3.8 -0.1 0.4
Consumption expenditures .......................... 1.6 1.2 -3.3 -2.1 -1.7
1) Two-or-more-person households. 2) Direct taxes, social insurance contributions, etc.
3) Ratio of consumption expenditures to disposable income. 4) Ratio of net increase in
deposits and insurance to disposable income.
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

Disposable income, calculated as income minus non-consumption

expenditures such as taxes and social insurance contributions, was 428,697
yen. Of this disposable income, 309,591 yen was used for living expenses
(consumption expenditures), such as food and housing expenses, while the
remainder (surplus), totaling 119,106 yen, was applied to savings, life
insurance premiums and repaying debt such as housing loans.

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 FAMILY BUDGETS AND PRICES

Figure 13.2
Balance of Income and Expenditures
(Monthly average, workers' households 1)) (2016)

Others
Other household
members 1.7 Household average
Persons per household: 3.39
Spouse of 7.4 Earners per household: 1.74
household heads
Age of head: 48.5 years old
12.5

Income Household heads

526,973 yen

78.5％
Carry-over from previous
month 67,183 yen
Saving deposits cashed &
Disposable income installment purchases, etc.

Receipts 428,697 yen 399,801 yen

993,957 yen

Non-consumption
expenditures 98,276 yen Surplus 119,106 yen

Disbursements
309,591 yen 526,962 yen
993,957 yen

▲ ▲ ▲
Consumption Savings & debts Carry-over to next
expenditures payments, etc. month 59,128 yen
Consumption
expenditures
309,591 yen
Others Food
19.8
24.2%

Culture & recreation 9.7

Housing 6.1

Education 6.3 15.8 Fuel, light & water charges 6.7

Furniture & household utensils 3.5
Clothing & footwear 4.2
Transportation
Medical care 3.6
& communication

1) Two-or-more-person households.
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

139
 FAMILY BUDGETS AND PRICES

A comparison of consumption expenditures by category showed that

spending on "housing" and "medical care" increased from the previous
year in real terms, while spending on "food", "clothing and footwear", etc.
decreased in real terms.

Figure 13.3
Annual Change in Household Income and Expenditures
(Workers' households 1))
% Income % Consumption expenditures
4 4
3 CPI 3 CPI
2 2
1 1
0 0
-1 Real terms -1 Real terms
Nominal terms Nominal terms
-2 -2
-3 -3
-4 -4
2012 13 14 15 16 2012 13 14CPI 15 16
1) Two-or-more-person households.
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

Family budgets differ among households according to their stages in life.

Observed by age group of the household head, the 2016 average monthly
disposable income of workers' households was the highest in households
in the 50s group (490,139 yen), followed by those in the 40s group
(457,970 yen) and the 30s group (414,527 yen).
The 2016 average propensity to consume (the ratio of consumption
expenditures to disposable income) was the lowest in households in the
under-30 group (64.6 percent). The figure was 65.4 percent for households
in the 30s group, 69.8 percent in the 40s group, 72.0 percent in the 50s
group, 89.6 percent in the 60s group, and 80.8 percent in the 70-and-over
group. The percentage tends to be higher as the age goes up, except for the
70-and-over group. Meanwhile, a net increase in financial assets (an
amount added to savings) was the highest in households in the 50s group,
followed by those in the 30s group.

140
 FAMILY BUDGETS AND PRICES

Figure 13.4
Average Monthly Family Income and Expenditures by Age Group
of Household Head (Workers' households 1)) (2016)
Thousand yen
600
Consumption
500 Disposable income expenditures
Net increase
in financial
400 assets

300

200

100

0
-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70 and over

1) Two-or-more-person households.
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

(b) Non-working Elderly Households

According to an analysis of the average monthly income and expenditures
of non-working elderly households (two-or-more-person households where
the age of the household head is 60 and over), the average income was
208,111 yen in 2016. Social security benefits amounted to 175,312 yen,
thus accounting for 84.2 percent of income.
Disposable income averaged 179,087 yen, while consumption
expenditures averaged 239,604 yen. The average propensity to consume in
non-working elderly households was 133.8 percent, which means
consumption expenditures exceeded disposable income. The deficit of
disposable income to consumption expenditures (60,517 yen) decreased
from that of the previous year (67,510 yen). This deficit was financed by
withdrawing financial assets such as deposits, etc.

141
 FAMILY BUDGETS AND PRICES

Figure 13.5
Average Monthly Income and Expenditures
(Non-working elderly households 1) ) (2016)
%
0%
0 20
20% 40%
40 60%
60 80%
80 100%
100

Income (208,111 yen)

Other Deficit
Income Social security benefits (60,517
income
yen)

Disposable income (179,087 yen)

Consumption expenditures (239,604 yen)

Food Others
Expenditures 10.8% 7.6 9.9 9.4 9.4
25.4 16.7
▲ ▲
Housing Social expenses
Non-consumption 5.3
expenditures Culture & recreation
Fuel, light & water charges
(29,024 yen) Transportation & communication
Medical care
1) Two-or-more-person households. 5.5
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

(B) One-person Households

The average monthly consumption expenditures of one-person households
in 2016 was 158,911 yen, down 0.7 percent in nominal terms and down 0.6
percent in real terms from the previous year. Compared on an age-group
basis to the previous year in real terms, the average monthly consumption
expenditures were down 10.4 percent for the under 35-year-old group, up
3.5 percent in the 35-59 age group, and up 0.5 percent in the 60-and-over
group. Spending on categories such as "fuel, light and water charges" and
"medical care" tended to be larger in older age groups. Meanwhile, older
age groups were found to spend increasingly less on categories such as
"housing".

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 FAMILY BUDGETS AND PRICES

Table 13.2
Average Monthly Consumption Expenditures by Age Group
(One-person households)(2016)
(Yen)
Average Under 35 years 35-59 60 and over
Item Actual ratio Actual ratio Actual ratio Actual ratio
figures (%) figures (%) figures (%) figures (%)
Consumption expenditures 158,911 100.0 150,625 100.0 183,106 100.0 149,552 100.0
Food ................................ 39,808 25.1 39,580 26.3 45,620 24.9 36,982 24.7
Housing .......................... 20,169 12.7 30,737 20.4 27,412 15.0 13,092 8.8
Fuel, light and water
charges .......................... 11,028 6.9 7,015 4.7 10,567 5.8 12,577 8.4
Furniture and household
utensils .......................... 5,343 3.4 3,568 2.4 6,435 3.5 5,384 3.6
Clothing and footwear .... 5,554 3.5 7,604 5.0 6,268 3.4 4,522 3.0
Medical care ................... 6,720 4.2 3,771 2.5 6,064 3.3 8,016 5.4
Transportation and
communication ............. 18,640 11.7 21,129 14.0 25,537 13.9 14,378 9.6
Culture and recreation .... 19,230 12.1 20,016 13.3 21,740 11.9 17,718 11.8
Others ............................. 32,406 20.4 17,205 11.4 33,464 18.3 36,862 24.6
Annual change (real terms) (%)
Consumption expenditures -0.6 -10.4 3.5 0.5
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

(2) Savings and Debts

Two-or-more-person households in 2016 showed that the average amount
of savings per workers' household was 12.99 million yen, resulting in a
ratio to yearly income (7.15 million yen) of 181.7 percent. The median
value of household savings (the value of household savings that is in the
middle when households are lined up in order from those with the lowest
amount of savings to those with the highest amount of savings) was 7.34
million yen. On the other hand, the average amount of debt per household
was 7.81 million yen, which was 109.2 percent relative to yearly income.
The median value of households holding liabilities was 13.13 million yen.
The portion of household debt accounted for by "housing and/or land"
averaged 7.16 million yen. A total of 41.8 percent of workers' households
held "debts for housing and/or land".

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 FAMILY BUDGETS AND PRICES

Table 13.3
Average Amount of Savings and Debts (Workers' households 1))
(Thousand yen)
Ratio of Ratio of Ratio of
Yearly savings to debts households
Year Savings Debts Housing
income yearly to yearly holding
income (%) and/or land income (%) debts (%)
2012 6,910 12,330 178.4 6,950 6,480 100.6 53.5
2013 7,080 12,440 175.7 7,400 6,870 104.5 54.0
2014 7,020 12,900 183.8 7,560 7,100 107.7 52.9
2015 7,090 13,090 184.6 7,550 6,980 106.5 53.8
2016 7,150 12,990 181.7 7,810 7,160 109.2 53.9
1) Two-or-more-person households.
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

By age group of household head, the average amount of savings was found
to be the highest in the 60s group, while debts were the highest in the 30s
group.

Table 13.4
Amount of Savings and Debts by Age Group of Household Head
(Workers' households 1)) (2016)
(Million yen)
70 and
Item Average -29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69
over
Yearly income ................................. 7.15 4.90 6.31 7.36 8.44 6.26 5.91
Savings ............................................ 12.99 3.07 6.13 10.40 16.96 21.18 19.87
Financial institutions .................... 12.41 3.03 5.92 9.75 15.90 20.86 19.82
Demand deposits ........................ 3.39 1.55 2.69 3.25 3.51 4.48 4.68
Time deposits ............................. 4.39 0.94 1.74 2.94 5.75 8.50 8.36
Life insurance, etc. ..................... 3.14 0.38 1.15 2.62 4.46 4.92 3.97
Securities .................................... 1.49 0.16 0.33 0.93 2.18 2.96 2.82
Non-financial institutions ............ 0.59 0.04 0.21 0.65 1.06 0.32 0.04
Debts ............................................... 7.81 4.99 12.33 10.43 5.75 1.91 0.80
Housing and/or land ..................... 7.16 4.56 11.79 9.72 4.85 1.55 0.54
Other than housing and/or land .... 0.45 0.26 0.33 0.53 0.65 0.18 0.11
Monthly and yearly installments .. 0.20 0.16 0.20 0.17 0.26 0.17 0.15
1) Two-or-more-person households.
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

144
 FAMILY BUDGETS AND PRICES

(3) Internet Shopping by Households

Due to popularization of computers, smartphones, etc., the use of Internet
shopping has been increasing in recent years. According to the Survey of
Household Economy, the percentage of two-or-more-person households
that utilize Internet shopping has continued to increase since 2002,
reaching 27.8 percent in 2016. Total expenditures used on Internet
shopping in one year amounted to an average of 102,420 yen per
household.

Figure 13.6
Proportion of Households Ordered over the Internet
(Two-or-more-person households)
%
30

25

20

15

10

0
2002 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

Looking at the breakdown of total expenditures per two-or-more-person

households spent on Internet shopping, "travel-related" were the highest at
21.9 percent, followed by "food" at 14.6 percent, "clothing and footwear"
at 10.6 percent, "home electronics and furniture" at 10.2 percent, and
"culture-related" (such as books and music software) at 9.7 percent.

145
 FAMILY BUDGETS AND PRICES

Figure 13.7
RatioFigure 13.7
of Expenditure on Goods and Services Ordered over the Internet
Ratio of Expenditure on Goods
(Two-or-more-person Households) and Services Ordered over the
(2016)
Internet(Two-or-more-person Households) (2016)

4)
Cosmetics
Others 1)
4.3%
14.8% Travel-related
21.9%
Insurance
4.5%
Annual
3) expenditure per
Medical care household
4.7% 102,420 yen Food
14.6%

Culture- 2)
Gift items
related Clothing &
4.7% Home
9.7% footwear
electronics
and Furniture 10.6%
10.2%

1) Total accommodation services, fares and package tours. 2) Total books and other reading
materials, software (music, video, personal computer, TV game), digital books, download music,
video, applications and tickets. 3) Total medicines and health foods. 4) Total private transportation,
other goods and services.
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

146
 FAMILY BUDGETS AND PRICES

(4) Electronic Money

Use of electronic money has been increasing, as a means for settling
accounts that can be easily used at transportation facilities, convenience
stores, supermarkets, etc. Based on all households in the Survey of
Household Economy, the percentage of households with members who
have electronic money and the percentage of households with members
who have used electronic money have been on an increasing trend starting
in 2008. In 2016, the percentage of households with electronic money was
48.7 percent, and the percentage of households that have used electronic
money was 40.4 percent, indicating increases as compared to the previous
year.

Figure 13.8
Trends in Ownership and Utilization of Electronic Money
(All households)
%
60
Proportion of households with members who
owned electronic money
50

40

30

20
Proportion of households with members
10 who used electronic money

0
2008 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

147
 FAMILY BUDGETS AND PRICES

2. Prices

Producer prices were on a downward trend starting in 1992, after the

collapse of the bubble economy, and then turned upward in 2004. Producer
prices are easily affected by changes in the price of imported raw materials
such as crude petroleum and iron ore, due to fluctuations in the conditions
of international commodity markets as well as in the exchange rate, and its
impact is significant in advances and declines from 2008 to 2009 around
the time of the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers. Starting in 2010, producer
prices have been fluctuating within a range of plus or minus 2 percent (as
compared to the same month of the previous year). Although they
continued to increase starting in the second quarter of 2013 due to a yen
depreciation, the index turned downward in the second quarter of 2015,
but showed an upward trend in the first quarter of 2017.
On the other hand, the width of the increase in consumer prices also shrank
starting in 1992. Although the width of the increase of this index expanded
temporarily when the consumption tax rate was raised from 3 percent to 5
percent in 1997, it subsequently went on a downward trend. Starting in the
fourth quarter of 2007, prices were once again on an upward trend due to
sharp increases in the price of imported raw materials, and in the third
quarter of 2008, the increase in prices exceeded 2 percent year-on-year.
Thereafter, consumer prices were affected by the fall in prices of imported
raw materials, and started to decrease in the first quarter of 2009. After that,
they shifted mainly downwards, but turned upward starting in the third
quarter of 2013 due to a weakening of the yen. Due to the increase in the
consumption tax from 5 percent to 8 percent in April 2014, the width of
increase expanded, but the rate of increase shrank due to the cycle of
effects of the tax increase and a drop in energy prices in the second quarter
of 2015. Although it became negative starting in the first quarter of 2016,
the width of increase turned positive starting in the fourth quarter of 2016.

148
 FAMILY BUDGETS AND PRICES

Figure 13.9
Price Trends (Percent change from previous year)
%
10
8
6 PPI (Producer Price Index)
4 ▼
2
0
-2 ▲
-4 CPI (Consumer Price Index)
-6
-8
-10
2005 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC; Bank of Japan.

(1) Consumer Price Index (CPI)

The all items index of consumer prices (with base year 2015 = 100) was
99.9 in 2016, down 0.1 percent from the previous year.

Table 13.5
CPI for Major Categories of Goods and Services
(CY2015=100)
Item Weight 2000 2005 2010 2014 2016
All items .................................................. 10000 99.1 96.9 96.5 99.2 99.9
All items, less imputed rent ................... 8501 98.6 95.9 95.6 99.0 99.9
Food ................................................... 2623 92.3 90.9 93.9 97.0 101.7
Housing .............................................. 2087 101.8 101.5 100.9 100.0 99.9
Fuel, light and water charges ............. 745 81.4 81.3 86.0 102.6 92.7
Furniture and household utensils ....... 348 138.8 118.1 105.8 98.5 99.6
Clothing and footwear ....................... 412 101.7 95.9 95.7 97.8 101.8
Medical care ....................................... 430 98.9 101.3 100.1 99.1 100.9
Transportation and communication ... 1476 99.4 98.1 96.5 102.0 98.0
Education ........................................... 316 100.9 105.0 97.8 98.4 101.6
Culture and recreation ........................ 989 119.3 109.1 101.1 98.1 101.0
Miscellaneous .................................... 574 86.9 88.5 91.1 99.0 100.7
Goods ..................................................... 4969 99.7 95.5 95.4 99.2 99.4
Services ................................................. 5031 98.4 98.3 97.6 99.2 100.3
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

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 FAMILY BUDGETS AND PRICES

According to the general index (all items, less imputed rent) in the regional
difference index of consumer prices, which compares the difference in
consumer price levels by prefecture, Tokyo had the highest score in 2016,
with a figure of 104.4 against the national average set at 100, followed by
Kanagawa, with 104.3. On the other hand, Gunma registered the lowest
score, with 95.9. The index for Tokyo was 8.9 percent higher than that of
Gunma.

Figure 13.10
Regional Difference Index of Consumer Prices by Selected Prefectures
(2016)
( Japan = 100)
90 95 100 105 110

Tokyo
Tokyo
Kanagawa
Kanagawa
Kyoto
Kyoto
Yamagata
Yamagata
Tokushima
Tokushima
Hokkaido
Hokkaido
Hiroshima
Hiroshima
Aichi
Aichi
Fukuoka
Fukuoka
Gumma
Gunma

Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

(2) Corporate Goods and Services Producer Price Indices

The corporate goods price index measures price changes of goods traded
in the corporate sector. It is comprised of the producer price index (price
index of domestically-produced and domestically-traded goods in the
corporate sector), the export price index, and the import price index.
In 2016, the producer price index (2015 as the base year = 100) was 96.5,
down 3.5 percent from the previous year.

150
 FAMILY BUDGETS AND PRICES

In 2016, the export price index decreased to 96.9 on a contract currency

basis (down 3.1 percent from the previous year), and to 90.6 on a yen basis
(down 9.4 percent from the previous year). Meanwhile, the import price
index fell to 90.2 on a contract currency basis (down 9.8 percent from the
previous year) and to 83.6 on a yen basis (down 16.4 percent from the
previous year).
The services producer price index measures price movements of services
traded between companies. In 2016, the services producer price index
(CY2010 as the base year = 100) was 103.0, up 0.3 percent from the
previous year.

Table 13.6
Corporate Goods and Services Producer Price Indices

Item Weight 2010 2013 2014 2015 2016

Corporate goods price index (CY2015=100)
Producer price index ..................................... 1000.0 97.4 99.2 102.4 100.0 96.5
Manufacturing industry products ................ 888.3 99.1 99.4 102.3 100.0 97.0
Export price index (yen basis) ...................... 1000.0 89.5 95.7 98.8 100.0 90.6
Import price index (yen basis) ...................... 1000.0 88.1 108.1 112.7 100.0 83.6
Services producer price index (CY2010=100)
All items ........................................................ 1000.0 100.0 99.0 101.6 102.7 103.0
Information and communications ............... 237.8 100.0 97.6 99.3 99.7 100.1
Transportation and postal activities............. 186.7 100.0 100.9 103.9 104.7 103.8
Real estate services ..................................... 72.1 100.0 93.5 95.5 96.3 97.5
Advertising services .................................... 63.4 100.0 102.3 105.0 105.7 107.0
Source: Bank of Japan.

151
 “Statistical Handbook of Japan 2017” by Statistics Bureau, Japan

Chapter 14
Environment and Life
 ENVIRONMENT AND LIFE

1. Environmental Issues
The list of environmental issues is wide-ranging, from waste management
to global warming. Japan is, while pursuing regional development at home,
taking the initiative in efforts to prevent global warming and conserve the
natural environment to help achieve sustainable growth of the entire world.
In fiscal 2015, Japan's total emission of greenhouse gases, which are a
major cause of global warming, amounted to 1.3 billion tons (calculated
after their conversion into carbon dioxide), representing a decrease of 2.9
percent from the previous fiscal year. Carbon dioxide accounted for 92.7
percent of these greenhouse gases, with an emission volume of 1.2 billion
tons. A breakdown of carbon dioxide emissions by sector revealed that
emissions from the industrial sector accounted for 33.5 percent of the total,
followed in order by emissions from the commercial sector (office
buildings, etc.), the transport sector, the residential sector, and the energy
sector (electric power plants, etc.).

Table 14.1
Breakdown of Carbon Dioxide Emissions 1)
(Million tons)
Item FY1990 FY2000 FY2005 FY2010 FY2014 FY2015
Total ........................................ 1,162 1,280 1,311 1,217 1,269 1,227
Industrial sector ................... 502 466 457 414 424 411
Commercial sector ............... 137 210 239 219 274 265
Transport sector ................... 206 255 240 222 217 213
Residential sector ................ 131 161 180 174 189 179
Energy sector ....................... 91 90 104 110 85 80
Industrial processes
and product use................ 65 59 56 46 47 46
Waste (incineration, etc.) ..... 24 33 32 29 29 29
Others .................................. 6 6 4 4 3 3
1) Volume of carbon dioxide after reallocation to the end-use sector.
Source: Ministry of the Environment.

153
 ENVIRONMENT AND LIFE

Figure 14.1
Sources of Carbon Dioxide Emissions 1) (FY2015)

Others

Energy sector
6.4
6.5 Industrial sector

33.5 %
Residential sector
14.6
1.23
billion tons of
CO2

17.4
21.6
Transport sector

Commercial sector

1) Volume of carbon dioxide after reallocation to the end-use sector.

Source: Ministry of the Environment.

The state of waste management in Japan had remained grave due to the
shrinking remaining capacity of final disposal sites and increased illegal
dumping. This led to the Basic Act on Establishing a Sound
Material-Cycle Society (brought into force in January 2001), which
defines basic principles for the creation of a sound material-cycle society.
This Act has established a legal framework to address issues such as waste
disposal and automobile and electrical appliance recycling. Another
ongoing effort is the promotion of the "3R" (reduce, reuse and recycle) in
waste management, including appropriate management of hazardous
materials and R&D on waste recycling technology.

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Of various types of waste generated as a result of business activities, 20 of

them, including sludge, waste oil, and soot and dust, are designated as
"industrial waste". The fiscal 2014 nationwide industrial waste generation
totaled 393 million tons. Sludge, animal waste and debris, which account
for approximately 80 percent of the total industrial waste, are now
increasingly recycled into construction materials, fertilizers, and other
materials. Thanks to this development, the volume of final disposal (to be
put into landfills) fell from 90 million tons in fiscal 1990 to 10 million tons
in fiscal 2014.
Meanwhile, a total of 44 million tons of "nonindustrial waste" (household
waste and also shop, office and restaurant waste) was generated in fiscal
2014. This translates to 947 grams per person per day. In terms of
nonindustrial waste disposal in fiscal 2014, the total volume processed was
42 million tons. The total volume of recycled waste was 9 million tons,
with the recycling rate at 20.6 percent.

Table 14.2
Waste Generation and Disposal
(Thousand tons)
Item FY1990 FY2000 FY2005 FY2010 FY2014
Industrial waste
Total volume of waste generation .............. 394,736 406,037 421,677 385,988 392,840
Recycling ................................................ 150,568 184,237 218,888 204,733 209,676
Treatment for waste reduction ................ 154,443 176,933 178,560 167,000 172,764
Final disposal .......................................... 89,725 44,868 24,229 14,255 10,399

Nonindustrial waste 1)
Total volume of waste generation .............. 50,257 54,834 52,720 45,359 44,317
Municipally scheduled and collected ...... 42,495 46,695 44,633 38,827 38,095
Directly brought to
waste treatment facilities .................... 6,776 5,373 5,090 3,803 3,718
Recyclable waste
collected by community ...................... 986 2,765 2,996 2,729 2,503
Waste generated
daily per person (in grams) ................... 1,120 1,185 1,131 976 947

Total volume of processed waste ............... 49,282 52,090 49,754 42,791 41,841
Direct incineration .................................. 36,192 40,304 38,486 33,799 33,470
Intermediate treatment for recycling, etc. ... 6,479 7,283 6,161 5,770
3,300
Direct recycling ....................................... 2,224 2,541 2,170 2,076
Direct final disposal ................................ 9,790 3,084 1,444 662 525
1) Due to the Great East Japan Earthquake, figures for FY2010 exclude those for
Minamisanriku Town, Miyagi Prefecture. Figures for FY 2014 exclude disaster waste.
Source: Ministry of the Environment.

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Figure 14.2
Recycling of Nonindustrial Waste 1)
Million tons %
15 25
Collection by community
Recycling by municipality (left scale)
12 20
Recycling rate (%) (right scale)

9 15

6 10

3 5

0 0
FY1990 92 94 96 98 00 02 04 06 08 10 12 14

Total volume of recycled waste

Recycling rate ＝ × 100
(%) Total volume of Volume of collection
+
processed waste by community

Total volume of ＝ Volume of recycling + Volume of collection

recycled waste by municipality by community

1) Due to the Great East Japan Earthquake, figures for FY2010 exclude those for Minamisanriku
Town, Miyagi Prefecture. Figures after FY2011 exclude disaster waste.
Source: Ministry of the Environment.

2. Housing
According to the "Housing and Land Survey" conducted in October 2013,
the total number of dwellings (in the case of apartment buildings, counting
the number of individual units) in Japan was 61 million, up by 3 million,
5.3 percent from 2008. The number of households was 52 million,
representing the excess in number of dwellings over households by 8
million.

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In 2013, the number of occupied dwellings (where people usually live)

amounted to 52 million, accounting for 85.9 percent of the total number of
dwellings. Of these, the number of dwellings used exclusively for living
totaled 51 million, accounting for 97.8 percent of the occupied dwellings.
Meanwhile, the number of vacant dwellings increased by 0.6 million, 8.3
percent from 2008, to 8 million. That vacancy rate represented 13.5
percent of the total number of dwellings, the highest-ever ratio.

Figure 14.3
Trends in Dwellings, Vacant Dwellings and Vacancy Rate

million %
70 15
Total number of dwellings 13.5
13.1
(left scale) 12.2
60 Number of vacant dwellings
11.5
Vacancy rate (right scale)

50 9.4 9.8
10
8.6
40 7.6

5.5
30

5
20 31.06 35.45 38.61 42.01 45.8 50.2 53.8 57.59 60.63

10

0 0
1973 1978 1983 1988 1993 1998 2003 2008 2013

Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

A breakdown of occupied dwellings by class of ownership showed that

owned houses totaled 32 million, accounting for 61.7 percent of the total,
which represented an increase of 0.6 percentage points from the figure of
61.1 percent in 2008. Rented houses, on the other hand, numbered 19
million, accounting for 35.5 percent of the total.

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Table 14.3
Housing Conditions
(Thousands)
Ownership
Total Occupied Dwellings
Total Floor space
Year number of dwellings exclusively
households Owned Rented per dwelling
dwellings 1) for living 2
(m )
1983 35,197 38,607 34,705 21,650 12,951 31,935 81.6
1988 37,812 42,007 37,413 22,948 14,015 34,701 85.0
1993 41,159 45,879 40,773 24,376 15,691 38,457 88.4
1998 44,360 50,246 43,922 26,468 16,730 41,744 89.6
2003 47,255 53,891 46,863 28,666 17,166 45,258 92.5
2008 49,973 57,586 49,598 30,316 17,770 48,281 92.4
2013 52,453 60,629 52,102 32,166 18,519 50,982 93.0
1) Including tenure of dwelling "Not reported".
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

Table 14.4
Occupied Dwellings by Type of Building
(Thousands)
Detached Tenement
Year Total Apartments Others
houses houses
1983 34,705 22,306 2,882 9,329 187
1988 37,413 23,311 2,490 11,409 203
1993 40,773 24,141 2,163 14,267 202
1998 43,922 25,269 1,828 16,601 224
2003 46,863 26,491 1,483 18,733 156
2008 49,598 27,450 1,330 20,684 134
2013 52,102 28,599 1,289 22,085 130
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

Occupied dwellings by building type showed that 29 million or 54.9

percent were detached houses, and 22 million or 42.4 percent were
apartments. The proportion of apartments has consistently increased in
recent years.
In terms of construction materials, 26 million or 92.2 percent of the
detached houses were wood-frame houses (including fire-resistant ones).
On the other hand, 16 million or 73.8 percent of the component apartments
were steel-framed concrete structures.

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A study of housing with accessibility equipment for the elderly and

physically challenged persons showed that the number of housing units
"with equipment for the elderly, etc." was 27 million, or 50.9 percent of all
housing, up 2.2 percentage points from 24 million, 48.7 percent in 2008.
Housing "equipped with handrails" accounted for 40.8 percent of all
housing, and housing with a "step-free interior" made up 21.4 percent.

Figure 14.4
Ratio of Housing with Universal Design Features
%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Equipment for the

elderly, etc.

Handrail-equipped

2008
Step-free interior
2013
Bath tub,
easy-to-step-in

Wheelchair-accessible
hallway

Street-to-door
wheelchair access

Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

3. Traffic Accidents
In 1970, the annual number of fatalities from traffic accidents hit a record
high of 16,765, leading to the enactment of the Traffic Safety Policies
Basic Act in the same year. Based on this Act, the government has since
promoted traffic safety measures in a comprehensive and systematic
manner. The number of traffic accident fatalities was 4,117 in 2015, and
although this represented an increase for the first time in 15 years. This
number in 2015 was still less than one-fourth the number in 1970.

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In 2015, traffic deaths per 100,000 population were 3.2 persons, while the
number of persons killed per 10,000 motor vehicles was 0.5 persons.

Table 14.5
Traffic Accidents and Casualties

Traffic Traffic
Year Injuries 1) per 10,000 per 100,000
accidents deaths motor vehicles population
1970 718,080 981,096 16,765 9.0 16.2
1980 476,677 598,719 8,760 2.2 7.5
1990 643,097 790,295 11,227 1.9 9.1
2000 931,950 1,155,707 9,073 1.2 7.1
2010 725,924 896,297 4,948 0.6 3.9
2014 573,842 711,374 4,113 0.5 3.2
2015 536,899 666,023 4,117 0.5 3.2
1) Death within 24 hours of the accident.
Source: National Police Agency.

4. Crime
In 2016, the reported number of penal code offenses (excluding cases
related to traffic accidents) was 1 million, a decrease of 102,849, or 9.4
percent compared to the previous year. The proportion of thefts was the
highest, accounting for 72.6 percent, or 723,148 cases (down 10.5 percent
from the previous year).
The number of persons arrested for penal code offenses was 226,376 in
2016, a decrease of 12,979, or 5.4 percent compared to the previous year,
marking a decline for the twelfth consecutive year.
The ratio of arrests to reported number of offenses marked a post-World
War II low, at 19.8 percent, in 2001. From 2002 to 2007, this ratio
increased, and levelled off afterwards. In 2016, it was 33.8 percent, an
increase of 1.3 point from the previous year.

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Table 14.6
Trends in Crime 1) (Penal code offenses)
Crime rate
Reported Resultant Persons Arrest rate 2)
Year per 100,000
offenses arrests arrested (%)
population

1980 1,357,461 811,189 392,113 59.8 1159.6

1985 1,607,697 1,032,879 432,250 64.2 1328.1
1990 1,636,628 692,593 293,264 42.3 1324.0
1995 1,782,944 753,174 293,252 42.2 1419.9
2000 2,443,470 576,771 309,649 23.6 1925.1
2005 2,269,293 649,503 386,955 28.6 1775.7
2010 1,604,019 497,356 322,620 31.0 1252.2
2015 1,098,969 357,484 239,355 32.5 864.6
2016 996,120 337,066 226,376 33.8 784.8
1) Excluding traffic offenses. 2) The ratio of arrests to reported number of offenses.
Source: National Police Agency.

Various kinds of computers and computer networks are currently playing

an essential role as a social foundation. In line with this, crimes utilizing
computer networks are becoming increasingly diversified. The number of
arrests for cybercrime (violation of the Unauthorized Computer Access Act,
offenses involving computers or electromagnetic records, offenses related
to unauthorized commands for electromagnetic records, offenses using
cyber networks) in 2016 was 8,324, up 2.8 percent from the previous year.
This represented about a nine-fold increase from the 913 cases registered
in 2000.
The police organization consists of the National Public Safety Commission
and the National Police Agency, both of which are state organizations, as
well as the Prefectural Public Safety Commission and prefectural police,
both of which are organizations under the authority of individual
prefectures. As of April 1, 2016, the prefectural police operated police
headquarters, police academies, 1,166 police stations, 6,248 police boxes
and 6,431 police substations in 47 prefectures.
Local police officers at their respective police boxes/substations are
engaged in standing guard over their communities, patrolling, and dealing
with criminal cases and accidents to prevent crime and catch criminals.

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Chapter 15
Social Security, Health Care, and Public Hygiene
 SOCIAL SECURITY, HEALTH CARE, AND PUBLIC HYGIENE

1. Social Security
In Japan, the birth rate has been falling, while the number of elderly people
has been growing. Meanwhile, its social security system is required to
address various changes in the socioeconomic environment.
In April 2000, a long-term care insurance system was launched. When the
system was first established, there were 2.18 million people certified as
needing care or needing support. This number grew by approximately
2.7-fold, to 5.86 million people as of April 2014, and the long-term care
insurance system has become anchored in society. Today, there are
approaches aimed at enhancing services for promoting integrated
community care systems (system where medical care, nursing care,
preventive care, and livelihood support are provided integrally in regions
where one is used to living), as well as realizing a local, inclusive society.
The number of monthly users of long-term care insurance services totaled,
on average, 5.03 million per month in fiscal 2014, and increased by
approximately 2.7-fold over 14 years in comparison to the approximately
1.84 million users in fiscal 2000, when the system was initiated. In
addition, the amount of nursing care costs in fiscal 2014 (including
allowances for high-cost long-term care service, for high-cost medical care
and long-term care service, and for long-term care service to a person
admitted to a specified facility), totaled 9.6 trillion yen.

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Table 15.1
Trends in Social Security Benefit Expenditures by Institutional Scheme
(Billion yen)
Item FY2000 FY2005 FY2010 FY2013 FY2014
Total ............................................................ 78,399 88,852 105,361 110,705 112,102
Medical insurance ................................... 14,797 16,417 19,059 20,004 20,344
Health and medical services for the aged ....... 10,447 10,754 11,718 13,135 13,429
Long-term care insurance ....................... 3,262 5,815 7,434 8,702 9,098
Pension benefits ...................................... 39,173 45,214 51,755 53,610 53,413
1)
Employment insurance ........................ 2,665 1,522 2,460 1,886 1,805
Workers' accident compensation insurance .... 1,054 990 952 938 936
2)
Family allowance ................................. 712 1,158 3,042 2,898 2,961
Public assistance ..................................... 1,939 2,594 3,330 3,629 3,681
Social welfare ......................................... 2,186 2,635 3,404 4,057 4,636
Public health ........................................... 555 548 1,388 1,242 1,281
Gratuities for retired public employees .. 1,420 1,059 702 498 438
Aid for war victims ................................. 188 146 116 106 81
1) Including unemployment benefits for Seamen's insurance. 2) Including income support
for single parent families and families with challenged children.
Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

In fiscal 2014, social security benefit expenditures totaled 112.1 trillion

yen (up 1.3 percent from the previous fiscal year), a figure which
amounted to 882,100 yen per person. The ratio of Japan's social security
benefit expenditures to national income registered 30.8 percent. Benefits
for the aged accounted for approximately 70 percent of total social security
benefit expenditures.

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 SOCIAL SECURITY, HEALTH CARE, AND PUBLIC HYGIENE

Figure 15.1
13.1 1)
Trends in Social Security
Security Benefit Expenditures by Sector
Expenditures
Trillion yen %
140 35
Ratio of social security benefit
expenditures to national income
120 30
(right scale)
Others
Medical care
100 Pensions (left scale) 25
(left scale)
(left scale)
80 20

60 15

40 10

20 5

0 0
FY1994 96 98 00 02 04 06 08 10 12 14
1) Because of retrospective tabulation up to FY2005 of expenditure items data that
were added in FY2011, a gap has occurred with FY2004 data.
Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

In fiscal 2014, pensions accounted for 48.5 percent of total social security
benefit expenditures, while medical care accounted for 32.4 percent, and
social welfare and others for 19.1 percent. Social security benefit
expenditures are forecasted to continue growing, and are projected to reach
149 trillion yen in fiscal 2025.
In accordance with the rise in social security benefit expenditures, the
amount of funds necessary to cover these expenditures has also increased,
reaching 136.6 trillion yen in fiscal 2014. This was financed by 65.2
trillion yen from social insurance contributions, 44.8 trillion yen from
taxes and 26.6 trillion yen from other sources. The government is making
approaches toward drastic reform of the tax system, including raising the
consumption tax, as the first step towards simultaneously ensuring stable
funding for social security and achieving sound public finance.
The national contribution ratio (the combined ratios of taxes and social
security costs to national income) was 42.8 percent in fiscal 2015 (taxation
burden: 25.5 percent; social security premiums: 17.3 percent), up 0.6
percentage points from 42.2 percent in fiscal 2014 (taxation burden: 25.0
percent; social security premiums: 17.2 percent). The national contribution

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 SOCIAL SECURITY, HEALTH CARE, AND PUBLIC HYGIENE

ratio in 2014 was 32.7 percent in the U.S.A., 45.9 percent in the U.K., and
68.2 percent in France. While the ratio in Japan was higher than that of the
U.S.A., it was lower than European countries.

Figure 15.2
National Contribution Ratio by Country
%
90

80 National contribution Ratio of social security

ratio premiums burden

70 Ratio of taxation burden 68.2

60 56.0
52.5 5.7 27.3
50 45.9
42.8
40 10.4 22.1
17.3 32.7
30 8.3
50.2
20 40.9
35.5
30.3
25.5 24.4
10

0
Japan U.S.A. U.K. Germany Sweden France
(FY2015) (2014) (2014) (2014) (2014) (2014)
Source: Ministry of Finance.

2. Health Care and Public Hygiene

Japan has a universal health insurance regime to ensure that anyone can
receive necessary medical treatment. Under this regime, every citizen
enters a publicly regulated medical insurance system, such as employees'
health insurance or national health insurance.
This medical care system has contributed to Japan's achieving the highest
life expectancy in the world, as well as a high standard of healthcare along
with improvements in the living environment and better nutrition.
Currently, reform of the whole system is being undertaken in order to
preserve the stability of this medical insurance system in the future.
Life expectancy at birth was 87.1 years for women and 80.8 years for men
in 2015. Japan's life expectancy remains the highest level in the world.
Even with regard to healthy life expectancy, which is the "period during
which one can lead a daily life without being restricted by health

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 SOCIAL SECURITY, HEALTH CARE, AND PUBLIC HYGIENE

problems", Japan had the world's highest as of 2013, with 74.2 years for
women and 71.2 years for men. Japan's infant mortality rate was 2.0 per
1,000 births in 2016.

Figure 15.3
Figure 15.3
Death by Leading
Death Rates Cause
by Major Cause
Per 100,000 population
300

Malignant neoplasms
250 ▼

200 1)
Heart diseases
▼
150 Cerebrovascular diseases

100
Pneumonia
▼
Suicide
Accidents
50
▼

0
1986 91 96 01 06 11 16
1) Excluding hypertensive diseases.
Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

The death rate was 1,046.0 per 100,000 population in 2016. The leading
cause of death was malignant neoplasms (298.2 per 100,000 population),
followed by lifestyle diseases such as heart diseases (158.2; excluding
hypertensive diseases), in which people's daily diet and behavior are
significant factors, and pneumonia (95.3). Malignant neoplasms became
the leading cause of death in 1981. The death rate by malignant neoplasms
has continued to increase since, reaching 28.5 percent of all deaths in
2016.
The number of deaths caused by suicide in Japan hovered at around 30,000
annually in 1998 and onwards, but for 7 consecutive years, this number
has been below 30,000, and the number of annual suicides has also been
decreasing for the last 7 years. The number of suicides in 2016 was 20,984.
In 2016, suicide became the leading cause of deaths for people aged
between 15 and 39.

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 SOCIAL SECURITY, HEALTH CARE, AND PUBLIC HYGIENE

In the past, humanity has faced the threat of various epidemic diseases,
including new strains of influenza. In 2014, cases of infection from
Dengue fever in Japan were confirmed for the first time in approximately
70 years. Currently, in Japan, infection control measures are being
advanced, such as through the implementation of vaccinations, with the
objective of preventing the occurrence and spread of infectious diseases.
In terms of healthcare provision, Japan had 308,651 physicians engaged in
medical care, or 242.9 physicians per 100,000 population, in 2014. While
the number of physicians providing healthcare is increasing nationwide,
their uneven distribution has become a problem due to the lack of
physicians specializing in certain areas of medicine and the lack of
physicians operating in regional parts of the country.

Table 15.2
Medical Personnel at Work
Personnel 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014
Number
Physicians ....................................... 275,127 283,915 292,338 300,664 308,651
Dentists ........................................... 95,944 98,063 100,161 101,110 102,534
Pharmacists ..................................... 234,429 249,251 258,713 262,520 271,364
Nurses and Assistant nurses ........... 1,194,121 1,252,224 1,320,871 1,373,521 1,426,932
Rates per 100,000 population
Physicians ....................................... 215.1 221.7 228.3 235.8 242.9
Dentists ........................................... 75.0 76.6 78.2 79.3 80.7
Pharmacists ..................................... 183.3 194.6 202.0 205.9 213.5
Nurses and Assistant nurses ........... 933.6 977.7 1,031.5 1,077.1 1,122.8
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC; Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

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 SOCIAL SECURITY, HEALTH CARE, AND PUBLIC HYGIENE

As of October 1, 2015, the number of hospitals in Japan (excluding

medical clinics and dental clinics) totaled 8,480. The number of hospital
beds amounted to 1,565,968 (1232.1 per 100,000 population).

Table 15.3
Medical Care Institutions and Beds
Type of Institution 2005 2008 2011 2014 2015
Institutions
Total ............................................ 173,200 175,656 176,308 177,546 178,212
Hospitals ................................ 9,026 8,794 8,605 8,493 8,480
Medical clinics ....................... 97,442 99,083 99,547 100,461 100,995
Dental clinics ......................... 66,732 67,779 68,156 68,592 68,737
Rates per 100,000 population
Total ......................................... 135.6 137.6 138.0 139.7 140.2
Hospitals ................................ 7.1 6.9 6.7 6.7 6.7
Medical clinics ....................... 76.3 77.6 77.9 79.1 79.5
Dental clinics ......................... 52.2 53.1 53.3 54.0 54.1
Beds
Total ......................................... 1,798,637 1,756,115 1,712,539 1,680,712 1,673,669
Hospitals ................................ 1,631,473 1,609,403 1,583,073 1,568,261 1,565,968
Medical clinics ....................... 167,000 146,568 129,366 112,364 107,626
Dental clinics ......................... 164 144 100 87 75
Rates per 100,000 population
Total ......................................... 1,407.7 1,375.3 1,340.0 1,335.9 1,316.9
Hospitals ................................ 1,276.9 1,260.4 1,238.7 1,234.0 1,232.1
Medical clinics ....................... 130.7 114.8 101.2 88.4 84.7
Dental clinics ......................... 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1
Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

National medical care expenditures have been increasing gradually. In

fiscal 2014, the expenditures totaled 40.8 trillion yen or 11.20 percent of
Japan's national income. The cost of medical care per person averaged
321,100 yen in fiscal 2014.
Medical costs for treating the latter-stage elderly in fiscal 2014 were 14.5
trillion yen, or about one-third of national medical care expenditure, and
accounted for 3.83 percent of the national income. The per-capita cost of
medical care for the latter-stage elderly averaged 932,290 yen for the year.
The percentage of national medical care expenditures accounted for by
medical care costs for the late-stage elderly decreased when the age of

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 SOCIAL SECURITY, HEALTH CARE, AND PUBLIC HYGIENE

persons eligible to receive later-stage elderly medical care was raised in a

phased manner over 5 years from 70 years to 75 years old in October 2002,
but in recent years, there has been a slight uptrend.

Figure 15.4
Trends in Medical Care Expenditures

Trillion yen %
50 12
Ratio of national medical care
expenditures to national income
(right scale)
10
40
Medical care
for the latter-stage elderly
(left scale) 8
30

20
4

10
2

0 0
1)
FY1987 90 93 96 99 02 05 08 11 14
1) Excluding medical care expenditures pertaining to the Great East Japan Earthquake (4.5
billion yen in total, combining the payment for estimated billing and the medical care
expenditures of unidentified insurers).
Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

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 “Statistical Handbook of Japan 2017” by Statistics Bureau, Japan

Chapter 16
Education and Culture
 EDUCATION AND CULTURE

1. School-Based Education
Japan's primary and secondary education is based on a 6-3-3 system: 6
years in elementary school, 3 years in lower secondary school, and 3 years
in upper secondary school. The period of compulsory schooling is the 9
years at elementary and lower secondary schools. Higher education
institutions are universities, junior colleges, and colleges of technology.
Other education establishments include kindergartens, which provide
pre-school education, and schools for special needs education. There are
also specialized training colleges and miscellaneous schools for a wide
range of vocational and other practical skills learning. In order to promote
diversity of the school education system, unified lower-upper secondary
schooling began at some schools in 1999. Furthermore, in 2016,
compulsory education schools, where compulsory education for
elementary schools to lower secondary schools is carried out consistently,
were established. On an additional note, the school year in Japan starts in
April and ends in March of the following year.

Table 16.1
Educational Institutions in Japan (as of May 1, 2016)
Schools Full-time Students (1,000)
Type of institution teachers
Total National Public Private (1,000) Males Females
Kindergartens ............................. 11,252 49 4,127 7,076 100 679 661
Integrated centers for early
childhood education and care ..... 2,822 - 452 2,370 57 204 194
Elementary schools .................... 20,313 72 20,011 230 417 3,317 3,167
Lower secondary schools ........... 10,404 73 9,555 776 252 1,742 1,664
Compulsory education schools .. 22 - 22 - 1 7 6
Upper secondary schools ........... 4,925 15 3,589 1,321 235 1,668 1,641
Secondary schools ...................... 52 4 31 17 3 16 16
Schools for special needs
1)
education ............................... 1,125 45 1,067 13 82 91 48
Colleges of technology ............... 57 51 3 3 4 47 10
Junior colleges ........................… 341 - 17 324 8 14 114
Universities ................................ 777 86 91 600 184 1,626 1,248
Graduate schools ..................... 627 86 79 462 107 171 79
Specialized training colleges ..... 3,183 9 189 2,985 41 291 366
Miscellaneous schools................ 1,200 - 6 1,194 9 64 56
1) Schools for mentally and/or physically challenged children, inclusive of kindergarten to
upper secondary school levels.
Source: Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

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 EDUCATION AND CULTURE

Figure 16.1
Japanese School System 1) Correspondence
Programs
School Graduate Schools
Year Age Specialized Training Correspondence
24 College General Programs Part-time/
18 Miscellaneous Programs Correspondence
23 Schools Specialized Training Programs
17 College Specialized
22 Programs
16 Specialized Training
21 Colleges of College Upper
15 Technology Secondary Universities
20 Programs
14
Junior
19 Colleges
13
18
12 Part-time/
17 Corre- Upper Upper
11 spondence Upper Secondary Schools Div. Sec.
16 Programs Dept.
10
15
9
14 Lower
Lower
8 Lower Secondary Schools Sec.
13 Div.
Dept.
7
12
6
11 Secondary
5 Schools
10
4 Element.
9 Elementary Schools Dept.
3
8
2
7
1
6

5 Compulsory Kindergartens Kinder.

Education Dept.
4
Schools for Special
3 Needs Education

1) As of FY2015. Compulsory education schools were established in FY2016.

Source: Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

Of the March 2016 upper secondary school graduates, 54.8 percent went
straight on to enter a university or junior college. The ratio of upper
secondary school graduates who entered a university, junior college, etc. in
2016 was 56.8 percent (56.6 percent of male and 57.1 percent of female
graduates), including graduates from previous years.

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Table 16.2
Number of University Students (as of May 1)
2005 2010 2014 2015 2016
Total ............................... 2,865,051 2,887,414 2,855,529 2,860,210 2,873,624
Undergraduate ................ 2,508,088 2,559,191 2,552,022 2,556,062 2,567,030
Graduate schools ............ 254,480 271,454 251,013 249,474 249,588
Others 1) .......................... 102,483 56,769 52,494 54,674 57,006
Females ....................... 1,124,900 1,185,580 1,220,091 1,231,868 1,247,726
Undergraduate ............. 1,009,217 1,077,782 1,117,778 1,127,372 1,141,425
Graduate schools ......... 75,734 82,133 77,645 77,831 78,603
Others 1) ....................... 39,949 25,665 24,668 26,665 27,698
National .......................... 627,850 625,048 612,509 610,802 610,401
Public .............................. 124,910 142,523 148,042 148,766 150,513
Private ............................ 2,112,291 2,119,843 2,094,978 2,100,642 2,112,710
1) Non-degree students, auditing students and research students.
Source: Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

Figure 16.2
University Students by Major Subject (as of May 1, 2016)
Humanities
Humanities 6.8%
14.3%

Others Others Social

Education science
22.1 21.0
Education and teacher 10.0
and teacher training
training 5.8 Science
Undergraduate Graduate 8.5
7.4
2,567,030 Social Medicine 249,588
Medicine and students science and students
dentistry 32.3 dentistry
2.8 1.0
Agriculture
Engineering
Agriculture 5.5 Engineering
15.0
3.0 41.4

Science
3.1

Source: Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

As of May 1, 2015, a total of 110,282 foreign students were enrolled in

Japanese junior colleges, universities, and graduate schools. Of the total
foreign students, 89.0 percent were from Asia, including 61,249 from
China, 11,366 from the Republic of Korea and 7,412 from Vietnam.

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 EDUCATION AND CULTURE

Fiscal 2014 public expenditure on education in Japan was 23 trillion yen,

which is equivalent to 14.0 percent of the net expenditure of national and
local governments.

Figure 16.3
Public Expenditures on Education
Trillion yen %
30 16
Percentage of public expenditure on education to net national
28 and local government expenditure (right scale)
Educational administration
(left scale) 14
26
Educational administration
24 (left scale)

12
22

20
10
Social
18 education

16
School 8
education
14
～ ～
～ ～
120 60
FY2010 11 12 13 14
Source: Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

Fiscal 2014 school expenditure by households with children attending

public school averaged 59,228 yen per elementary school pupil, 128,964
yen per lower-secondary school student and 242,692 yen per
upper-secondary school student.

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 EDUCATION AND CULTURE

2. Lifelong Learning
In recent years, people's demand for learning has been increasing and the
contents are becoming more diverse and advanced. This has raised more
and more expectations for the realization of a "Lifelong Learning Society"
in which people are able to freely select learning opportunities during their
life, and their learning outcomes are evaluated appropriately.

Table 16.3
Social Education Facilities and Users
Number 2) Users (1,000) 3)
Facilities
2011 2015 2010 2014
Citizens' public halls 1).................... 15,399 14,841 204,517 193,464
Libraries ......................................... 3,274 3,331 187,562 181,364
Museums ........................................ 1,262 1,256 122,831 129,579
General museums ........................ 143 152 7,692 8,499
Science museums ........................ 109 106 14,491 16,439
Historical museums ..................... 448 451 20,754 22,950
Art museums ............................... 452 441 33,395 30,724
Outdoor museums ....................... 18 16 3,111 2,601
Zoological gardens ...................... 32 35 17,083 20,631
Botanical gardens ........................ 10 10 885 860
Zoological and botanical gardens .... 8 7 4,456 4,498
Aquariums ................................... 42 38 20,964 22,377
Centers for children and youths ..... 1,048 941 20,043 20,058
Women's education centers ............ 375 367 10,172 9,716
Public Sports Facilities .................. 47,571 47,536 486,283 501,557
Theaters, Concert halls, etc. ........... 1,866 1,851 … …
Lifelong learning centers ............... 409 449 26,483 26,218
1) Includes similar facility. 2) As of October 1. 3) Total of fiscal year.
Source: Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

Today, in order to develop a society where people have the freedom to

continue learning throughout their lives, efforts are being made to develop
learning opportunities such as school education, social education, cultural
activities, sports activities, recreational activities, volunteer activities, and
corporate in-house education. In providing places and opportunities for
such lifelong learning, educational institutions, social education facilities
(public halls, libraries, museums, and sports facilities, etc.) play a vital
role.

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3. Leisure Activities
The results of the 2011 Survey on Time Use and Leisure Activities
conducted with people aged 10 and over show that the per-day average
amount of free time was 6 hours and 27 minutes, which was the time
remaining after activities that were physiologically necessary (sleeping,
eating, etc.) and societally essential (work, housework, etc.). It was found
that 1 hour and 14 minutes of free time was spent on hobbies, sports,
learning for personal development, volunteer activities, etc.

Table 16.4
Major Leisure Activities by Gender (10 years old and over) (2011)
Leisure Activities Total Males Females
Free time per day (hours and minutes) .......................... 6:27 6:38 6:16
Active leisure time (hours and minutes) ..................... 1:14 1:28 1:04
1)
Participation rate (%)
Hobbies and amusements ............................................ 84.8 84.8 84.9
2)
Sports ....................................................................... 63.0 67.9 58.3
2)
Learning, self-education and training ....................... 35.2 34.3 36.1
3)
Travel (domestic) ..................................................... 57.9 57.2 58.6
3)
Travel (abroad) ......................................................... 8.9 8.5 9.2
Volunteer activities ..................................................... 26.3 24.5 27.9
1) Total participants / Population (10 years old and over) × 100 2) Excluding school and
professional activities. 3) Excluding day trips.
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC.

The participation rate for "sports" was 63.0 percent (percentage of people
who engaged in the activity within the past 12 months). The most popular
sport for both genders was "walking or light physical exercise" (men: 31.1
percent; women: 39.2 percent). Other popular sports for men were
"bowling" (15.1 percent) and "golf (including golf practice range)" (13.7
percent). For women, such sports were "bowling" (10.6 percent) and
"swimming" (9.7 percent). The participation rate for "learning,
self-education, and training (excluding school and professional activities)"
was 35.2 percent. Men preferred "computing etc." (14.8 percent) and
"foreign language" (11.0 percent), while women preferred "cooking,
sewing or home management, etc." (12.6 percent), as well as "arts and
culture" (12.3 percent).

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4. Publishing and Mass Media

The total number of books and magazines published in Japan during 2015
was 1,163 million and 2,523 million, respectively. Of the latter, 1,641
million were monthlies and 882 million were weeklies.
A total of 80,048 new book titles were released in 2015. The number of
magazine titles published was 3,674 (including 1,996 monthlies and 92
weeklies) as of the end of March 2016. In recent years, there has been an
increasing trend in the popularization of the Internet and e-books.

Figure 16.4
Trends in Number of Publications
Millions
3,500

3,000 Monthly magazines

▼
2,500 Weekly magazines
▼
2,000

1,500

▲
1,000 Books

500

0
1995 97 99 01 03 05 07 09 11 13 15

Source: Shuppan News Co., Ltd.

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Table 16.5
Number of New Publications
(Titles)
Subject 2000 2005 2010 2014 2015
Total .......................................... 65,065 78,304 77,773 80,954 80,048
General works ........................ 2,587 2,551 2,080 1,924 1,715
Philosophy ............................. 2,997 3,763 4,381 4,255 4,275
General history ....................... 4,634 5,102 4,969 4,876 5,233
Social sciences ....................... 14,099 16,201 15,757 15,858 15,598
Natural sciences ..................... 5,218 6,226 6,780 7,007 7,079
Technology and engineering .. 6,105 8,104 8,499 8,736 8,333
Industry and commerce .......... 3,000 3,337 3,478 3,427 3,175
Art .......................................... 8,895 10,884 11,535 13,063 12,972
Languages .............................. 1,766 2,063 1,884 1,751 1,796
Literature ................................ 11,484 13,595 12,879 13,484 13,390
Children's books .................... 3,334 5,064 4,675 5,160 4,801
School textbooks ................... 946 1,414 856 1,413 1,681
Source: Shuppan News Co., Ltd.

A total of 117 daily newspapers were in circulation, and the penetration

rate was 0.78 newspapers per household as of October 2016.

Figure 16.5
Newspaper Circulation by Country (2015)
Millions
60 40 20 0 0 200 400 600

Japan

Germany

Brazil
Per 1,000 adult
Total population
Canada

Australia

South Africa
（2013）

Source: World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers.

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 EDUCATION AND CULTURE

Japan has a public broadcasting network (NHK: Nippon Hoso Kyokai, or

Japan Broadcasting Corporation), as well as commercial networks. NHK is
the pioneer broadcasting station in Japan, and has been funded through
fees paid by subscribers.
Major broadcasting services can be divided roughly into three categories:
terrestrial, satellite, and cable television. Terrestrial digital broadcasting
was launched in some areas of the Kanto, Kinki and Chukyo regions in
December 2003 and then also in other areas, including all prefectural
capitals, in December 2006. By March 31, 2012, analog broadcasting
ended and was completely replaced with terrestrial digital broadcasting in
all parts of Japan. Currently, examinations are being conducted towards an
early start of broadcasting services in 4K and 8K, which have 4 and 16
times the pixel number of existing full high-definition.
In 2016, advertising expenditures in the four major mass media types in
Japan (newspapers, magazines, radio and television) totaled 2.9 trillion yen,
down compared with the previous year. This accounted for 45.5 percent of
total advertising expenditures, which were 6.3 trillion yen. Spending on
Internet advertising reached 1.3 trillion yen (up 13.0 percent from the
previous year), maintaining a double-digit growth rate. This amounted to
20.8 percent of the total advertising expenditures.

Table 16.6
Advertising Expenditures by Medium
Satellite
News- Maga- Tele-
Year Total Radio media- Internet Others
papers zines vision a) related
Advertising expenditures (billion yen)
2005 6,823.5 1,037.7 484.2 177.8 2,041.1 48.7 377.7 2,656.3
2010 5,842.7 639.6 273.3 129.9 1,732.1 78.4 774.7 2,214.7
2014 6,152.2 605.7 250.0 127.2 1,956.4 - 1,051.9 2,161.0
2015 6,171.0 567.9 244.3 125.4 1,932.3 - 1,159.4 2,141.7
2016 6,288.0 543.1 222.3 128.5 1,965.7 - 1,310.0 2,118.4
Percentage distribution (%)
2005 100.0 15.2 7.1 2.6 29.9 0.7 5.6 38.9
2010 100.0 11.0 4.7 2.2 29.6 1.3 13.3 37.9
2014 100.0 9.8 4.1 2.1 31.8 - 17.1 35.1
2015 100.0 9.2 4.0 2.0 31.3 - 18.8 34.7
2016 100.0 8.6 3.5 2.1 31.3 - 20.8 33.7
a) Television including Satellite Media-Related advertising after 2013.
Source: Dentsu Inc.

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5. Cultural Assets
Throughout the long history, Japan has been endowed with an abundance
of valuable cultural assets, including works of art, historic landmarks, and
many natural monuments. To pass on this cultural heritage to future
generations, the Japanese government has accorded many of the most
important assets as national treasures, designated important cultural
properties, historic sites, places of scenic beauty, or natural monuments,
based on the Act on Protection of Cultural Properties. In addition to
preserving cultural assets, measures to utilize such assets are being
established, such as expansion of viewing opportunities through
exhibitions.

Table 16.7
Cultural Properties Designated by the National Government
(as of June 1, 2017)
Type of cultural properties Number
Designated important cultural properties ........................................... 13,119 a) 1,101
Fine arts and crasts .......................................................................... 10,654 a) 878
Structures ......................................................................................... 2,465 a) 223
Historic sites, places of scenic beauty and natural monuments .......... 3,210 b) 172
Historic sites .................................................................................... 1,784 b) 61
Places of scenic beauty .................................................................... 402 b) 36
Natural monuments ......................................................................... 1,024 b) 75
Important tangible folk cultural properties ......................................... 220
Important intangible folk cultural properties ...................................... 303
Important intangible cultural properties
Recognized individuals ................................................................... 76
Performing arts ............................................................................. 37
Craft techniques ............................................................................ 39
Recognized holding groups ............................................................. 27
Performing arts ............................................................................. 13
Craft techniques ............................................................................ 14
Traditional building preservation areas 114
a) National treasures only. b) Specially designated places only.
Source: Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

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 EDUCATION AND CULTURE

As of June 1, 2017, 13,119 items were assigned as designated important

cultural properties, of which 1,101 were classified as national treasures. In
addition, the government has provided support for such activities as
theatrical performances, music, handicrafts, and other important intangible
cultural properties. It also has worked to preserve important folk-cultural
properties, such as annual cultural events and folk performing arts, as well
as to train people to carry on such traditions.
Japan ratified the UNESCO World Heritage Convention (the Convention
Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage) in
1992.
In July 2016, 17 assets located in the 7 countries of Japan, France,
Germany, Argentina, Belgium, India, and Switzerland, including the
National Museum of Western Art, were registered collectively as Japan's
20th world heritage as "architectural works of Le Corbusier". The main
building of the National Museum of Western Art is the only building
designed by Le Corbusier in Japan, and is considered as being a
representative work that shows Le Corbusier's characteristic design
elements. Such a world heritage that extends over different continents is
the first of its kind.
In July 2017, "Sacred Island" of Okinoshima and Associated Sites in the
Munakata Region were registered as Japan’s 21st World Heritage, as a
unique "repository" of ancient sacrifices, and as evidence indicating what
sacrifices called for in praying for safety of maritime navigation associated
with active exchanges among the Japanese archipelago, Korean Peninsula,
and Asian Continent that were carried out from the 4th century to the end
of the 9th century.

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Table 16.8
Heritage Sites Inscribed on the World Heritage List 1)
Type of
Year World heritage Prefecture
heritage
1993 Cultural Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area Nara
Cultural Himeji-jo (castle) Hyogo
Natural Yakushima (island) Kagoshima
Natural Shirakami-Sanchi (mountains) Aomori, Akita
1994 Cultural Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto Kyoto, Shiga
1995 Cultural Historic Villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama Gifu, Toyama
1996 Cultural Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome) Hiroshima
Cultural Itsukushima Shinto Shrine Hiroshima
1998 Cultural Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara Nara
1999 Cultural Shrines and Temples of Nikko Tochigi
2000 Cultural Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Okinawa
Kingdom of Ryukyu
2004 Cultural Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mie, Nara,
Mountain Range Wakayama
2005 Natural Shiretoko (peninsula) Hokkaido
2007 Cultural Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and its Shimane
Cultural Landscape
2011 Natural Ogasawara Islands Tokyo
Cultural Hiraizumi-Temples, Gardens and Archaeological Iwate
Sites Representing the Buddhist Pure Land
2013 Cultural Fujisan, Sacred Place and Source of Aristic Shizuoka, Yamanashi
Inspiration
2014 Cultural Tomioka Silk Mill and Related Sites Gunma
2015 Cultural Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution: Yamaguchi, Fukuoka,
Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining Saga, Kumamoto,
Nagasaki, Kagoshima,
Iwate, Shizuoka
2016 Cultural Main building of the National Museum of Western Tokyo
Art - The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier
2017 Cultural Sacred Island of Okinoshima and Fukuoka
Associated Sites in the Munakata Region
1) As of July, 2017.
Source: Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

In 2006, the UNESCO Convention for the safeguarding of intangible

cultural heritage entered into force. As of December 2016, Japan has 21
entries on its list, including: Nogaku Theater, Ningyo Johruri Bunraku
Puppet Theater, Kabuki Theater (the kind of Kabuki performed using a
traditional method of acting and directing), and Washoku, the traditional
dietary culture of Japan.

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 “Statistical Handbook of Japan 2017” by Statistics Bureau, Japan

Chapter 17
Government System
 GOVERNMENT SYSTEM

1. Separation of Powers
The Constitution of Japan, which went into effect on May 3, 1947, is based
on three core principles: sovereignty of the people, respect for fundamental
human rights and pacifism. To control governmental power effectively
through checks and balances, governmental power is separated into three
independent branches: legislative, executive and judicial, and each
contains a separate set of agencies and personnel.

Figure 17.1
Separation of Powers under the Constitution of Japan

Diet

Designation of (Legislative Branch)

the Prime Minister /
Cabinet Non-
Confidence Resolution
Judgement on the
Constitutionality of Laws
Dissolution of the
House of Election
Representatives /
Convocation of
the Diet
Impeachment
Trial
People
（Sovereign）

National Review
Administration of the Judges

Judgement on the Lawfulness of Statutes,

Rules and Dispositions
Cabinet Supreme Court
Designation of the Chief Judge of
the Supreme Court / Appointment
(Executive Branch) of the Judges of the Supreme Court (Judicial Branch)

Source: Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet.

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 GOVERNMENT SYSTEM

Figure 17.2
Government Organization 1) (FY2017)
〔Legislative Branch〕
Ministry of Internal Affairs and
House of Representatives Communications (4,828)

Diet

House of Councillors Ministry of Justice (53,048)

(3,899)

〔Administrative/Executive Branch〕 Ministry of Foreign Affairs (6,065)

Cabinet Secretariat
Ministry of Finance (71,426)
Cabinet Cabinet Office (14,710)

Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, (2,099)

(1,856) Imperial Household Agency Science and Technology

Fair Trade Commission Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (31,674)

National Public Safety Ministry of Agriculture,

Commission (21,323)
Forestry and Fisheries

Financial Services Agency Ministry of Economy,

(7,969)
Trade and Industry

Consumer Affairs Agency

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, (58,427)
Transport and Tourism

Reconstruction Agency
Ministry of the Environment (2,400)
(1,051) 2)

3)
Ministry of Defense (20,979)

Cabinet Legislation Bureau

(0)

National Personnel Authority

Board of Audit

(1,247)

〔Judicial Branch〕
District Courts Summary Courts

Courts Supreme Court High Courts

Family Courts
(25,724)

1) Figures in parentheses refer to budgetary fixed number of national government employees.

2) Of the 1,051 employees, 205 are from the Reconstruction Agency and 846 are from other ministries.
3) Excluding the number of the personnel of the Self-Defense Forces.
Source: Cabinet Bureau of Personnel Affairs, Cabinet Secretariat; Ministry of Finance.

186
 GOVERNMENT SYSTEM

2. Legislative Branch
The Diet is the highest organ of state power, and is the sole law-making
organ of the State. The Diet consists of the House of Representatives and
the House of Councillors. Both Houses consist of elected members,
representative of all the people.
The most important responsibility of the Diet is to enact legislation. The
Diet also has the authority to fulfill a number of additional functions,
including the deliberation and passage of the budget and other matters of
fiscal importance, the approval of treaties, the designation of the Prime
Minister and the initiation of motions to amend the Constitution. Each
House may conduct investigations relating to the government, and demand
the presence and testimony of witnesses, and the production of records.
For the Diet to pass a resolution, the agreement of both Houses of the Diet
is necessary. However, when the two Houses differ in their resolutions
regarding legislative bills, draft budgets, the approval of treaties or the
designation of the Prime Minister, under the terms of the Constitution, the
decision of the House of Representatives overrides that of the House of
Councillors.
The term of office for Diet members is set by the Constitution. Members
of the House of Representatives serve a four-year term, while members of
the House of Councillors, six years. Elections for the latter are held every
three years, so that one half of the seats are contested in each election.
The House of Representatives has 465 members. Of these, 289 are elected
under a single-seat constituency system, while 176 are elected under a
proportional representation system in which the nation is divided into 11
regions. The last general election was held in December 2014. The House
of Councillors has 242 members, of whom 96 are elected through
proportional representation, and 146 are elected as representatives from 45
electoral districts of the nation, i.e. prefectures. The last regular election
was held in July 2016.
In June 2015, revisions to the Public Offices Election Law, which consist
mainly of lowering the voting age from 20 to 18 years or older, were
established and promulgated. The revisions were applied starting with the
abovementioned House of Councillors election, which was officially
announced in June 2016. Furthermore, both men and women above the
qualifying age are eligible to run in elections. The qualifying age for

187
 GOVERNMENT SYSTEM

members of the House of Representatives is 25 years or older, while the

qualifying age for members of the House of Councillors is 30 years or
older.

Table 17.1
Diet Members by Political Group
House of Representatives (as of April 21, 2017) House of Councillors (as of June 18, 2017)
1)
Membership 474, Vacancies 1 Membership 242, Vacancies 0
Name Males Females Name Males Females

Incumbents ........................................ 430 44 Incumbents ........................................ 192 50

Liberal Democratic Party ............... 267 25 Liberal Democratic Party and
The Democratic Party The Party for Japanese Kokoro .... 106 20
and Club of Independents ........... 86 9 The Democratic Party
Komeito .......................................... 32 3 and The Shin-Ryokufukai ............ 38 12
Japanese Communist Party ............ 15 6 Komeito ......................................... 20 5
Nippon Ishin Japanese Communist Party ............ 9 5
(Japan Innovation Party) .............. 15 0 Nippon Ishin
Liberal Party ................................... 2 0 (Japan Innovation Party) .............. 10 2
Social Democratic Party ................. 2 0 Hope Coalition (Kibou) ................. 3 3
Independents Club ......................... 2 2
Okinawa Whirlwind ....................... 1 1
Independents .................................. 11 1 Independents .................................. 3 0
Source: House of Representatives; House of Councillors.
1) Due to the revision to the Public Offices Election Law in July 2017, the constant number of
seats is 465, which are applied from the next general election for the House of Representatives.

3. Executive Branch
The Cabinet exercises its executive power on the basis of the laws and
budgets adopted by the Diet. The Cabinet, composed of the Prime Minister
and other Ministers of State, is collectively responsible to the Diet,
regarding the exercise of the executive power. The Prime Minister is
elected in the Diet from among its members. The majority of the ministers
of state to be appointed by the Prime Minister must be Diet members. Thus,
Japan adopts the parliamentary Cabinet system, in which the organization
and existence of the Cabinet rest on the confidence in the Diet.
The Cabinet's powers include the following: (i) implementing laws; (ii)
engaging in foreign diplomacy; (iii) signing treaties; (iv) overseeing the
operational affairs of public officers; (v) formulating a budget and
submitting it to the Diet; (vi) enacting Cabinet orders; and (vii) deciding

188
 GOVERNMENT SYSTEM

amnesty. In addition, the Cabinet powers also include naming the Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court and appointing other judges. The Cabinet
also gives advice and approval to the Emperor in matters of state, and
bears the responsibility for this.

Table 17.2
Successive Prime Ministers
Date 1) Name Date 1) Name
Dec. 26, 2012 Shinzo ABE Apr. 26, 2001 Junichiro KOIZUMI
Sep. 2, 2011 Yoshihiko NODA Apr. 5, 2000 Yoshiro MORI
Jun. 8, 2010 Naoto KAN Jul. 30, 1998 Keizo OBUCHI
Sep. 16, 2009 Yukio HATOYAMA Jan. 11, 1996 Ryutaro HASHIMOTO
Sep. 24, 2008 Taro ASO Jun. 30, 1994 Tomiichi MURAYAMA
Sep. 26, 2007 Yasuo FUKUDA Apr. 28, 1994 Tsutomu HATA
Sep. 26, 2006 Shinzo ABE Aug. 9, 1993 Morihiro HOSOKAWA
1) Date of initial cabinet formation.
Source: Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet.

4. Judicial Branch
Judicial power resides in the courts and is independent from the executive
branch and the legislative branch.
The Constitution provides for the establishment of the Supreme Court as
the highest court with final judgment, while the Court Act provides for
four lower-level courts (High Court, District Court, Family Court and
Summary Court). At present, there are eight High Courts, 50 District
Courts, 50 Family Courts, and 438 Summary Courts throughout the nation.
To ensure fair judgments, Japan uses a three-tiered judicial system. The
first courts in the court hierarchy are the District Courts, the second are the
High Courts, and the highest court is the Supreme Court. The system
allows a case to be heard and ruled on up to three times in principle,
should a party involved in the case so desire. The Summary Courts and
Family Courts handle simple cases, domestic relations and cases involving
juveniles as first instances.
The Supreme Court has the authority to deliver the final judgment on the
legitimacy of any law, ordinance, regulation, or disposition. It is chaired by
the Chief Justice and 14 judges.

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 GOVERNMENT SYSTEM

A lay judge system began in May 2009. This is a system under which
citizens participate in criminal trials as judges to determine, together with
professional judges, whether the defendant is guilty or not and, if found
guilty, what sentence should apply. What is hoped for is that the public's
participation in criminal trials will make citizens feel more involved in the
justice process and make the trials easier to understand, thus leading to the
public's greater trust in the justice system. A total of 9,548 people were
tried in lay judge trials held between the start of the system and December
2016.

Table 17.3
Judicial Cases Newly Commenced, Terminated or Pending (All courts)
(Thousands)
1)
Civil and administrative cases Criminal cases
Year
Commenced Terminated Pending Commenced Terminated Pending
2000 3,052 3,062 780 1,638 1,636 43
2005 2,713 2,827 576 1,568 1,572 47
2010 2,179 2,241 536 1,158 1,161 36
2014 1,456 1,465 403 1,019 1,018 32
2015 1,432 1,425 410 1,033 1,031 34
Domestic cases Juvenile cases 1)
Year
Commenced Terminated Pending Commenced Terminated Pending
2000 561 555 78 286 288 49
2005 718 713 99 237 238 32
2010 815 815 106 165 168 25
2014 911 910 122 109 112 16
2015 970 959 133 95 98 13
1) Persons involved.
Source: Supreme Court.

5. Local Governments
The affairs of local governments are conducted on two levels in Japan: by
the prefectures and by the municipalities within each prefecture. As of
April 1, 2017, Japan has 47 prefectures, within which there are 1,718
municipalities, plus the 23 Cities in metropolitan Tokyo. In order to
strengthen the administrative and fiscal foundation of the municipalities,
municipal mergers were promoted by law. Consequently, the number of
municipalities was reduced by nearly half from the 3,232 existing at the
end of March 1999.

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 GOVERNMENT SYSTEM

Municipalities that satisfy certain population criteria (i.e., 500,000 people

or more) are eligible for designation as "Ordinance-designated cities". This
designation gives them administrative and fiscal authority equivalent to
those of prefectures. With the addition of Kumamoto City in April 2012,
there are presently 20 cities that have earned this designation. See the map
on the inside back cover.

Figure 17.3
Government System by Level 1) (as of October 10, 2016）

National level Local level

Municipalities
Ordinance-
National Wards
Prefectures (47) designated cities
government
(20)

Cities (771)

Towns (744)

Villages (183)

23 Cities of Tokyo Metropolis

1) Figures in parentheses indicate number.

Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

Figure 17.4
Local Government Employees by Type of Administrative Services
(as of April 1, 2016)
%
0 20 40 60 80 100

Employed
persons Police
Education 37.3 % 20.0 13.3
10.5
2,737,263
General administrative services Fire services 5.8
Social welfare and public hygiene Hospitals 7.4
Water and sewerage 2.6
Transportation 0.9
Others 2.2
Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

191
 APPENDICES

Appendix 1
Population, Surface Area and Population Density by Prefecture
Surface area (km2) Population density (per km2)
Prefectural Population (1,000)
Prefectures Total area Inhabitable Total area Inhabitable
capital cities 1)
2015 2016 2) 2015 2015 2015 2015
Japan ............................................... 127,095 126,933 377,972 122,631 341 1,036
Hokkaido ............ Sapporo City 5,382 5,352 83,424 22,373 69 241
Aomori ............... Aomori City 1,308 1,293 9,646 3,230 136 405
Iwate ................... Morioka City 1,280 1,268 15,275 3,714 84 345
Miyagi ................ Sendai City 2,334 2,330 7,282 3,155 321 740
Akita ................... Akita City 1,023 1,010 11,638 3,204 88 319
Yamagata ............Yamagata City 1,124 1,113 9,323 2,885 121 390
Fukushima .......... Fukushima City 1,914 1,901 13,784 4,217 139 454
Ibaraki .................Mito City 2,917 2,905 6,097 3,975 478 734
Tochigi ............... Utsunomiya City 1,974 1,966 6,408 2,983 308 662
Gunma ................ Maebashi City 1,973 1,967 6,362 2,279 310 866
Saitama ............... Saitama City 7,267 7,289 3,798 2,585 1,913 2,811
Chiba .................. Chiba City 6,223 6,236 5,158 3,554 1,207 1,751
Tokyo ................. 23 Cities of Tokyo 13,515 13,624 2,191 1,418 6,169 9,529
Kanagawa ........... Yokohama City 9,126 9,145 2,416 1,471 3,778 6,206
Niigata ................ Niigata City 2,304 2,286 12,584 4,535 183 508
Toyama ............... Toyama City 1,066 1,061 4,248 1,843 251 579
Ishikawa ............. Kanazawa City 1,154 1,151 4,186 1,392 276 829
Fukui ...................Fukui City 787 782 4,190 1,077 188 730
Yamanashi .......... Kofu City 835 830 4,465 954 187 875
Nagano ............... Nagano City 2,099 2,088 13,562 3,226 155 651
Gifu .................... Gifu City 2,032 2,022 10,621 2,211 191 919
Shizuoka ............. Shizuoka City 3,700 3,688 7,777 2,749 476 1,346
Aichi ................... Nagoya City 7,483 7,507 5,173 2,988 1,447 2,505
Mie ..................... Tsu City 1,816 1,808 5,774 2,059 315 882
Shiga ...................Otsu City 1,413 1,413 4,017 1,307 352 1,081
Kyoto .................. Kyoto City 2,610 2,605 4,612 1,174 566 2,224
Osaka .................. Osaka City 8,839 8,833 1,905 1,331 4,640 6,643
Hyogo ................. Kobe City 5,535 5,520 8,401 2,783 659 1,989
Nara .................... Nara City 1,364 1,356 3,691 856 370 1,595
Wakayama .......... Wakayama City 964 954 4,725 1,115 204 864
Tottori .................Tottori City 573 570 3,507 901 164 637
Shimane .............. Matsue City 694 690 6,708 1,299 104 535
Okayama .............Okayama City 1,922 1,915 7,114 2,219 270 866
Hiroshima ........... Hiroshima City 2,844 2,837 8,479 2,311 335 1,231
Yamaguchi ......... Yamaguchi City 1,405 1,394 6,112 1,707 230 823
Tokushima .......... Tokushima City 756 750 4,147 1,010 182 748
Kagawa ...............Takamatsu City 976 972 1,877 1,006 520 971
Ehime ................. Matsuyama City 1,385 1,375 5,676 1,673 244 828
Kochi .................. Kochi City 728 721 7,104 1,163 103 626
Fukuoka .............. Fukuoka City 5,102 5,104 4,986 2,761 1,023 1,847
Saga .................... Saga City 833 828 2,441 1,336 341 624
Nagasaki ............. Nagasaki City 1,377 1,367 4,132 1,676 333 822
Kumamoto .......... Kumamoto City 1,786 1,774 7,409 2,796 241 639
Oita ..................... Oita City 1,166 1,160 6,341 1,799 184 648
Miyazaki ............. Miyazaki City 1,104 1,096 7,735 1,850 143 597
Kagoshima ..........Kagoshima City 1,648 1,637 9,187 3,313 179 498
Okinawa ............. Naha City 1,434 1,439 2,281 1,169 628 1,226
1) Population census. 2) Population estimates.
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC; Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

192
 APPENDICES

Appendix 2
Main Economic Indicators of Selected Countries
Item Year Japan Argentina Australia Brazil Canada
Population (thousands) 2014 127,083 42,980 23,622 206,078 35,588
2015 127,095 43,417 23,969 207,848 35,940
2016 126,838 43,847 24,309 209,568 36,286
Projection (medium variant) 2050 101,923 55,445 33,496 238,270 44,136

Employed persons (1,000) 2015 a 6,465 b 15,686 11,752 91,726 17,947

Unemployed persons (1,000) 2015 a 208 b 1,184 758 8,432 1,331
Unemployment rates (%) 2015 a 3.1 b 7.2 6.2 8.6 7.0
Hours of work per week 2015 a 41.6 b 43.0 … 40.0 40.0
(manufacturing)

Industrial production index 2015 98.2 … 109.8 89.1 111.7

(2010=100) 2016 97.4 … 111.2 83.1 113.3

Gross domestic product 2014 4,853 571 1,451 2,417 1,793

(US$ billion) 2015 4,384 632 1,231 1,773 1,553

Producer Price index 2015 102.7 ... 107.5 136.1 110.3

(2010=100) 2016 99.1 ... 106.9 151.8 110.1

Consumer price index 2015 103.6 ... 112.0 138.4 108.7

(2010=100) 2016 103.5 ... 113.5 150.5 110.2

Broad money
Percent changes from End of 2015 2.5 37.3 6.0 11.2 9.1
the previous year (%) End of 2016 ... 37.5 6.9 10.6 8.4

Exports, FOB (US$ billion) 2016 624.8 59.7 187.7 191.1 409.0
Imports, CIF (US$ billion) 2016 644.9 57.7 191.1 185.3 389.4

Gold and foreign End of 2016 1,189,485 36,410 52,214 362,606 82,718
exchange reserves
(US$ million)

Foreign exchange rates Australian Canadian

Yen Pesos Reais
(national currency per US$) dollars dollars
End of year 2016 117.11 15.9000 1.3820 3.2585 1.3427
Period average 2016 108.84 14.7582 1.3452 3.4901 1.3254
a) 2016. b) 2014. Urban areas only.

193
 APPENDICES

Appendix 2
Main Economic Indicators of Selected Countries (Continued)
Item Year China Euro Area France Germany India
Population (thousands) 2014 1,369,436 # 337,503 64,121 80,646 1,295,292
2015 1,376,049 # 338,524 64,395 80,689 1,311,051
2016 1,382,323 # 339,887 64,668 80,682 1,326,802
Projection (medium variant) 2050 1,348,056 … 71,137 74,513 1,705,333

Employed persons (1,000) 2015 * 774,510 … 26,424 40,211 a 383,225

Unemployed persons (1,000) 2015 *b 24,370 … 3,054 1,950 a 10,593
Unemployment rates (%) 2015 … … 10.4 4.7 a 2.8
Hours of work per week 2015 … … 37.0 38.0 …
(manufacturing)

Industrial production index 2015 … 103.4 100.8 111.0 …

(2010=100) 2016 … 105.0 101.2 112.5 …

Gross domestic product 2014 10,535 … 2,839 3,879 2,046

(US$ billion) 2015 11,158 … 2,419 3,364 2,116

Producer Price index 2015 89.6 103.9 103.8 103.9 126.4

(2010=100) 2016 88.5 101.5 101.5 102.1 128.9

Consumer price index 2015 100.0 107.2 105.6 106.9 147.7

(2010=100) 2016 102.0 107.5 105.8 107.4 155.0

Broad money
Percent changes from End of 2015 13.3 4.7 … … 10.7
the previous year (%) End of 2016 11.3 5.0 … … 6.6

Exports, FOB (US$ billion) 2016 2,284.5 2,263.6 494.5 1,323.7 267.8
Imports, CIF (US$ billion) 2016 2,134.5 2,265.9 488.8 1,335.9 264.6

Gold and foreign End of 2016 3,032,562 360,754 59,809 64,692 341,989
exchange reserves
(US$ million)

Foreign exchange rates

Yuan Euros Euros Euros Rupees
(national currency per US$)
End of year 2016 6.9498 0.9487 0.9487 0.9487 67.955
Period average 2016 6.6445 0.9040 0.9040 0.9040 67.195
a) 2012. b) 2014. Excluding age 15.

194
 APPENDICES

Appendix 2
Main Economic Indicators of Selected Countries (Continued)
Item Year Indonesia Italy Korea, Rep. of Mexico Russia
Population (thousands) 2014 254,455 59,789 50,074 125,386 143,429
2015 257,564 59,798 50,293 127,017 143,457
2016 260,581 59,801 50,504 128,632 143,440
Projection (medium variant) 2050 322,237 56,513 50,593 163,754 128,599

Employed persons (1,000) 2015 114,819 22,465 25,936 50,611 72,324

Unemployed persons (1,000) 2015 7,561 3,033 976 2,294 4,264
Unemployment rates (%) 2015 6.5 12.1 3.7 4.5 5.6
Hours of work per week 2015 … 39.0 … 44.0 …
(manufacturing)

Industrial production index 2015 … 92.4 108.1 110.1 …

(2010=100) 2016 … 94.2 109.2 110.0 …

Gross domestic product 2014 890 2,150 1,411 1,295 2,031

(US$ billion) 2015 862 1,822 1,378 1,141 1,326

Producer Price index 2015 143.7 103.0 101.0 117.9 154.8

(2010=100) 2016 155.1 101.0 99.1 124.6 161.2

Consumer price index 2015 132.3 107.5 109.8 119.4 151.5

(2010=100) 2016 137.0 107.3 110.9 122.8 162.2

Broad money
Percent changes from End of 2015 9.0 … 8.2 7.2 19.7
the previous year (%) End of 2016 10.0 … 7.1 10.6 -0.9

Exports, FOB (US$ billion) 2016 150.4 458.5 526.8 380.8 341.5
Imports, CIF (US$ billion) 2016 144.3 455.8 535.7 373.9 282.2

Gold and foreign End of 2016 113,612 48,511 366,466 173,718 319,988
exchange reserves
(US$ million)

Foreign exchange rates

Rupiah Euros Won Pesos Rubles
(national currency per US$)
End of year 2016 13,436.0 0.9487 1,208.5 20.731 60.657
Period average 2016 13,308.3 0.9040 1,160.3 18.664 67.056

195
 APPENDICES

Appendix 2
Main Economic Indicators of Selected Countries (Continued)
Item Year Saudi Arabia South Africa Turkey U.K. U.S.A.
Population (thousands) 2014 30,887 53,969 77,524 64,331 319,449
2015 31,540 54,490 78,666 64,716 321,774
2016 32,158 54,979 79,622 65,111 324,119
Projection (medium variant) 2050 46,059 65,540 95,819 75,361 388,865

Employed persons (1,000) 2015 11,485 15,928 26,619 31,205 a 148,834

Unemployed persons (1,000) 2015 680 5,354 3,035 1,747 a 8,296
Unemployment rates (%) 2015 5.7 25.4 10.4 5.4 a 5.4
Hours of work per week 2015 … 43.0 49.0 40.0 …
(manufacturing)

Industrial production index 2015 … … … 98.6 110.8

(2010=100) 2016 … … … 99.7 109.4

Gross domestic product 2014 754 351 798 2,999 17,393

(US$ billion) 2015 653 315 718 2,858 18,037

Producer Price index 2015 107.6 133.2 142.9 106.6 103.1

(2010=100) 2016 110.9 141.9 149.1 107.0 100.4

Consumer price index 2015 118.2 130.1 146.1 111.8 108.7

(2010=100) 2016 122.4 138.4 157.4 112.6 110.1

Broad money
Percent changes from End of 2015 2.6 10.3 16.2 4.1 5.8
the previous year (%) End of 2016 0.7 6.1 17.8 7.4 7.1

Exports, FOB (US$ billion) 2016 203.5 81.7 143.8 439.3 1,504.6
Imports, CIF (US$ billion) 2016 182.3 76.5 142.8 407.2 1,453.8

Gold and foreign End of 2016 535,853 42,755 92,624 123,970 118,594
exchange reserves
(US$ million)

Foreign exchange rates pounds U.S.

Riyals Rand Liras
(national currency per US$) sterling dollars
End of year 2016 3.7500 13.6845 3.5224 0.8129 1.0000
Period average 2016 3.7500 14.7096 3.0201 0.7406 1.0000
a) Excluding age 15.
Source: Statistics Bureau, MIC; Cabinet Office; Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare; Bank of Japan;
United Nations; International Labour Organization; International Monetary Fund; EUROSTAT.

196
 APPENDICES

Appendix 3
Foreign Exchange Rates 1)
(Yen per U.S. dollar)
Year Average End of year
1990 144.88 135.40
1995 94.06 102.91
2000 107.77 114.90
2001 121.53 131.47
2002 125.31 119.37
2003 115.93 106.97
2004 108.18 103.78
2005 110.16 117.48
2006 116.31 118.92
2007 117.76 113.12
2008 103.37 90.28
2009 93.54 92.13
2010 87.78 81.51
2011 79.81 77.57
2012 79.81 86.32
2013 97.63 105.37
2014 105.85 119.80
2015 121.03 120.42
2016 108.84 117.11
1) Midpoint rate in the interbank foreign exchange market in Tokyo.
Source: Bank of Japan.

Appendix 4
Conversion Factors
Metric units British Imperial and U.S. equivalents
Length: 1 centimeter (cm) ............................ 0.39370 inches
3.28084 feet
1 meter (m) ...................................... 1.09361 yards
1 kilometer (km) .............................. 0.62139 miles
10.76392 square feet
Area: 1 square meter (m2) ......................... 1.19599 square yards
1 square kilometer (km2) ................. 0.38610 square miles
1 hectare (ha)
......... 2.47103 acres
10,000 square meters (m2)
35.31073 cubic feet
Volume: 1 cubic meter (m3) ........................... 1.30795 cubic yards
35.27337 ounces
Weight: 1 kilogram (kg) ................................
2.20459 pounds
0.98416 long tons
1 ton (t) ............................................ 1.10229 short tons
0.87951 imp. Quarts
Capacity: 1 liter (L) .........................................
1.05669 U.S. liq. Quarts
Temperature: centigrade (℃) ................................ 5 / 9 ×(Fahrenheit - 32)

197