Japan's economy in brief: features, current state

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:39

Japan, which is also called the Land of the Rising Sun, is a relatively small island state located in the Pacific Ocean. The country is located in an archipelago, which is characterized by mountainous terrain. The main islands are: Kyushu, Honshu, Hokkaido and Shikoku. The population density is significant, since 126 million people are concentrated in a small area. Now it is the tenth largest in the world. However, the population is gradually declining, which is reflected in the economy of this state.

Economy

In short, Japan's economy is one of the most developed in the world. It is in third or fourth place in terms of GDP. Characteristic is the high standard of living of the population, which contrasts sharply with the small size of Japanese apartments. Japan is sadly different from other countries in that it is the only country in the world that has experienced the use of nuclear weapons.

Japanese money is the yen.

Geographic features

Japan is located in a very difficult environment. It is separated from the mainland, a significant part of the area is occupied by mountains. The Japanese archipelago is located in a zone of seismic and tectonic instability, which often damages both the economy and people's lives. The accident at the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant had an extremely negative impact on the economic and environmental well-being of the country.

Another disadvantage is the climatic features. Typhoons and tropical hurricanes often visit here, often causing destruction and economic damage. Japan has few minerals, especially fuels, which the country has to import. The lack of free space limits the possibilities for the development of renewable energy, and the construction of new nuclear power plants after the accident in 2011 is not carried out. A plus is the large expanses of ocean waters where fish and seafood are harvested.

Among the minerals in the bowels of Japan, sulfur is the leader.

Attitude towards ecology

Japan's economy is developing in close conjunction with the environment. After a surge in pollution in the 50s and 60s of the 20th century, since 1970 the country has been steadily moving towards abandoning dirty technologies and improving the quality of the environment. Energy efficiency is the top priority. This is also due to the fact that the country has few own fuel resources. Honda companies andToyota has long been improving its products, making cars less dependent on fossil fuels. The country is making tough commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Economic indicators

If we talk about Japan's economy briefly, it is developing steadily, demonstrating annual GDP growth and the development of high technology. The rate of inflation in this country is minimal and rarely exceeds 1% per year. Often there is a reverse process - deflation. The growth of the country's GDP is about 1% per year. Unemployment is gradually decreasing and in 2018 it dropped to 2.5%. Banks of Japan correspond to the level of highly developed countries.

Production of products

Japan has an underdeveloped mining sector, and is dominated by high value-added products. In the first place - cars and spare parts for them. This direction is traditional for Japan, and the quality of products meets recognized standards. Japanese cars are also distinguished by durability. Production was especially profitable until the 90s. 20th century, and then increased competition, first with the United States and then with Asian countries, especially China. Now in the Chinese auto industry, the introduction of new technologies is faster than in Japan. They are more actively switching to electric vehicles, constantly improving their characteristics. Japan has traditionally focused on economical gasoline engines, having achieved great success in this matter. This is especially true for cars of the Japanese brand Toyota, which has become famous all over the world.the world with the release of economical internal combustion engines and was considered the standard of environmentally friendly transport. Now, electric vehicles are considered the most environmentally friendly, and Japan is far from being the leader in this direction.

The production of household and computer equipment, chips and equipment plays a big role. The metallurgy and chemical industries, including the production of petroleum products, are quite developed.

Agriculture

Agriculture in Japan is gradually declining, and areas are being built up with houses and industrial enterprises. In the 21st century, the share of rice in crops has dropped sharply, while wheat crops have increased.

Trading

If we talk about the Japanese economy briefly, then this country has important trade relations with the USA, China, South Korea, Australia.

However, now the situation with the export of Japanese products is rather unfavorable. This is due to growing competition from China and partly from Europe and the United States. Japanese products are more expensive than competitors. This is due to the shortage of raw materials, fuel, space and high salaries of employees. Therefore, the country's GDP growth is very slow, but the situation is stable. And the presence of a deflationary trend motivates people to accumulate money, which reduces buying activity.

Pros and cons of the Japanese economy in brief

Pros include:

• advanced technology;
• availability of margin of safety and high standard of living of people;
• manufacturing and selling worldwide productshigh quality and high added value.

The cons are:

• large public debt compared to GDP;
• weak domestic consumer demand (supply dominates sharply);
• deflation and excessively high wages;
• lack of own resources that have to be imported;
• age structure of the population.

The country's authorities are trying to reduce the negative impact of negative factors on the Japanese economy, but so far the measures taken have not changed the situation dramatically, and public debt is only growing. This is reflected in the budget of Japan.