Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Japan local long form: Nihon-koku/Nippon-koku local short form: Nihon/Nippon

Capital City: Tokyo

Population: 127,463,611 (July 2006 est.)

GDP Per Capita: $33,100 (2006 est.)

Currency: yen (JPY)

Languages: Japanese

Total Area: total: 377,835 sq km land: 374,744 sq km water: 3,091 sq km note: includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto, Minami-jima, Okino-tori-shima, Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto), and Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto) slightly smaller than California

Region: Asia

Industries: among world's largest and technologically advanced producers of motor vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals, textiles, processed foods

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

Resources: negligible mineral resources, fish

Labor Force: 66.44 million (2006 est.)
agriculture: 4.6% industry: 27.8% services: 67.7% (2004)

Exports: $590.3 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
transport equipment, motor vehicles, semiconductors, electrical machinery, chemicals

Imports: $524.1 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
machinery and equipment, fuels, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, raw materials (2001)

Overview: Government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, and a comparatively small defense allocation (1% of GDP) helped Japan advance with extraordinary rapidity to the rank of second most technologically powerful economy in the world after the US and the third-largest economy in the world after the US and China, measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis. One notable characteristic of the economy is how manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors work together in closely-knit groups called keiretsu. A second basic feature has been the guarantee of lifetime employment for a substantial portion of the urban labor force. Both features are now eroding. Japan's industrial sector is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and fuels. The tiny agricultural sector is highly subsidized and protected, with crop yields among the highest in the world. Usually self sufficient in rice, Japan must import about 60% of its food on a caloric basis. Japan maintains one of the world's largest fishing fleets and accounts for nearly 15% of the global catch. For three decades, overall real economic growth had been spectacular - a 10% average in the 1960s, a 5% average in the 1970s, and a 4% average in the 1980s. Growth slowed markedly in the 1990s, averaging just 1.7%, largely because of the after effects of overinvestment during the late 1980s and contractionary domestic policies intended to wring speculative excesses from the stock and real estate markets and to force a restructuring of the economy. From 2000 to 2003, government efforts to revive economic growth met with little success and were further hampered by the slowing of the US, European, and Asian economies. In 2004-06, growth improved and the lingering fears of deflation in prices and economic activity lessened. Japan's huge government debt, which totals 175% of GDP, and the aging of the population are two major long-run problems. Some fear that a rise in taxes could endanger the current economic recovery. Internal conflict over the proper way to reform the financial system will continue as Japan Post's banking, insurance, and delivery services undergo privatization between 2007 and 2017.

_{CIA World Book}

In 2007 Missouri exported $658,657,238 in goods to Japan. This ranks Japan 5^th among the 223 international buyers of Missouri goods. Missouri exports to Japan increased from the previous year by $111,719,141 a change of 20.43%. State exports to Japan have increased over the last 5 years by $347,358,941 a change of 111.58%. Missouri exports account for 4.91%. of all 2007 US exports to Japan.

Chemicals at $172,442,420 was the largest export in 2007. The largest dollar gain was Food And Kindred Products with an increase of $53,916,490 a 67.88% change. The biggest dollar loss was in Mineral And Ores with an decrease of $20,848,794 a -53.18% change.