Transcript Japan - Academic Web Services

Japan
Overview
Location: Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific
Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula
Population: 127,103,388 11th in the world. (U.S. 300mil+ 4th)
Language: Japanese
Ethnic Groups: Japanese 98.5%, Koreans 0.5%, Chinese 0.4%,
other 0.6%
Religions: Shintoism 83.9%, Buddhism 71.4%, Christianity 2%,
other 7.8% [total adherents exceeds 100% because many people
belong to both Shintoism and Buddhism (2005)]
Major Urban Area: TOKYO (capital) 37.217 million (New YorkNewark 20.352 million)
• Health Care: The Japanese system provides care for all citizens, with few
appointment requirements and a relatively low cost. Basic appointments cost about
$20, even without insurance – about what your co-pay with insurance would be in the
US. Generally speaking, patients accept responsibility for about 30 percent of the
costs of treatment, with the government taking care of the other 70 percent.
• Everyone participates in a universal insurance system, the fees of which are set by
government committees. Most people get access to this insurance through work, but
those who don't have the option through their employers can participate in a separate
national health insurance program run by their local government.
• Services like blood tests and magnetic imaging scans are relatively inexpensive and
easy to get, as well. In the US, you'd pay $1,200 for an MRI neck scan. In Japan,
you'll pay about $100.
Health
Health (cont.)
Japan
United States
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Mother’s Mean age at first birth: 30.3 (2012 est.)
Maternal Mortality Rate: 5 deaths/100,000 live
births (2010)
Infant Mortality Rate: total: 2.13 deaths/1,000
live births
Life Expectancy: 84.46 years
Obesity Rate: 5% (2008)
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Mother’s Mean age at first birth: 25.4 (2009 est.)
Maternal Mortality Rate: 21 deaths/100,000 live
births (2010)
Infant Mortality Rate: 6.17 deaths/1,000 live births
Life Expectancy: 79.56 years
Obesity Rate: 33% (2008)
Government
• Type: parliamentary government with a constitutional monarchy
• Current Constitution adopted in 1947
Chief of State: Emperor Akihito (7 January 1989)
• Head of Gov’t: Prime Minister Shinzo (since 26 December 2012)
• Three Branches of Gov’t: Legislative (Diet), Judicial (Supreme Court), Executive
(Cabinet)
• The Diet, Japan's national parliament, is the highest organ of state power and the sole
law-making organ of the state. The Diet comprises the 480-seat House of
Representatives (lower house) and the 242-seat House of Councillors (upper house). All
Japanese citizens can vote in elections once they reach the age of 20.
• Japan has a parliamentary system of government like Britain and Canada. Unlike the
Americans or the French, the Japanese do not elect a president directly. Diet members
elect a prime minister from among themselves. The prime minister forms and leads the
cabinet of ministers of state. The cabinet, in the exercise of executive power, is
responsible to the Diet.
Gov’t (Cont.)
• Judicial power lies with the Supreme Court and lower courts, such as high courts, district
courts, and summary courts. The Supreme Court consists of a chief justice and 14 other
justices, all of whom are appointed by the cabinet. Most cases are handled by district
courts. There are also summary courts, which deal with problems like traffic violations. A
lay judge system was introduced in May 2009. Under this system, six adult citizens (20 or
over) are chosen at random to act as lay judges in criminal cases tried in district courts.
• There are 47 prefectural and numerous municipal governments in Japan. Their
responsibilities include providing education, welfare, and other services and building and
maintaining infrastructure, including utilities. Their administrative activities bring them
into close contact with local people. The heads of regional governments and local
assembly members are chosen by local people through elections.
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Democratic Party of Japan or DPJ [Banri KAIEDA]
Japan Communist Party or JCP [Kazuo SHII]
Japan Restoration Party or JRP [Shintaro ISHIHARA]
Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Shinzo ABE]
New Komeito or NK [Natsuo YAMAGUCHI]
People's Life Party or PF [Ichiro OZAWA]
Social Democratic Party or SDP [Tadatomo YOSHIDA]
Tomorrow Party of Japan or TPJ [Tomoko ABE]
Your Party or YP [Yoshimi WATANABE]
Political Parties
Japan
USA
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Voting age: 20
Executive Term Length: 6 years
Legislature Size: 722 members
Percent of National Parliament Seats Held
by Women: 7%
• OECD Member
• Member of the United Nations
Voting Age: 18
Executive Term Length: 4 years
Legislature Size: 535
Percent of National Parliament Seats Held
by Women: 22%
• OECD Member
• Member of the United Nations
After its defeat in World War II, Japan recovered to become an economic power
and an ally of the US. Following three decades of unprecedented growth, Japan's
economy experienced a major slowdown starting in the 1990s, but the country
remains a major economic power.
Economy
Japan
USA
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GDP: $4.77 trillion (2014 est.) 5th
GDP Growth Rate: 1.3% (2014 est.) 173rd
GDP Per Capita: $37,800 (2014 est.) 43rd
Gross National Savings: 23.1% of GDP
(2014 est.) 56th
Top Industries: motor vehicles, electronic
equipment, machine tools, steel and
nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals,
textiles, processed foods.
Labor Force: 65.93 million (2014 est.) 6th
Unemployment Rate: 3.6% (2014 est.)
30th
Population Below Poverty Line: 16%
(2010)
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GDP: $17.42 trillion (2014 est.) 3rd
GDP Growth Rate: 2.4% (2014 est.) 131st
GDP Per Capita:$54,800 (2014 est.) 19th
Gross National Savings: 17.3% of GDP
(2014 est.) 99th
Top Industries : petroleum, steel, motor
vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications,
chemicals, electronics, food processing,
consumer goods, lumber, mining.
Labor Force: 156 million *Includes
unemployed. (2014 est.) 4th.
Unemployment Rate: 6.2% (2014 est.)
65th
Pop. Below Poverty Line: 15.1% (2010
est.)
• The basic school system in Japan is composed of elementary school (lasting six years), middle
school (three years), high school (three years), and university (four years). Education is
compulsory only for the nine years of elementary and middle school, but 98% of students go
on to high school.
• In Japan, the school year begins in April and ends in March. In America, the school year starts
in August or September and ends in May or June. Also, students in Japan have fewer days off
than American students.
• High schools in Japan require passing an entrance exam to attend
• In Japanese public schools, elementary school kids wear street clothes to school, like in
American schools. But starting in junior high, they must wear a school uniform.
• In Japanese schools, everyone must remove their shoes at the entrance and change into indoor
shoes.
• Students are also required to learn traditional Japanese arts like shodo (calligraphy) and haiku.
• There are no janitors in Japanese schools. The students clean their school everyday.
• In junior high and high school in Japan, almost every student joins an after school club or
team.
• There are both school entrance ceremonies and graduations for each level of school in Japan.
Education