Japan


Japan Country Report: GDP data and GDP forecasts; economic, financial and trade information; the best banks in Japan; country and population overview

DATA ON GDP AND ECONOMIC INFORMATION
Central bank Bank of Japan (2009)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold $1.069 trillion (Source: IMF; Data updated: January 2010)
Gross Domestic Product - GDP 4,909,272 millions of US dollars (2008)
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) 4,354,550 millions of International dollars (2008)
Real GDP growth
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
0.2% 0.3% 1.4% 2.7% 1.9% 2.0% 2.4% -1.2%

2009: -5.2% (estimate)    

2010: 1.9% (forecast)

GDP per capita - current prices $41,366 (2010 estimate)
GDP per capita - PPP $33,478 International Dollars (2010 estimate)
GDP (PPP) - share of world total 5.92% (2010 estimate)
GDP - composition by sector
  • agriculture: 1.4%
  • industry: 26.4%
  • services: 72.1% (2008 estimate)
Gross domestic expenditure on R&D (% of GDP) 3.40% (2006)
Inflation

1.4% (2008)

-1.4% (2009)

-1.4(2008)% (2010 forecast)
Unemployment rate 4.0% (2008)
5.1% (2009)
5.1% (2010 forecast)(2009)
Household saving rates 3% (2006)
Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP)

2007: 170.56%

2010: 227.0% (forecast)
Government bond ratings

Standard & Poor's: AA/Stable/A-1+

Moody's rating: Aa2

Moody's outlook: STA

(Foreign Currency Government Bond Ratings; Data last updated Nov 2009)
Market value of publicly traded shares US$4.453 trillion (31 December 2007)
Largest companies in Japan Nippon Telegraph & Tel (Telecommunications Services), Mitsubishi Corp (Trading Companies), Honda Motor (Consumer Durables), Mitsui & Co (Trading Companies), East Japan Railway (Transportation), Canon (Business Services & Supplies), Nippon Steel (Materials), JFE Holdings (Materials), KDDI (Telecommunications Services), Sumitomo (Trading Companies), Japan Tobacco (Food, Drink & Tobacco)
(2010)
DATA ON TRADE AND COMPETITIVENESS
Current account balance US$ 149.73 billion (2010 forecast)(After 2008)
-
Current account balance by percentage of GDP 2.8% of GDP (2010 forecast)(After 2008)
Shares in world total merchandising export 5.11% (2007)(2007)
Shares in world total commercial services export 3.86% (2007)(2007)
Total exports US$776.8 billion f.o.b. (2008 estimate)
Export commodities transport equipment, motor vehicles, semiconductors, electrical machinery, chemicals
Total imports US$696.2 billion f.o.b. (2008 estimate)
Import commodities machinery and equipment, fuels, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, raw materials
Exports - major partners US 20.4%, China 15.3%, South Korea 7.6%, Taiwan 6.3%, Hong Kong 5.4% (2007)
Imports - major partners China 20.5%, US 11.6%, Saudi Arabia 5.7%, UAE 5.2%, Australia 5%, South Korea 4.4%, Indonesia 4.2% (2007)
FDI inflows
2007 2008
US$22,549 million(2009) US$24,426 million(2009)
FDI outflows
2007 2008
US$73,549 million(2009) US$128,020 million(2009)
Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser
2007 2008 2009 (Jan-Jun)
US$30,376 million US$54,058 million(2009) US$8,850 million(2009)
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2007

(Acquiring company, Acquired company, Country of the acquired company, Value of the deal)

JTI(UK)Management Ltd, Gallaher Group PLC, United Kingdom, $14.7 billion
Investor Group, Mirant Corp, Philippines, $3.4 billion

(for a monthly update on M&A click here )
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2008

(Acquiring company, Acquired company, Country of the acquired company, Value of the deal)

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc, Morgan Stanley, United States, $7.8 billion
Tokio Marine Holdings Inc, Philadelphia Consolidated Holdings Corp, United States, $4.7 billion
Citigroup Japan Holdings Ltd, Nikko Cordial Corp, Japan, $4.5 billion
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd, UnionBanCal Corp., United States, $3.7 billion
Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd, Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd, India, $3.4 billion
Investor Group, Nacionale Minerios SA, Brazil, $3.1 billion
(2008 estimate)

(for a monthly update on M&A click here )

Best countries for doing business

(ranking by country on a basis of 181, the first is the best)

Overall ranking: 15(2009) (2009)

Subcategories:

Starting a business: 91(2009)

Employing workers: 40

Registering property: 54

Getting credit: 15

Protecting investors: 16

Trading across border: 17

(2009)
Global competitiveness ranking
(ranking by country on a basis of 133, the first is the best)		 8 (2009/2010)
Economic freedom index

72.8 (2009)

(100=totally free 0=totally repressed )
COUNTRY AND POPULATION OVERVIEW
Time zone UTC+9
Total area 377,915 km2 (2006)
Capital Tokyo (2009)
Currency yen (JPY) (2009)
Government type constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary government (2009)
Languages Japanese
Religions Shintoism 83.9%, Buddhism 71.4%, Christianity 2%, other 7.8%
Total population 127.67 million (2009 forecast)
Urban population as % of total population 66% (2006)
Population median age 43.0 years (2006)
Population growth rate 0.00% (2006)
Life expectancy 83 years (2007)
Adult literacy -
% of population living on less than $2 a day -
Inequality of wealth distribution (Gini index)

24.9 (1993)

(0=perfect equality, 100=absolute inequality)
Freedom House rating

Political Rights: 1
Civil Liberties: 2 (2009)

(1 represents the most free, 7 the least free)
Total telephone subscribers as % of population

123.92% (2007)

(sum of fixed telephone lines and mobile cellular subscribers)
Internet users as % of total population 75.40% (data refer to 2008 and were released in 2009)
Cost of living - Mercer index

(ranking by city on a basis of 143; the 1st is the most expensive and the 143rd is the least expensive; New York is the base city)

New York - Index: 100 (Base)

Tokyo: 1st - Index: 143.7
Osaka: 2nd - Index: 119.2 (2009)
CO2 emissions

9.8434 (2004)

(metric tons of CO2 per capita)
GLOBAL FINANCE RANKINGS AND AWARDS

WORLD'S BEST FOREIGN EXCHANGE BANKS

2010:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (National, 2010)
2009:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (National, 2009)
2008:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (National, 2008)

WORLD'S BEST TRADE FINANCE PROVIDERS

2010:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Mizuho Financial (National, 2010)
2009:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Mizuho Financial (National, 2009)
2008:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Mizuho Financial (National, 2008)

WORLD'S BEST DEVELOPED MARKET BANKS

2010:
  • Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (National, 2010)
2009:
  • Resona Holdings (Asia Pacific and Middle East, 2009)
2008:
  • Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (National, 2008)

WORLD'S MID YEAR SAFEST BANKS RANKINGS

(ranking of the 50 safest banks in the world; the first is the safest)
2009:
  • Shizuoka Bank (48, 2009)

WORLD'S BEST INTERNET BANKS

2009:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS / Best Consumer Internet Banks Citi (2009)
  • COUNTRY WINNERS / Best Corporate/Institutional Internet Banks Citi (2009)
2008:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS / Best Consumer Internet Banks HSBC (2008)
  • COUNTRY WINNERS / Best Corporate/Institutional Internet Banks Citi (2008)

WORLD'S BEST SUB CUSTODIANS

2010:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Sumitomo Mitsui Banking (National, 2010)
2009:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Mizuho Corporate Bank (National, 2009)
2008:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Mizuho (National, 2008)

WORLD'S BEST INVESTMENT BANKS

2010:
  • Best Debt Bank Nomura (Asia, 2010)
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Nomura (National, 2010)
2009:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Nomura (National, 2009)
2008:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Nomura (National, 2008)

CENTRAL BANKER REPORT CARD

2009:
ARTICLES AND COUNTRIES REPORTS FROM GLOBAL FINANCE ARCHIVE