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 bankBank of Japan
International ReservesUS$ 1.210 trillion (Source: IMF; Data updated: November 2011)
Gross Domestic Product - GDPUS$ 5.822 trillion (2010 estimate)
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity)4.418 trillion of International dollars (2010 estimate)
Real GDP growth
20002001200220032004200520062007
2.9%0.2%0.3%1.4%2.7%1.9%2%2.4%
2008200920102011*
-1.2%-6.3%3.9%1.4%

*Estimate

GDP per capita - current pricesUS$ 45,659 (2009 estimate)
GDP per capita - PPP$34,646 International Dollars (2009 estimate)
GDP (PPP) - share of world total
19801990200020102015**
9.17%9.9%7.63%5.82%5.1%

**Forecast

GDP - composition by sector
  • agriculture: 1.6% 
  • industry: 21.9% 
  • services: 76.5% (2009 estimate)

    • (Data released on November 2010)

Gross domestic expenditure on R&D (% of GDP)3.42% (2008)

(Data released on November 2010)

Inflation
2008200920102011*
1.4%(2008)-1.4%-0.7%0.2%

*Estimate

Unemployment rate
2008200920102011*
4%5.1%5.1%(2009)4.9%

*Estimate

Household saving rates2.8% (Net saving; 2011 forecast)

(Data released on November 2010)

Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP)
20072008200920102011*
187.7%194.7%216.3%220.3%229.1%

*Estimate

Public deficit (General government net lending/borrowing as a % of GDP)
2007200820092010*2011**
-2.4%-4.1%-10.2%-9.6%-8.9%

*Estimate    **Forecast

Government bond ratings

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

Moody's rating: Aa2

Moody's outlook: STA

(Foreign Currency Government Bond Ratings; Data last updated Nov 2010)

Market value of publicly traded shares
200720082009
US$4453.47 billionUS$3220.49 billionUS$3377.89 billion
Largest companies in JapanNippon Telegraph & Tel (Telecommunications services), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Major Banks), Toyota Motor (Auto & Truck Manufacturers), Honda Motor (Auto & Truck Manufacturers), Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Major Banks), Mizuho Financial (Major Banks), Mitsubishi Corp (Trading Companies), Canon (Business Products & Supplies), Tokyo Electric Power (Electric Utilities), Mitsui & Co (Trading Companies), Tokio Marine Holdings (Property & Casualty Insurance)
(2011)
DATA ON TRADE AND COMPETITIVENESS
Current account balanceUS$ 134.1 billion (2010 estimate)(After 2008)
Current account balance by percentage of GDP2.3% of GDP (2010 estimate)(2009)
Exports as percent of GDP

(Exports of goods and services)

17.6% (2007)

(Data released on December 2010)

Shares in world total merchandising export5.05%(2007)

(Data were released in Nov 2011 and refer to 2010)

Shares in world total commercial services export3.76%(2007)

(Data were released in Nov 2011 and refer to 2010)

Total exportsUS$765.2 billion f.o.b. (2010 estimate)
Export commoditiestransport equipment, motor vehicles, semiconductors, electrical machinery, chemicals
Total importsUS$696.2 billion f.o.b. (2008 estimate)
Import commoditiesmachinery and equipment, fuels, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, raw materials
Exports - major partnersUS 20.4%, China 15.3%, South Korea 7.6%, Taiwan 6.3%, Hong Kong 5.4% (2007)
Imports - major partnersChina 20.5%, US 11.6%, Saudi Arabia 5.7%, UAE 5.2%, Australia 5%, South Korea 4.4%, Indonesia 4.2% (2007)
FDI inflows
200820092010
US$24,426 millionUS$11,939 million(2009)US$-1,251 million(2009)
FDI outflows
200820092010
US$128,019 millionUS$74,699 millionUS$56,263 million
Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser
2008200920102011
US$56,379 millionUS$17,440 million(2009)US$31,016 million(2009)US$9,506 million
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

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

Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2010

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

KDDI Corp, Liberty Global Inc, United States, $4 billion
Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp, Dimension Data Holdings PLC, South Africa, $3.1 billion
(2008 estimate)

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

Best countries for doing business

World Bank/IFC Doing Business Project

(Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business, from 1 – 183. A high ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.)

Overall ranking: 18 out of 183 countries(2009) (2010)

Subcategories:

Starting a business: 98 out of 183 countries(2009)

Registering property: 59 out of 183 countries

Paying Taxes: 112 out of 183 countries

Getting credit: 15 out of 183 countries

Protecting investors: 16 out of 183 countries

Trading across border: 24 out of 183 countries

Enforcing Contracts: 19 out of 183 countries

(2010)

Global competitiveness ranking
(ranking by country on a basis of 142, the first is the best)		9

(2011/2012)

Index of Economic Freedom

WSJ and Heritage Foundation

Ranking: 20 Score: 72.8 (Mostly Free) (2009)

(100=totally free 0=totally repressed )

COUNTRY AND POPULATION OVERVIEW
Time zoneUTC+9
Total area 377,915 km2 (2006)
CapitalTokyo (2009)
Currencyyen (JPY) (2009)
Government typeconstitutional monarchy with a parliamentary government (2009)
LanguagesJapanese
ReligionsShintoism 83.9%, Buddhism 71.4%, Christianity 2%, other 7.8%
Total population
1980199020002010*2015**
116.77 million123.44 million126.83 million127.37 million126.16 million

*Estimate    **Forecast

Urban population as % of total population
1960198020002009
43.1%59.6%65.2%66.6%
Population median age43.0 years (2006)
Population growth rate-0.1% (2009)
Life expectancy83 years (2007)
Adult literacyN/A
% of population living on less than $2 a dayN/A
Inequality of wealth distribution (Gini index)

24.9 (1993)

(0=perfect equality, 100=absolute inequality)

Freedom House rating

Political Rights:1
Civil Liberties:2 (2010)

(1 represents the most free, 7 the least free)

Total telephone subscribers as % of population

127.34% (2010)

(sum of fixed telephone lines and mobile cellular subscribers)

Internet users as % of total population80% (Data were released in 2011 and refer to 2010)
Cost of living index

(ranking by city on a basis of 214; the 1st is the most expensive and the 214th is the least expensive)

Tokyo: 2nd (2011)

CO2 emissions
(Metric tons of CO2 per capita)

9.4912 (2008)

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)

WORLD'S BEST TRADE FINANCE BANKS & PROVIDERS

2011:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (National, 2011)
2010:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Mizuho Financial (National, 2010)
2009:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Mizuho Financial (National, 2009)

WORLD'S BEST DEVELOPED MARKET BANKS

2011:
  • Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (National, 2011)
2010:
  • Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (National, 2010)
2009:
  • Resona Holdings (Asia Pacific and Middle East, 2009)

WORLD'S BEST INTERNET BANKS

2011:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS / Best Consumer Internet Banks Citi (National, 2011)
  • COUNTRY WINNERS /Best Corporate / Institutional Internet Banks Citi (National, 2011)
2010:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS / Best Consumer Internet Banks HSBC (National, 2010)
  • COUNTRY WINNERS / Best Corporate/Institutional Internet Banks Citi (National, 2010)
2009:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS / Best Consumer Internet Banks Citi (2009)
  • COUNTRY WINNERS / Best Corporate/Institutional Internet Banks Citi (2009)

WORLD'S SAFEST BANKS

2011:
  • REGIONAL WINNERS Shizuoka Bank (Asia, 2011)
  • REGIONAL WINNERS Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (Asia, 2011)
  • REGIONAL WINNERS Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (Asia, 2011)
  • REGIONAL WINNERS Shinkin Central Bank (Asia, 2011)
  • OVERALL SAFEST Shizuoka Bank (Global, 2011)
  • OVERALL SAFEST Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (Global, 2011)
2010:
  • REGIONAL WINNERS Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (Asia, 2010)
  • REGIONAL WINNERS Norinchukin Bank (Asia, 2010)
  • REGIONAL WINNERS Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (Asia, 2010)
  • OVERALL SAFEST Shizuoka Bank (Global, 2010)
2009:
  • OVERALL SAFEST U.S. Bancorp (Global, 2009)

WORLD'S BEST SUB CUSTODIANS

2011:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Sumitomo Mitsui Banking (National, 2011)
2010:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Sumitomo Mitsui Banking (National, 2010)
2009:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Mizuho Corporate Bank (National, 2009)

WORLD'S BEST INVESTMENT BANKS

2011:
  • DEALS OF THE YEAR / Advising Acquirer SBI Group (Global, 2011)
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Daiwa Capital Markets (National, 2011)
2010:
  • Best Debt Bank Nomura (Asia, 2010)
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Nomura (National, 2010)
2009:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Nomura (National, 2009)

CENTRAL BANKER REPORT CARD

2011:
2010:
2009:

WORLD'S BIGGEST BANKS

2011:
  • OVERALL BIGGEST Mizuho Financial Group (Global, 2011)
  • OVERALL BIGGEST Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (Global, 2011)
  • OVERALL BIGGEST Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (Global, 2011)
  • OVERALL BIGGEST Norinchukin Bank (Global, 2011)
2010:
  • OVERALL BIGGEST Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (Global, 2010)
  • OVERALL BIGGEST Mizuho Financial Group (Global, 2010)
  • OVERALL BIGGEST Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (Global, 2010)
  • OVERALL BIGGEST Norinchukin (Global, 2010)

WORLD'S BEST FOREIGN EXCHANGE PROVIDERS

2011:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Mitsubishi UFJ International (National, 2011)
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (National, 2011)
ARTICLES AND COUNTRIES REPORTS FROM GLOBAL FINANCE ARCHIVE