Day 3 in Japan: Teach me about the Economy

After blogging and skyping with Kim, Taylor, Tam, and Maya, I had breakfast at the top of the hotel (40th floor). I had a breakfast that was a mix between Japanese and American. Really good french toast, bacon, cereal, eggs, tea, rice, soup, and various things on the rice such as seaweed and pickled apricots. Note, make sure you eat pickled apricots with the rice because they are extremely salty and do not taste good alone.

After helping several of my friends set up and use their blog we were off to learn about Japan’s economy in the banquet building. Manabu Fukada, Chief Legal and Compliance Officer of Secured Capital Japan Co., Ltd., gave an interesting lecture on Japan’s economy along with some other tidbits of information. Here are some of the things that I would like to share with you.

Japan was a very secluded country prior to 1858. In fact, Japan had the National Seclusion Act specifically disallowing outsiders to come into the country from 1639-1858. Eventually, Commodore Matthew Perry came from the United States to Japan to secure a base for waling. The Japanese quickly learned that they would have to open up their borders to foreigners and begin to develop their infrastructure and industry to avoid colonization. Prior to this, the Japanese were purposefully isolated and very connected to each other through their traditions and were not looking to “progress” as Westerners. They now had to push forward while trying to maintain their important and intricate traditions. I would have to say they have been quite successful in holding onto their traditions.

What does Japan’s economy look like now? How has it changed?
*Japan’s economy was growing steadily until the 1990s, then their “bubble” burst. Their economy was growing by a rate of 10% in the 1960s, but it sunk to a meager 1-2% by the 1990s. *The unemployment rate was about 1-2% during the 1990s, but now resides around 5%.
*There is not a large area for agriculture due to the fact that 70% of Japan is covered by mountains.
*They have grown rice for the last 4,000 years and this, along with seafood, is there mainstay.
*Forestry has been untouched.
*Electricity production has moved away from coal due to pollution.
Hydroelectric 10%
Oil 64%
Nuclear 24%
*Japan must scope with scarce resources by focusing on recycling.
90% of aluminum is recycled.
60% of paper is recycled (U.S. 40%)
*Population has grown rapidly. It went from 58 million in 1923 to 127 million today. It is now decreasing due to lack of reproduction and little immigration. 70-80% of the population is currently over 65 years of age. By 2050, it is projected that 35% will be over 65 years of age. The population will drop from 127 million to 100 million by 2050.
*There are 51,000 Americans living in Japan, while 370,000 Japanese living in the United States. There are around 1 million Japanese living abroad with the majority living in the U.S. The number living in China is growing and coming very close to U.S. numbers.
*Most of Japan’s immigrants (2.1%) are from Korea and China.
*Defense is key to countries survival. The U.S. Spends 495 billion dollars on defense and Japan spends 43.9 billion.
*Japan has 1,800 colleges compared the United States having 4,200.
*A round of golf in Japan is approximately $350. A hamburger is under a dollar. In fact, there is a 100 yen (1 dollar) menu at McDonalds. It is interesting that it is still so cheap here.
*In 1985, 18 million television sets were built and sold by companies in Japan. The number is now 6 million due to competition.
*In 1990, 28 million VCRs were built and sold by companies in Japan. This dropped to 1.1 million by 2002 due to new technology.
*Landline phones
In 1960, 3.6 million people in Japan had landline phones. As of 2002, 51 million had landlines. *Cell phone are increasing dramatically. In 1990, 900,000 people had them. In 2002, 81 million had them.
*Internet usage is at 50% in Japan. 90% of cell phone users have Internet access through cell phone.
*54% of Internet users get Internet through actual PC.