Economy of japan

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Japan has an industrialized , free market economy . Some elements still point to Japan's past as a managed economy , but in recent years there has been increasing deregulation and privatization , a controversial step was taken in October 2007 with the privatization of the Japanese Post .

Economic data

Gross domestic product and export

According to purchasing power parity , the gross domestic product (GDP) of Japan ranks third after the United States (USA) and the People's Republic of China . If you count the European Union (EU) as an economy , Japan ranks fourth. The export in 2010 was 822 billion US dollars . This puts Japan in fourth place among the countries with the highest exports, behind the People's Republic of China, Germany and the USA. In comparison with the GDP per capita in the EU expressed in purchasing power standards , Japan achieved an index value of 99 (EU-28: 100) in 2015, which is around 79% of the German value.

productivity

The Japanese economy is highly efficient; its strengths lie particularly in international trade and research-intensive high technology . The agricultural sector, on the other hand, is heavily subsidized despite its high efficiency, as in the EU and USA. Due to the high wage level, Japanese companies began to outsource their production as early as the 1970s, especially the Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore and Malaysia became the extended workbench of Japan. However, the infrastructure created in these countries has in recent years also allowed local companies there to grow into full-blown competitors for Japanese industry, such as Lenovo in China and Samsung in South Korea .

unemployment

After the Japanese economy had been almost at full employment for decades, unemployment became a social problem in the 1990s. While the official statistics continued to show low unemployment figures compared to other industrialized countries, the number of unreported cases was significantly higher.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development-standardized unemployment rate (SUR), which is calculated according to the guidelines of the International Labor Organization of the United Nations , was 4.0% in November 2007 and was thus below the OECD average of 5.6%.

capital

According to a study by Bank Credit Suisse from 2017, Japan ranked third worldwide in terms of total national assets . Total real estate, stocks, and cash holdings totaled $ 23,682 billion. Per adult it is 225,057 dollars on average and 123,724 dollars in median (in Germany: 203,946 and 47,091 dollars, respectively). In terms of median wealth, the Japanese are among the top 10 wealthiest nations.

In total, 61.1% of the total wealth of the population was financial wealth and 38.9% was non-financial wealth. The Gini coefficient for wealth distribution was 60.9 in 2017, which indicates relatively low wealth inequality. The top 10% of the Japanese population owned 45.2% of the property and the top 1% owned 14.5% of the property. Japan is thus one of the industrialized countries with the lowest wealth inequality. A total of 7.9% of the population had personal net worth less than $ 10,000 and 2.5% had net worth more than $ 1 million. Such a distribution of wealth suggests a broad middle class. In mid-2018 there were 33 billionaires in Japan. In relation to the country's economic output, there are relatively few billionaires.

Economic history

Close cooperation between the state and industry, a strong "worker mentality", mastery of high-tech , the state's great focus on training and a comparatively small defense budget (1% of gross domestic product) helped Japan to overtake the FRG in 1968 and behind the USA as well as the Soviet Union to become the third largest economic power in the world. For three decades, Japan experienced only economic growth across the board: an average of 10% in the 1960s , an average of 5% in the 1970s, and 4% economic growth in the 1980s .

Post-war development

After the Second World War , all major Japanese cities and their industrial facilities were destroyed, and GDP was only half of its pre-war value. Unemployment was over 30 percent and was only mitigated by the fact that many workers went back to the countryside.

In addition, the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP) had the entire arms industry converted to civilian production or dissolved. For example, the development of the Japanese automotive industry was shaped by former aerospace engineers. The Zaibatsu , the dominant industrial conglomerates of the first half of the 20th century, were identified as supporters of Japanese nationalism and dissolved in 1947. Holding companies were banned (until 1997). The companies that had formerly merged in the Zaibatsu then began to hedge against takeovers through cross-shareholdings , thus creating new structures, the Keiretsu .

Japanese economic policy in the post-war period was shaped by planned economy ideas. In its first five-year plan, the Japanese government put all its efforts into rebuilding heavy industry and was able to return to the pre-war level by the early 1950s. In the Korean War , which began in 1950 , Japan became an ally and a supply base for the United States, which supported economic growth and helped Japan regain sovereignty in 1952.

The initial planned economy tendencies were pushed back in the mid-1950s by the increasing dominance of the Liberals and Democrats, who joined forces in 1955 to form the Liberal Democratic Party .

The Japanese economic miracle

From the beginning of the 1960s until the first oil crisis in 1973, Japan experienced a phase of high growth ( post-war boom ), which was favored by several factors. First, the Japanese government pursued a pro-cyclical policy and increased government spending as it grew. Second, the Japanese market was heated internally by fierce competition from several equally strong competitors, but externally shielded, which gave Japanese companies a secure base. Thirdly, Japanese companies knew how to adopt key technologies from abroad, continuously improve them ( Kaizen ) and, step by step, gain international market shares. Fourthly, through the system of lifelong employment, the companies secured a well-trained and loyal permanent workforce (around 30% of all employees), while at the same time a large number of small companies acted as suppliers ( dual structure ) and lowered prices with low wages. The wage development did not keep pace with the economic development, which led to the slogan “rich Japan - poor Japanese”.

Oil crisis and bubble economy

Property prices in Japan 1965–2008, office properties red

The 1973 oil crisis caused the Japanese economy to collapse for the first time. Without its own oil reserves, Japan was more dependent on oil from the Gulf States than any other industrial nation. The oil crisis led to a rethink, among other things, the focus was now increasingly on oil from Southeast Asia and on nuclear power . Japan survived the second oil crisis almost unscathed. Overall, the 1970s were a phase of stable growth and a phase of rising trade surpluses.

After the Plaza Accord in 1985 flowed in anticipation of a Yen speculative capital -Aufwertung to Japan, where he continued a spiral in motion: the stock market and real estate prices rose in anticipation of further speculative gains properties were mortgaged and the capital is invested in equities ( bubble economy ). The yen rate actually rose, doubling in just about a year. The real economic boom was overheated by speculation and a speculative bubble developed. Japanese companies now had a large amount of capital available, some of which was used to acquire companies outside of Japan, particularly in the United States.

Collapse and deflationary spiral

Price indices of private consumption and gross domestic product of Japan, 2000 = 100, based on data from Ameco . From 1993 onwards these price indices have declined.

Then the bubble burst in the early 1990s. Property prices fell by three quarters, the stock market crashed and banks were sitting on their bad loans ( " bad loans "), the amount of which exceeded the value of the deposited land and buildings. In fact, many banks and companies were threatened by insolvency, but this was often not carried out or was delayed over years by artificially overvaluing assets.

In the 1990s, Japan found itself in a deflationary spiral , as a result of which domestic demand remained weak on the one hand and the relatively stable yen exchange rate on the other hand prevented a recovery through exports. The central bank of Japan tried in vain to stimulate investment through its zero interest rate policy for many years . The 1997/98 Asian crisis also made recovery difficult, and some large banks and insurers went bankrupt. Due to the persistent weak growth of the Japanese economy in the 1990s, the term “lost decade” is often used in this context.

Political Reform and Economic Recovery

At the beginning of the millennium, the government of Jun'ichirō Koizumi passed new laws on privatization and deregulation , which particularly affected the financial sector. In doing so, she tried to stimulate the still ailing Japanese economy. As in earlier (smaller) economic crises, the government relied on extensive government investment programs, which, however, further increased the national debt.

The China boom that began around 2000/2005 and advances in robotics research indicated that the situation was improving . From 1995 onwards the banks succeeded in writing off a large number of bad loans over a period of a good 15 years and stabilizing them through mergers in the banking sector. Since 2003, Japan has shown real economic growth of over one percent again (as of 2009). The intra-Asian trade, which made up 55% of the total trade in the region, almost reached the size of the EU internal trade (approx. 65%).

Domestic consumption increasingly became an important anchor of stability for the upswing. Many Japanese households are net savers; In view of the high savings rate and the aging population in particular, companies became increasingly interested as a target group with purchasing power. The economy has shrunk healthily, bad loans have been reduced, wage costs have been adjusted to work productivity and success-oriented wage components have been introduced within the framework of internal agreements and at the same time have invested in research and development. Innovations were implemented in products faster than in Germany, for example, due to the existing high competitive pressure (as of 2009).

Japanese companies became internationally competitive again, world market leaders in many industries and reclaimed positions that had been lost. The confidence of companies and consumers in the future, which is regularly queried in the so-called Tankan surveys, has long since increased across sectors. The low unemployment rate of 4.4% also contributes to this (as of 2005).

The credit market, which is still generally flagging, picked up. Loans to private customers stabilized at a low level and increased slightly.

After the end of a policy of quantitative easing and the de facto zero interest rate policy, in March 2006 the Bank of Japan (BoJ) turned its attention again increasingly to the “usual” interest rate resources of a central bank. The Tokyo Stock Exchange responded accordingly. From 2001 onwards, better economic fundamentals caused prices to rise. However, the Nikkei index remained at a relatively low level compared to previous “bubble highs”.

As a result of the outbreak of the global financial and economic crisis in 2007, Japan suffered further losses in exports and a decline in economic growth from 2008 onwards. What has been gained up to then has been lost again within a short time.

In the Global Competitiveness Index , which measures a country's competitiveness, Japan ranks 9th out of 137 countries (status 2017-18). In 2017, the country was ranked 40th out of 180 countries in the index for economic freedom .

Risks: national debt and age development

However, the end of the deflationary spiral did not solve the problem of massive public debt. The national debt of Japan, which made up approx. 193% of the GDP in 2006 (Germany: approx. 65%), as well as the interest burden, which even in the current phase of low interest rates, is taking up increasingly larger parts of the national budget (2006: 23.5%), can only go through rising tax revenues are offset. However, higher taxes are potentially stifling growth.

With the end of the zero interest rate policy, the interest burden on the state budget also increased, which had to be contrasted with new income so that the state remains capable of acting in the medium term. An increase in sales tax was discussed, which is a very low 5% in an OECD comparison.

The dependence of the Japanese economy on developments in the world economy, in particular the imbalances in the US economy and rising energy prices, harbors risks. A possible appreciation of the yen ( 円 高 , Endaka ) below the “magic” limit of 100 yen against the dollar and the associated risk of a slump in exports exists. The United States' double trade and government deficit (triple if you add household debt) and how long it can go without a correction increases the likelihood of a major downward correction in the dollar.

Of credit rating agencies , growth prospects in Japan were judged increasingly skeptical because of these risks. Standard & Poor’s lowered its rating for Japanese government bonds to AA- (previously AAA) in January 2011 and Moody's announced in February 2011 that the prospects for maintaining the Aa2 credit rating were unfavorable.

From 2006, Japan's population is forecast to shrink. It will shrink and age faster than any other society facing similar problems. Immigration is largely rejected; although it is increasing slightly, it is in no way comparable in magnitude to that of other industrialized countries. Demographic developments will automatically go hand in hand with increasing expenditure by the social security systems. They already amount to 15% of the budget and will automatically increase by a further 8% by 2025. As compensation, the government has decided, among other things, to gradually raise the retirement age.

Structure of the Japanese economy

Agriculture, fishing

Only around 15% of the land area of ​​Japan can be cultivated, the inland consists mainly of rugged mountain ranges. Due to the high land prices and cost of living by international standards, Japanese agriculture is highly subsidized and protected by import duties. About 40% of the country supplies itself with food (as of 2009). There are constant political demands to increase this percentage. However, the implementation of such plans is more than difficult, since the few agricultural areas are also required as building land. Japan even produces a small surplus of rice , which is particularly strongly promoted as a national prestige object, but imports large quantities of wheat , sorghum and soy , especially from the USA. Japan also imports large quantities of beef and pork. After BSE cases, US beef was banned from imports, which is a central point in the Japanese-US trade disputes .

After the opening of the state, fishing was subsidized as an important source of protein. Therefore, towards the middle of the 20th century (until around 1985), Japan became the country with the world's highest catches. During these years the island country, for which fishing traditionally has a higher priority than z. B. in Germany, therefore internationally accused of predatory fishing in the world's oceans. China is now assuming this role, while Japan's production in sea fishing has fallen sharply, probably due to dwindling fish stocks. Nevertheless, the country is still one of the five largest fishing nations, which can be explained primarily by the high productivity of coastal fishing - especially aquaculture - and the rich fish stocks, especially off the Sanriku coast . In contrast to the general picture (whaling, predatory fishing, etc.), Japanese inshore fishing or its system of resource management is considered by specialist researchers to be a highly developed system of use that allows local fishermen extensive autonomy, thereby achieving sustainable use of the coastal waters. In the course of modernization, however, the number of employees in the primary economic sector fell sharply, so that today only 204,330 (2007) Japanese are active in fishery production (1997 = 278,200). Inland fishing plays a subordinate role in the overall economy of Japan.

The ever more technologically advanced and automated agriculture enables farmers to generate ever higher yields, sometimes with high capital investment. The developments in research directions associated with agriculture (breeding or biogenetics, genetic engineering, fertilizer / chemistry, satellite technology, vehicle and mechanical engineering, communication) make agriculture a high-tech business. The constantly expanding environmental protection measures give, in addition to increasing the yield of research, a new direction towards less environmental pollution, more sustainability and still higher yields. Agriculture will be further intensified, i.e. more productive and more capital-intensive. As a result of this modernization, jobs in the first sector will be lost, but new ones will be created in research and development. The industrial sector of environmental protection is also growing stronger. In addition to European companies, many Japanese companies are market leaders and give many Japanese jobs. Although the smallholder subsistence economy will be maintained due to the cultural interdependence, especially in Japan, agribusiness will be dominant. The classic form of a farm is becoming rarer in the cultural landscape and is gaining new importance as a tourist object. This development is typical for the employment structure in agriculture, because only large companies will concentrate primarily on the production of food or renewable raw materials. Smaller farms tend to be run only as a sideline or even entirely as a leisure activity. The agricultural factory is an exemplary future model. In connection with the increasing urbanization, growing population and the associated lack of space, a concentration of the modern agro-industry can be realized close to the market in compliance with certain environmental protection standards.

Natural resources, energy

Japan is also not self-sufficient in terms of energy supply; it has no oil reserves of its own. After the oil crises in the 1970s, efforts were made to reduce dependency on oil, and the share of oil in the overall energy supply has since fallen from over 75% to under 60%. Much of this oil, however, is still imported from the Middle East . A pipeline is planned to be built to import Russian oil. One obstacle at the political level is the Kuril conflict , but the alternative destination of the pipeline, China, also traditionally has poor relations with Russia. Other measures include the expansion of dams and nuclear power plants and the conversion of cars to hybrid drives and natural gas . There is potential for expansion in the use of geothermal energy . This was postponed in favor of nuclear energy after the oil crisis.

In the case of mineral resources, Japan can only meet its own demand for gold, magnesium and silver and is dependent on imports for many other resources, including iron, coal, copper, bauxite and many forest products.

Economic policy

Whether Japan is actually a so - called managed economy was debated by Japanese economists from the 1920s to the 1970s. This term is really only applicable to war production during the Pacific War . According to this, one can more appropriately speak of a close dovetailing of the large economic conglomerates ( Keiretsu ) with politicians, especially the ruling LDP, and ministerial bureaucracy, especially the former Japanese Ministry of Economics MITI .

Business associations and unions

The most important Japanese trade association is the Nippon Keidanren , which was created in 2002 through the merger of the old umbrella organization of trade associations ( Keidanren ) with the employers' association Nikkeiren . The Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Nisshō for short) primarily represents the interests of small and medium-sized companies. Another important mouthpiece for business is the Keizai Dōyūkai young entrepreneurs' association . Together, the three associations are also referred to as "the three business associations" ( 経 済 三 団 体 ). For the interests of farmers, the "Association of Agricultural Cooperatives" (Nōgyō Kyōdō Kumiai, short: Nōkyō) stands up, which through the cooperative operations combined as JA Group is at the same time a large group far beyond agriculture, including in insurance, retail - and real estate sector. The Nōkyō often takes protectionist positions to protect the costly Japanese farms.

The trade union landscape in Japan is structured on three levels: The predominant form of union is the company union; there are also some local and regional unions. Collective bargaining usually takes place at company level, even if nationwide campaigns are announced in the “spring offensive” ( Shuntō ). Several unions in one sector join forces to form industry associations. At the national level, there are three umbrella organizations: The largest, Rengō , was created until 1990 through the merger of the major political unions Sōhyō (with links to the Socialist Party of Japan ) and Dōmei (based on the Democratic Socialist Party ) and two other associations. The second largest umbrella organization is the Zenrōren , which is based on the Communist Party of Japan . The smallest is Zenrōkyō , who used to support the left wing of the Socialist Party. In terms of collective bargaining, however, trade union organizations such as Rengō cannot be compared with German organizations in this area; there are only loose umbrella organizations that issue goals for negotiations, but do not negotiate directly. This multiple fragmentation of the trade unions, the declining degree of organization, the employment structure ("lifelong employees", subcontractors, agency and temporary workers) and the largely consensus-based negotiation have contributed to the fact that the strike rate has been low, especially since the end of the 1980s The ability of the trade unions to assert themselves against employers is low. Some large individual unions - particularly those in the highly unionized public service, e.g. B. the teachers' union Nikkyōsō or historically the state railway union - have often entered into confrontations with the government due to their statements on political issues or a high propensity to strike.

statistics

Assets per capita dollars 230,646, making it one of the highest in the world (2016)

GDP (nominal)

$ 4.730 billion (3rd place worldwide)

GDP per capita ( purchasing power parity )

approx. 38,900 USD (30th place worldwide)

GDP - composition by sector:
Agriculture: 1.3%
Industry: 25.4%
Services: 73.3% (2010 estimated)

Investments (adjusted gross):

  • 23.9% of GDP (2003)

Household income or consumption by percentage:

  • The 10% of the population with the lowest incomes achieve 4.8% of total income, while the 10% of the population with the highest incomes achieve 21.7% of all incomes (1993)

Inflation rate (consumer goods): −0.3% (2003 estimated) −0.5% (2004)

Working population : 65.93 million (2016)

Working population - by sector:
Agriculture: 2.9%,
Industry: 26.2%,
Services: 70.9% (2015 estimated)

Unemployment rate: 3.2% (2016 estimated)

Budget:
Income: $ 1.696 trillion
Expenditure: $ 1.921 trillion (2016 est.)

Budget deficit as a percentage of GDP: −5.0% (2016 estimated)

Public debt: 240.3% of GDP (2017)

Agriculture - products: rice, sugar beet, vegetables, fruits, fish, pork, chicken, dairy products, eggs

Economic growth: −1.2% (2008) −5.7% (2009) 3.9% (2010)

Electricity - Production: 1037 TWh (2001)

Electricity - Production by source:
Fossil fuels: 56.68%
Nuclear energy: 31.93%
Hydropower: 8.99%
Other: 2.4% (1998)

Electricity - consumption: 964.2 TWh (2001)

Electricity - export / import: does not take place.

Electricity standards: 100 volts at 50 Hz north of the Oi River (in Shizuoka ); 60 Hz south

Trade surplus: $ 135.9 billion (2003)

Exports: USD 641.4 billion fob (2016 estimated)

Export goods: motor vehicles, semiconductors, office equipment, chemical products

Exports - partners: USA 20.2%, China 17.5%, South Korea 7.1%, Hong Kong 5.6%, Thailand 4.5% (2015)

Imports: USD 629.8 billion fob (2016 estimated)

Imported goods: machinery and equipment, fuels, food, chemicals, textiles, raw materials

Imports - partners: China 24.8%, USA 10.5%, Australia 5.4%%, South Korea 4.1% (2015)

Gold and foreign exchange reserves: $ 1233 billion (2016)

Foreign debt: minor

Development aid - donor country: ODA, USD 7 billion (fiscal year 03/04)

Currency: Yen (JPY), at 100 Sen / 1000 Rin (taken out of circulation since 1954 and only of mathematical significance)

Inflation rate: -0.1% (2016)

Fiscal year: April 1 - March 31

literature

  • Hans-Heinrich Bass, Toshihiko Hozumi and Uwe Staroske (Editors): Labor Markets and Labor Market Policies between Globalization and World Economic Crisis. Japan and Germany . Rainer Hampp Verlag Munich and Mering, 2010. ISBN 978-3-86618-479-4
  • Hans-Heinrich Bass: Labor markets and labor market policy in Germany and Japan between globalization and global crisis , in: Berliner Debatte Initial, 20 Jg., 2009, Heft 3, pp. 88-103.
  • David Flath: The Japanese Economy . Oxford University Press, 2nd edition 2005. ISBN 0-19-927861-X
  • German Institute for Japanese Studies (Hrsg.): The economy of Japan: Structures between continuity and change . Springer, Berlin a. a. 1997. ISBN 354063536X
  • Paul Kevenhörster, Werner Pascha, Karen Shire: Japan: Economy - Society - Politics . VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 2nd edition 2010. ISBN 3-531-15238-6

See also

Web links

Commons : Economy of Japan  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b OECD Statistics Portal Japan
  2. ↑ Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in PPS. Eurostat , June 1, 2016, accessed December 4, 2016 .
  3. ↑ OECD Standardized Unemployment Rate remains stable at 5.6% in September 2007 , OECD, November 9, 2007
  4. ↑ Global Wealth Report 2017 . In: Credit Suisse . ( credit-suisse.com [accessed January 1, 2018]).
  5. ↑ https://www.forbes.com/consent/?toURL=https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/. Accessed August 22, 2018 (English).
  6. ↑ oecd.org
  7. ^ Toshirō Mutō , Lieutenant Governor of the Bank of Japan , September 26, 2003: Battle against Deflation ( Memento of May 14, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (speech to the Japan Society, New York)
  8. ↑ Kazumasa Iwata, Vice Governor of the Bank of Japan, June 8, 2006: The Conduct of Monetary Policy under the New Framework ( Memento of May 14, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (speech in Akita)
  9. ↑ Country / Economy Profiles . In: Global Competitiveness Index 2017-2018 . ( weforum.org [accessed November 29, 2017]).
  10. ↑ Country Rankings: World & Global Economy Rankings on Economic Freedom. Retrieved December 19, 2017 .
  11. ↑ Negative economic outlook - rating agencies are more skeptical about Japan's future. tagesschau.de, February 22, 2011, accessed on February 22, 2011 .
  12. ↑ Announcement: Moody's changes Japan's Aa2 government rating outlook to negative. Moody's, February 22, 2011, accessed February 22, 2011 .
  13. ↑ Chapter 5 Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries ( Memento April 19, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
  14. ↑ Johannes Harumi Wilhelm (2001): Resource management in Japanese coastal fishing . Master's thesis: University of Bonn. [1]