MINERAL RESOURCES
As mentioned, Japan’s mineral resources are limited and in any case largely insufficient compared to the demands of its powerful industrial apparatus. The only metal ores of which there are good deposits are those of zinc; of lesser importance are copper, lead, gold, silver, tin, chromium, manganese, tungsten, mercury, etc. The resources of ferrous minerals are insubstantial, which must be imported in very large quantities from various parts of the world. Among the non-metallic minerals, sulfur deposits are good. As far as energy resources are concerned, Japan has almost only coal, but not of excellent quality and not easy to extract either. The largest fields are located in Kyūshū and Hokkaidō and their exploitation (1.3 million t in 2006) has been ensured only for government intervention. Oil is present in completely negligible quantities compared to the enormity of national consumption: the fields along the northwestern coasts of Honshū give approx. 299,000 tons per year; natural gas is also produced in the same area. To guarantee the supply of the raw materials it needs, Japan has successfully implemented an economic policy of strong investments precisely in the countries that produce raw materials; in particular for oil, which alone accounts for more than a third of the total value of imports, dependence on foreign countries is almost total. Obviously, the supply is of fundamental importance for an eminently industrial country like Japan. The main source of energy is constituted by thermal power plants which operate with oil from import and are located along the coasts, where there are the large refineries that feed the consumption of industrialized and urbanized areas (Yokohama, Tokuyama, Kudamatsu, etc.). A significant contribution (30%) came from over 50 nuclear power plants, upgraded after the oil crisis of the 1970s, in order to reduce dependence on foreign countries. Two serious accidents in 1999, 2007 and that of 2012 in Fukushima brought to the fore the problem of the safety of nuclear plants, questioning the choice to focus on this energy source. In 2012 the country stopped all nuclear plants and embarked on a policy to arrive at a more energy model Tokuyama, Kudamatsu, etc.). A significant contribution (30%) came from over 50 nuclear power plants, upgraded after the oil crisis of the 1970s, in order to reduce dependence on foreign countries. Two serious accidents in 1999, 2007 and that of 2012 in Fukushima brought to the fore the problem of the safety of nuclear plants, questioning the choice to focus on this energy source. In 2012 the country stopped all nuclear plants and embarked on a policy to arrive at a more energy model Tokuyama, Kudamatsu, etc.). A significant contribution (30%) came from over 50 nuclear power plants, upgraded after the oil crisis of the 1970s, in order to reduce dependence on foreign countries. Two serious accidents in 1999, 2007 and that of 2012 in Fukushima brought to the fore the problem of the safety of nuclear plants, questioning the choice to focus on this energy source. In 2012 the country stopped all nuclear plants and embarked on a policy to arrive at a more energy model in 2007 and 2012 in Fukushima brought to the fore the problem of the safety of nuclear plants, questioning the choice to focus on this energy source. In 2012 the country stopped all nuclear plants and embarked on a policy to arrive at a more energy model in 2007 and 2012 in Fukushima brought to the fore the problem of the safety of nuclear plants, questioning the choice to focus on this energy source. In 2012 the country stopped all nuclear plants and embarked on a policy to arrive at a more energy model sustainable. Visit plus-size-tips.com for Asia climate.
TRADE
The tertiary sector employs about 66% of the active population and produces 68.8% of GDP. In this sector, financial activities have reached a very high development, leading to the affirmation of the Tokyo Stock Exchange among the most important in the world. Foreign trade is the most extraordinarily organized sector of the entire Japanese economic system, thanks above all to the activity of the MITI. The characteristic of an importing country of raw materials and exporter of manufactured goods has dominated commercial strategies and has seen the dizzying growth of the surplus since the 1970s, when Japan initiated an industrial and energy reconversion tending to reduce dependence on the outside, while its products have been spreading not only in developing areas, but above all in the more advanced ones: the United States and Community Europe. The main Japanese export partners are the United States, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the countries of ASEAN. Japan mainly exports steel and metallurgical products, cars and motor vehicles, electronic components, ships, optical instruments, audio and video equipment, fertilizers, textile fibers, while it imports oil, metal ores, agricultural products. Imports come primarily from China, followed by the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, South Korea and Indonesia. The rice market, protected by an import ban until 1994, was completely liberalized in 2000. The trade balance, albeit with fluctuations over time, has always tended to remain positive, with “peaks” in the surplus in the 1980s and 1990s; also the balance of payments, despite the recent domestic and international financial crises, it can count on the colossal interests that come from the most important investments in numerous Third World countries, but also in many highly industrialized countries. According to estimates for 2007, the current account surplus amounts to 166.6 billion dollars, or 3.9% of GDP.
