Page:The World Factbook (1990).djvu/178

Japan (continued) wheat, corn, soybeans; world's largest fish catch of 11.8 million metric tons in 1987

Aid: donor—ODA and OOF commitments (1970-87), $57.5 billion

Currency: yen (plural yen); 1 yen (¥) = 100 sen

Exchange rates: yen (¥) per US$1—145.09 (January 1990), 137.96 (1989), 128.15 (1988), 144.64 (1987), 168.52 (1986), 238.54 (1985)

Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March

Communications

Railroads: 27,327 km total; 2,012 km 1.435-meter standard gauge and 25,315 km predominantly 1.067-meter narrow gauge; 5,724 km doubletrack and multitrack sections, 9,038 km 1.067-meter narrow-gauge electrified, 2,012 km 1.435-meter standard-gauge electrified (1987)

Highways: 1,098,900 km total; 718,700 km paved, 380,200 km gravel, crushed stone, or unpaved; 3,900 km national expressways, 46,544 km national highways, 43,907 km principal local roads, 86,930 km prefectural roads, and 917,619 other (1987)

Inland waterways: about 1,770 km; seagoing craft ply all coastal inland seas

Pipelines: crude oil, 84 km; refined products, 322 km; natural gas, 1,800 km

Ports: Chiba, Muroran, Kitakyushu, Kobe, Tomakomai, Nagoya, Osaka, Tokyo, Yokkaichi, Yokohama, Kawasaki, Niigata, Fushiki-Toyama, Shimizu, Himeji, Wakayama-Shimozu, Shimonoseki, Tokuyama-Shimomatsu

Merchant marine: 1,088 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 23,597,688 GRT/36,655,266 DWT; includes 7 passenger, 57 short-sea passenger, 4 passenger cargo, 108 cargo, 44 container, 27 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 135 refrigerated cargo, 117 vehicle carrier, 237 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 21 chemical tanker, 42 liquefied gas, 12 combination ore/oil, 3 specialized tanker, 272 bulk, 1 combination bulk, 1 multifunction large-load carrier

Civil air: 341 major transport aircraft

Airports: 165 total, 156 usable; 128 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m; 27 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 55 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: excellent domestic and international service; 64,000,000 telephones; stations—318 AM, 58 FM, 12,350 TV (196 major—1 kw or greater); satellite earth stations—4 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT; submarine cables to US (via Guam), Philippines, China, and USSR

Defense Forces

Branches: Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (army), Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (navy), Japan Air Self-Defense Force (air force), Maritime Safety Agency (coast guard)

Military manpower: males 15-49, 32,181,866; 27,695,890 fit for military service; 1,004,052 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: 1% of GNP (1989 est.)  Jarvis Island (territory of the US)



Geography

Total area: 4.5 km²; land area: 4.5 km²

Comparative area: about 7.5 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 8 km

Maritime claims:
 * Contiguous zone: 12 nm
 * Continental shelf: 200 m
 * Extended economic zone: 200 nm
 * Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun

Terrain: sandy, coral island surrounded by a narrow fringing reef

Natural resources: guano (deposits worked until late 1800s)

Land use: 0% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 0% meadows and pastures; 0% forest and woodland; 100% other

Environment: sparse bunch grass, prostrate vines, and low-growing shrubs; lacks fresh water; primarily a nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, and marine wildlife; feral cats

Note: 2,090 km south of Honolulu in the South Pacific Ocean, just south of the Equator, about halfway between Hawaii and the Cook Islands

People

Population: uninhabited

Note: Millersville settlement on western side of island occasionally used as a weather station from 1935 until World War II, when it was abandoned; reoccupied in 1957 during the International Geophysical Year by scientists who left in 1958; public entry is by special-use permit only and generally restricted to scientists and educators  162