Why does Japan have a strong economy?

1) Why does Japan have a strong economy?

From around the middle of the 1970’s, Japan began to develop extra trades as exports exceeded imports. Japan is split up into 4 islands- Kyushu, Shikoku, Honshu and Hokkaido. Most of the trade occurs in the island of Honshu, Kobe is in this island. Kobe is one of Japan’s biggest steel makers and handles more than 12% of Japan’s exports. Japan spends around $2900 on imports from a variety of different countries, for example they would import cars like the BMW and Volkswagen from Germany. Japan gain around $2700 from exported goods, these include playstations and mobiles.

Japanese manufacturers of such products as electrical equipment and cars are moving production facilities overseas, moreover, to make up for the costs of the stronger yen--which is a result of Japan's large trade leftover to begin with. In April 1996 to March 1997 investment in overseas factories topped ¥ 5.4 trillion ($45 billion). 99.7% of Japan’s oil comes from oversea. The big companies in Japan such as Sony and Panasonic import goods to over 200 different countries across the globe, Japan make a lot of money through this. In 1992 Japan:

Produced more cars than any other country in the world
Produced 15% of the world’s steel
Launched more ships than anyone else
Produced more televisions and radios than the whole of Europe
Produced more watches than Switzerland
Produced more high quality cameras than Germany
Made significant advances in computer technology and is a world force in the aircraft and space industries.

One of the main reasons Japan has a strong economy is because the majority it’s population are very well educated and trained. Japan is one of the best educated country in the world, a clear source of evidence is their amazing hi-Tec. In Japan there are many jobs available and people get paid very well. Even though only 25% of Japan is flat land they have a huge population (124,900,000 in 1993).

Japan is a fast growing country, through the development of new technology; Japan has strengthened its economy. Japan is very well known for its excellent technology ...

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Japan is a fast growing country, through the development of new technology; Japan has strengthened its economy. Japan is very well known for its excellent technology resources. Some the most hi-Tec gadgets such as mobiles and playstations come from Japan. Everyone wants to buy the latest accessories, so Japan makes a lot of money.

Japan has many companies, some larger than others. It’s like a pyramid with the big companies at the top and the small companies at the bottom. Even though the big companies like Sony earn more money than the smaller companies, the small companies still play a major role in supporting the big companies. Companies in Japan have excellent relationships, the staff and the management gets on very well; they find it very easy to communicate with each other. A lot of research is made by companies to ensure a bright future; they also have to develop new goods to make money.

2) What problems have Japan to overcome to allow its industries to grow?

Despite Japan’s strong economy they have had to overcome many problems, one of these problems is earthquakes. Earthquakes cause widespread damage and death. These events are reminders of the destructive powers of the planet on which we live. Earthquakes are very common, although most of them are so small that they can only be detected by sensitive scientific instruments. An earthquake is a series of shock waves passing through the rocks of the earth’s crust. Most last for less than a minute, but in that time the shaking ground causes many buildings to collapse, roads and railways to crack, and gas and water mains to fracture. They may even lead to huge tidal waves called tsunamis. Earthquakes occur deep within the Earth where the pressure that has built up in the crust is suddenly released. The exact place where it occurs is called the focus. The intensity of an earthquake is measured on the Richter scale and recorded on a seismograph.

On the 17th January 1995 at 5:46 a.m Kobe was hit by surprise. The earthquake was measured at 7.5 on the Richter scale; it only lasted for 20 seconds, but in its path it crushed buildings, destroyed homes, stopped transport and killed thousands. Earthquakes are a big problem which the Japanese have to try and overcome.

Japan is made up of a long group of islands, the population of Japan is around 112,000,000. Yet on 25% of Japan is flat land, 75% is mountainous. This causes overcrowding. Land in Japan is very expensive, the rooms in houses are very small, human and physical city has grown so fast that their running out of land. 63% of people live on only 3% of land, around 10,000 people living on 1 square kilometer. They have tried to overcome this problem by breaking up parts of the mountain; the remains are taken out to sea. Lack of space and overcrowding are very big problems which Japan has to overcome to allow it’s industries to grow.

At the end of the Second World War, an atomic bomb was dropped by the U.S on Hiroshima; an atomic bomb equals the explosive power carried by 2000 super fortresses. It caused huge destruction and was a big blow to Japan. Yet another problem that they had to overcome.

3) What problems has this industrial growth caused?

Many problems have been caused by the industrial growth, one of which is the short supply of houses in cities. There is only 25% flat land in Japan so there is over crowding. Home-sellers take advantage of this by making homes very expensive. Around 10,000 people live on a single square kilometer.

Pollution is very common in Japan; there are many nuclear power plants. There are many forms of transport which cause pollution – cars are one of the main pollution makers. Japan uses up 25% of it’s energy on transport, 20% of it is used on the bullet trains.

Japan is a remarkable country.