Where is the country geographically?
Geographically, Japan is present in the continent of Asia in the North-East location. The country is made up of 4 main and over 3000 small islands. The four main islands are known as Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. Even though the country is not big geographically, its population is six times more than that of Australia. The biggest city is Tokyo, which is also the capital city of Japan. It is mostly covered with mountains with areas at the base of lowlands.
Japan Map Adapted from CIA.Gov. (2018). World Factbook-East & Southeast Asia :: JAPAN. Retrieved June 3, 2018, from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ja.html
The country of Japan is located in the East of the country of China, South Korea, North Korea and Russia. It lies between the Sea of Japan and the Pacific Ocean.
Working for the population
The Working population is defined as the population, which is aged between the ages of 15-64 years. This indicator helps to analyze the employment potential and the human resources of a country. Japan working population had reached and stayed in the figures of 86 million from 1990 to 2002. The working population as of April 2018 stands around at 76 million.
Working Age Population Graph Adapted from FRED. (2018, May 30). Working Age Population: Aged 15-64: All Persons for Japan. Retrieved June 3, 2018, from https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LFWA64TTJPM647S
Major goods and services produced – domestic markets or exports?
In 2017, the country Japan has shipped about US$ 698.2 Billion worth of goods in the world which is increased by 8.3% as compared to 2016. About 58% of the exports of Japan deliver to the Asian countries, while 22% is delivered to the North America. The country has a population of 12.6 million people. The highest exports of the country in terms of dollar value are.
- Vehicles account for 20% of the exports
- Machinery and computers account for 19% of the exports
- Electrical equipment and machinery account for 15% of the exports
- Medical, optical, and technical equipment account for 5% of the exports
- Steel and Iron account for 4% of the exports
- Plastics articles account for 3.4% of the exports
- Organic Chemical account for 2.5% of the exports
- Precious Metals account for 2.3% of the exports
- Boats and ships account for 1.7% of the exports
- Fuels and oil account for 1.5% of the exports (Workman, 2018).
The most recently reported GDP
The GDP of Japan has witnessed drop in its first quarter by 0.2 percent in 2018 as compared to the last year quarter. The rate is 3/10th of 1% less than the previous quarter. The year-on-year change witnessed in the GDP was by 1%. The first quarter GDP as reported in 2018 is $836759 million. The country has GDP per Capita of $8,115 as compared to $8,794 for the last year (Country Economy.com, 2018).
An export or an import country (the current account)
The exporting country is the ones which have a balance of trade in favor of the exports showing its exports are higher than its imports. The same is opposite for import countries. The current account is the balance of trade from which imports of goods and services, net transfer payments and the net income factor is also deducted. The Japan current account has a surplus which increased to JPY 3.12 trillion in its first quarter of 2018 as compared to the last year first quarter (Trading Economics.Com, 2018).
Unemployment rate
The current unemployment rate of the country of Japan boasts its historically low rate of 2.5%. As of March 2018, this rate has stayed at 2.5% from February 2018 (Japan Macro Advisros, 2018).
Inflation rate
As per April 2018, the inflation rate of Japan stands at 0.6%, which has dropped from 1.5% in February 2018 (Trading Economics, 2018).
Currency and the trend of the currency buying a U.S. dollar
The currency of Japan is Japanese Yen. The Japanese Yen as of June 2nd, 2018 stands at USD/JPY 109.46. (XE Corporation, 2018)
Anything else important
The Trade tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on the steel and aluminum imports from Canada, Mexico, and Europe have threatened the position for trading system and Japan as well. It can cause a serious crisis in case any trade war is started after the retaliation of the tariff-imposed countries (Kyodo, 2018). The Trump attempt to secure the American steel and iron manufacturers can cost much more in shape of a world trade war. The Tariffs on Japan has also been imposed before these, but Japan has not threatened to retaliate believing that trade war will only mean a loss for all (Reuters Staff, 2018).
Company Toyota
The most recent annual revenues expressed in U.S. dollars and local currencies
| Fiscal year ends in March. JPY in millions except per share data. | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
| Revenue | JPY 22,064,192 | JPY 25,691,911 | JPY 27,234,521 | JPY 28,403,118 | JPY 27,597,193 |
(Morningstar.Com, 2018)
Recent profitability
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | |
| Net income JPY | JPY 962,163 | JPY 1,823,119 | JPY 2,173,338 | JPY 2,312,694 | JPY 1,831,109 |
| Net income USD | $ 8,755.68 | $ 16,590.38 | $ 19,777.38 | $ 21,045.52 | $ 16,663.09 |
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | |
| Profit Margin | 4.36% | 7.10% | 7.98% | 8.14% | 6.64% |
(Morningstar.Com, 2018)
Major goods and services produced
Toyota Motors Corporation is one of the most famous and largest automobile manufacturers who have sold over 10 million units in the year 2017. The brand of Toyota, Hino, Daihatsu, and Lexus with a market share of Japan by 45% and in the US by 14% makes it one of the largest companies.
Is this an export company or an import company?
It is majorly a multinational company which operates globally around the world. The number of units that it has sold around the world shows that it is an export company as it is exporting its vehicles to these countries.
(Securities and Exchange Commission, 2017)
Major markets
The company majorly focuses on its automotive industry. However, it also has markets for financial and other industries. The company business segments include an automotive segment, financial services, and others. The company major markets include Japan, North America, Europe, Asia, and others. Others include the market of Oceania, Middle East, and central and South America (Securities and Exchange Commission, 2017).
Anything else important
The company Toyota Motors is widely recognized to be involved in environmental sustainability efforts. The Toyota environment challenge of 2050 is one example. The company has challenged itself to achieve
- Plant Zero Co2 Challenge
- New Vehicles with Zero Carbon Emission Challenge
- Challenge for establishment of Future society that is in harmony with nature
- Challenge to the establishment of a recycling-based society (Securities and Exchange Commission, 2017).
References
CIA.Gov. (2018). World Factbook-East & Southeast Asia: JAPAN. Retrieved June 3, 2018, from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ja.html
Country Economy.com. (2018, March). Japan GDP – Gross Domestic Product. Retrieved June 3, 2018, from https://countryeconomy.com/gdp/japan
FRED. (2018, May 30). Working Age Population: Aged 15-64: All Persons for Japan. Retrieved June 3, 2018, from https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LFWA64TTJPM647S
Japan Macro Advisros. (2018, April 27). Japan Unemployment Rate. Retrieved June 3, 2018, from https://www.japanmacroadvisors.com/page/category/economic-indicators/labor-markets/unemployment-rate/
Kyodo, A. (2018, June 1). Amid fears over trade war, Japan pushes for U.S. tariff exemptions. Retrieved June 3, 2018, from https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/06/01/business/stocks-tank-trade-war-looms-trump-slaps-tariffs-allies-eu-mexico-canada/#.WxReJzSFO00
Morningstar.Com. (2018, June 3). Toyota. Retrieved June 3, 2018, from http://www.morningstar.com/stocks/xnys/tm/quote.html
Reuters Staff. (2018, April 16). Japan, China agree trade war will harm global economy. Retrieved June 3, 2018, from https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-china/japan-china-agree-trade-war-will-harm-global-economy-idUKKBN1HN0AX
Securities and Exchange Commission. (2017). Toyota 2017 10K Report. Retrieved June 3, 2018, from SEC: https://www.last10k.com/sec-filings/tm#fullReport
Trading Economics. (2018, April). Japan Inflation Rate. Retrieved June 3, 2018, from https://tradingeconomics.com/japan/inflation-cpi
Trading Economics.Com. (2018, March). Japan Current Account. Retrieved June 3, 2018, from https://tradingeconomics.com/japan/current-account
Workman, D. (2018, March 31). Japan’s Top 10 Exports. Retrieved June 3, 2018, from http://www.worldstopexports.com/japans-top-10-exports/
XE Corporation. (2018, June 2). XE Currency Charts: USD to JPY. Retrieved June 3, 2018, from XE Corporation: https://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=USD&to=JPY&view=1M
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