The country imported, for example, 50% of its caloric intake of food and about 30% of the total value of food consumed in the late 1980s. It also depended on imports for about 85% of its total energy needs (including all of its petroleum and 89% of its coal) and nearly all of its iron, copper, lead, and nickel.
the argument for at least a plateau in oil production and discovery seems to be prevailing.
Tokyoyama wrote:thanks guys. davep- there is still a significant amount of people out there who do not accept this argument despite all indications.
Kristen wrote:Japan could theoretically resort to more fishing if there was a huge loss in food imports. However having a population of 127 million this would result in more over-fishing as well. One thing that is for sure is any disruption in oil supplies will have enormous repercussions for the whole world
Japanese fishing industry is on the decline. Japan caught 12.8 million tons of fish in 1984 but only 6.35 million tons in 2000 and 5.52 million tons in 2002. In 2000, it imported 3.54 million tons of fish, double what it imported in 1984.
Japanese oil and gas explorer Inpex Corp holds a 72.8 per cent stake in the venture, with France's Total holding 24 per cent and three Japanese utilities the balance of the equity.
The project is to develop the Ichthys gasfield, located in the Browse Basin off northern Australia.
Annual exports will total 8.4 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas once it reaches full production, which is equal to more than 10 per cent of Japan's annual gas needs, with initial output planned from 2016.
AgentR11 wrote:More in response to other posts in this thread, feel free to correct me, Tokyoyama if I'm off some...
On food, Japan's food imports are like ours, a luxury because we can afford to buy French this, Chinese that, and Chilean fish too. Japan's agricultural production is capped by government quotas, not physical limits. Its done this way to protect farming in a country that is not socially very conducive to farming. ie, how do you give up the lights and action of Tokyo in order to waddle around in the mud and dirt most of the time. It might be tight, but I suspect Japan could actually meet its caloric requirements internally if it became necessary.
Although Japan's self-sufficiency rate for rice, eggs, whale meat and mandarin oranges exceeds 90 percent, the rate for essential ingredients for Japanese cuisine, including soy beans, is a mere 5 percent, and just 13 percent for daily necessities like cooking oil.
Half of the meat products consumed in Japan is imported.
Japan's food self-sufficiency rate on a calorie basis is the lowest among 12 developed countries cited in an international comparison released by the farm ministry in 2003. Australia topped the list, at 237 percent, followed by other food exporting countries, including Canada at 145 percent, the United States at 128 percent and France at 122 percent. Countries with low figures included Switzerland, at 49 percent, and South Korea, with a 2002 figure of 47 percent.
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