Extraction
Taxes
- Income Tax: Paid annually by individuals on the national, prefectural and municipal levels. Also known as "resident tax" on the prefectural and municipal level. The amount is calculated based on the net income of the individual person.
- Enterprise Tax Prefectural tax paid annually by self-employed individuals engaged in business activities. The amount is calculated based on the person's net income and the type of business.
- Property Tax Municipal tax paid annually by individuals who own land, housing and other types of depreciable assets.
- Consumption Tax Paid by consumers when they purchase goods and services. The current rate is 5% (4% national, 1% prefectural). Shops and other service providers are required to include the consumption tax in the prices shown.
Distribution
Welfare State
- Pension system:
- The basic pension
- A secondary part: Providing benefits, based on income up until retirement.
- A third part: Company Pensions (Employees' Pension Fund, Tax-qualified Pension Plan)
- Public assistance: this benefits about 1% of the population. About 33% of recipients are elderly people, 45% were households with sick or disabled members, and 14% are fatherless families, and 8% are in other categories.
- Social insurance: health insurance, employee pension, unemployment insurance
- Welfare for foreigners
Regulation
Some examples of regulation:
Symbolic Policies
Japanese National Anthem "Kimi Ga Yo"
According to polls conduced by mainstream media, most Japanese people had perceived "Kimigayo" as the national anthem even before the passage of the Act on National Flag and Anthem in 1999. Despite this, controversies surrounding the use of the anthem in school events or media still remain. For example, liberal newspapers such as Asahi Shimbun and Mainichi Shimbun often feature articles critical of the flag of Japan, reflecting their readerships' political spectrum.
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Imperial Seal
The Imperial Seal of Japan, also called the Chrysanthemum Seal (菊紋 kikumon) or Chrysanthemum Flower Seal (菊花紋, 菊花紋章kikukamon, kikukamonshō), is a mon or crest used by members of the Japanese Imperial family.
Japanese Flag
The national flag of Japan is a white rectangular flag with a large red disk (representing the sun) in the center. This flag is officially called Nisshōki (日章旗?, "sun-mark flag") in Japanese, but is more commonly known as Hinomaru (日の丸, "circle of the sun").
In early Japanese history, the Hinomaru motif was used on flags of daimyos and samurai. An old history Shoku Nihongi says that Emperor Mommu used a flag representing the sun in his court in 701, and this is the first recorded use of a sun-motif flag in Japan. |
Japanese Economy
The economy of Japan is the third largest national economy in the world after the United States and China and is the world's second largest developed economy According to the International Monetary Fund, the country's per capita GDP (PPP) was at $34,739 or the 25th highest in 2011.
Given its heavy dependence on imported energy, Japan has aimed to diversify its sources. Since the oil shocks of the 1970s, Japan has reduced dependence on petroleum as a source of energy from more than 75% in 1973 to about 57% at present. Other important energy sources are coal, liquefied natural gas, nuclear power, and hydropower. Demand for oil is also dampened by higher government taxes on automobile engines over 2000 cc, as well as on gasoline itself, currently 54 yen per liter sold retail. Kerosene is also used extensively for home heating in portable heaters, especially farther north. Many taxi companies run their fleets on liquefied gas with tanks in the car trunks. A recent success towards greater fuel economy was the introduction of mass-produced Hybrid vehicles.
Japan has one of the smallest tax rates in the developed world. After deductions, the majority of workers are free from personal income taxes. Value-added tax rate is only 5%, while corporate tax rates are high.
Given its heavy dependence on imported energy, Japan has aimed to diversify its sources. Since the oil shocks of the 1970s, Japan has reduced dependence on petroleum as a source of energy from more than 75% in 1973 to about 57% at present. Other important energy sources are coal, liquefied natural gas, nuclear power, and hydropower. Demand for oil is also dampened by higher government taxes on automobile engines over 2000 cc, as well as on gasoline itself, currently 54 yen per liter sold retail. Kerosene is also used extensively for home heating in portable heaters, especially farther north. Many taxi companies run their fleets on liquefied gas with tanks in the car trunks. A recent success towards greater fuel economy was the introduction of mass-produced Hybrid vehicles.
Japan has one of the smallest tax rates in the developed world. After deductions, the majority of workers are free from personal income taxes. Value-added tax rate is only 5%, while corporate tax rates are high.
