Country Profile

Japan, an eastern asian country, comprises of over 3000 islands. It shares its borders on eastern region with china, russia and korea. Japan is dissipated on the total area of 3,77,835 sq km. Japan has pro actively participated in who, un, iea and asean groups. Emerged as one of the indubitable winner in the international world sector, japan has shown a massive rise in its GDP with $4.346. USA, china, south korea, taiwan and hong kong are the major exporting countries. Japan has witnessed a massive rise in its export amount, which has crossed the mark of $665.7 billion.

Snapshot

Economic Overview

• Industrialized free-market economy.
• Third largest economy in the world by purchasing power parity and second largest by market exchange rates.
• Largest manufacturer of machine tools in the world.
• Leading automobile manufacturer and most important steel maker.
• One of the major fishing nations in the world.

International Trade
Major Export Items
Transport Equipment, Motor Vehicles, Semiconductors, Machinery, Textiles, Chemicals, Foodstuffs, Non-Metallic Mineral Manufactures, Metals, Transport Equipment.

Main Destinations of Exports
US, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong

Major Import Items
Machinery and Equipment, Fuels, Foodstuffs, Chemicals, Clothing and Accessories, Raw Materials, Mineral Fuels, Semiconductors, Audio Visual Apparatuses.

Main Origins of Imports
China, US, South Korea, Australia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, UAE

Contacts of Trade Ministries/ Associations

Business Visa Rules
Business visitor visas are known as "Temporary Vistior or Short-Term Visa" in Japan. The allowable activities of business visitors are limited to the following:

• Business Meetings or Conferences;
• Market Surveys;
• Business Liaison;
• Contract Signing;
• After-Sales Service

The basic requirement for obtaining business visitor visa are the following:

• Applicant must have a residence and an employer outside of Japan, and must be traveling to Japan for a defined, limited pre-set period, not to exceed 90 days.
• Applicant may not receive compensation from sources within Japan and must be employed and paid by their home country employer during the period of the visit. However, Business Visitors may accept meals or costs of sight-seeing or other entertainment as gestures of courtesy or gifts, provided these are not tantamount to being paid or employed by a party other than the visitor's home country employer.
• Applicant must have proof of adequate funds to defray expenses while on the visit.
• Applicant must have specific, realistic and pre-determined plans for his or her stay in Japan.
• The period of stay must be consistent with the intended purpose of the trip.

Note :- The maximum period of the visa validity is 90 days within a given 365 days period and it is not extended.

Business Hours
9.00 am to 3 pm - Banks (Monday to Friday)
Note :- It is quite difficult to find cash machines that accept non-Japanese credit cards.

Public Holidays