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 Only 15% of Japan's land is suitable for cultivation. The agricultural
economy is highly subsidized and protected. With per hectare crop yields
among the highest in the world, Japan maintains an overall agricultural
self-sufficiency rate of about 50% on fewer than 5.6 million cultivated
hectares (14 million acres). Japan normally produces a slight surplus of
rice but imports large quantities of wheat, sorghum, and soybeans, primarily
from the United States. Japan is the largest market for U.S. agricultural
exports.
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.
Deposits of gold, magnesium, and silver meet current industrial demands,
but Japan is dependent on foreign sources for many of the minerals essential
to modern industry. Iron ore, coke, copper, and bauxite must be imported, as
must many forest products.
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