UNITED STATES
United States of America
GENERAL
- Area:
- 9,809,000 km2.
- Population:
- 248,710,000 (1990).
- Capital:
- Washington, D.C.
- History:
- The Declaration of Independence was proclaimed in 1776
early in the Revolutionary War of 1775-83, and Britain
gave recognition to American independence at the war's
end. In 1787 the U.S. constitution was signed, and in
1789 George Washington was elected as the first president
and took office. William Clinton, who took office in
1993, is the 42nd president.
GOVERNMENT
- Type:
- Federal republic with a presidential system.
- Head of state:
- President: William Jefferson (Bill) Clinton. He was
inaugurated to his first four-year term in January 1993.
- Legislature:
- The bicameral Congress of the United States encompasses a
Senate and a House of Representatives. The Senate
consists of 100 members, 2 from each state, elected to
six-year terms, one-third of the total being elected
every two years. The House of Representatives consists of
435 voting members elected to two-year terms.
- Executive:
- Albert (Al) Gore, Jr., is vice-president. The secretary
of state is Warren M. Christopher, and the secretary of
defense is William Perry.
- Domestic politics:
- Aiming to promote change and rebuild America, President
Clinton has placed priority on domestic affairs,
particularly on rejuvenating the economy, and has made
some progress in trimming the federal budget deficit.
- Foreign policy:
- President Clinton is striving to strengthen America's
leadership role in the post-cold-war era and has
reaffirmed his country's commitment to the American
presence overseas.
ECONOMY
- Major industries:
- Manufacturing: all industries; agriculture: wheat, corn,
soybeans, lumber; services.
- GDP:
- $6,738.4 billion (1994).
- Real growth rate:
- 4.1% (1994).
- Principal trading partners:
- Exports: Canada, Japan, Mexico, Britain, Germany, Chinese
Taipei, Republic of Korea, France; imports: Canada, Japan,
Mexico, China, Germany, Chinese Taipei, Britain, Republic
of Korea.
- Currency:
- United States dollar.
BILATERAL RELATIONS
- Political:
- From the end of World War II in 1945 until the 1951 San
Francisco Peace Treaty came into effect in April 1952,
Japan was under the rule of the U.S.-led Occupation
forces. The Japan-U.S. Security Treaty has underpinned
the Japan-U.S. alliance since 1952. In the 1970s the
United States returned Okinawa to Japan, and visits by
top leaders increased in frequency. Emperor Hirohito and
Empress Nagako called on the United States, and
Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter came to Japan.
The two countries stepped up their policy coordination in
the 1980s, and Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush
both visited Japan, the latter to attend the Showa
emperor's funeral in 1989. Since the start of the 1990s
the two countries have been building their relationship
into a global partnership. President Bush, his
vice-president, J. Danforth (Dan) Quayle, and President
Clinton have come to Japan, and in June 1994 Emperor
Akihito and Empress Michiko visited the United States.
- Trade:
- Bilateral trade in 1994 amounted to $172.6 billion.
Japan's principal imports from the United States include
aircraft, lumber, office equipment, corn, electronic
parts, fish and shellfish, tobacco, scientific and
optical instruments, meats, and automobiles.
- Investment:
- Cumulative Japanese direct investment in the United
States through March 1995 came to $194.4 billion (27,112
cases). Investment in fiscal 1994 amounted to $17.3
billion (509 cases).
- Japanese residing in the United States:
- 256,157 (Oct. 1994).
- Americans residing in Japan:
- 43,320 (Dec. 1994; based on alien registration
statistics, excluding diplomats, public officials, and
military personnel).
- Visits by eminent persons:
- Japan to the United States:Prime Minister Morihiro
Hosokawa (1994), Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko
(1994), Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama (1995);
United States to Japan:President Bill Clinton (1993).
(July 1995)
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