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Only
15% of Japan's land is suitable for cultivation. The agricultural
economy is highly subsidized and protected. With per unit area crop
yields among the highest in the world, Japan maintains an overall
agricultural self-sufficiency rate of about 50% on fewer than 56,000
km² cultivated (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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