Part I
Basic national demographics:
Japan has a population of 127,463,611 people. The country's majority age structure is from 15-64 years of age. This age block makes up roughly 65% of the population. The death rate and birth rate is almost exactly the same, with a population growth of only 0.02%. The country is facing a declining population due to population ageing which can be disastrous for the society. The worst possible scenario of this situation is that the population will fall too low and will not be able to support their current social welfare economic system.
Japan is almost primarily Japanese. The official language spoken in the country is Japanese. The country has a very high literacy rate of 99%. Japan's education system played a central part in enabling the country to meet the challenges presented by the need to quickly absorb Western ideas, science, and technology. This was also a huge part in Japan's recovery and rapid economic growth in the decades following the end of World War II. The Japanese economy is one of the strongest in the world. Only the United States has a higher GNP.
The country's budget in revenues is $1.429 trillion and expenditures are $1.775 trillion which includes capital expenditures and public works of only $71 billion. Japan feels that given the recent situation of bidding and execution of public works in Japan, it is a matter of extreme urgency to recover people's confidence in execution of public construction and in public works. Recognizing the increasing interest of foreign companies including those of the United States, the government of Japan views it important to make its bidding more transparent and obj ...