However the fish catch, which includes squid, pilchard, tuna, mackerel, salmon and whales, is significant and Japan is one of the world's major fishing nations, taking about fifteen percent of the world's total catch. Agricultural produce includes rice, vegetables, sugar beet, sweet potatoes, apples and citrus fruits. Japanese farmers have always worked hard to extract the maximum from their small amount of arable land and computerized greenhouses and other modern techniques are used to ensure the best possible crops. Japan has little in way of exploitable mineral resources with only coal being mined on any significant scale. There is however some extraction of limestone, oil, natural gas, iron ore , copper, lead, manganese, zinc, gold and silver.
Japan has very strict rules about energy efficiency, to reduce oil imports wherever possible.
Important industries are iron and steel, microelectronics technology, vehicle production, shipbuilding, chemicals, petrochemicals and textiles. Robotic and computer control is used in a significant percentage of production. Japan has exported its production techniques to many overseas countries. The names Honda, Fujitsu, Nissan, Sony , Suzuki, Toyoto and Yamaha are known worldwide and Japan is, after the USA, the world's largest trading nation. The lack of natural resources means that fuel, raw materials and food have to be imported in large quantities.