Four fifths of Japan's area is mountainous. Japan has virtually no recoverable industrial raw materials. Japan's need for raw materals is the reason for its current militant attitude towards its neighbors. The prime minister of Japan is one of the most powerful men in the industrial world. Japan continues to refuse imports of U.S. beef and other food products.
Japan is the world's largest donor of foreign aid.
The contending factions render the LDP ineffective as a political force in Japan. The Social Democrats in Japan would push for more welfare spending. Japan's emperor has the controlling voice in all legislation. Because of the elctoral system, the small farming population holds disproportionate political power. Japan's fishing industry is handicapped because the Japanese Islands are iced in during the winter.