日本是造船大国,从１９５６年开始就一直保持世界第一造船大国的地位。８０年代中期,日本建造的船舶总吨位曾占据世界船舶市场的一半以上。８０年代后期,韩国等新兴工业国大力发展造船工业,使日本在国际造船市场上的份额不断缩小。１９９９年,日本造船业新接到的订单为９７０万 Japan is a large shipbuilding country and has maintained its position as the world’s largest shipbuilding nation since 1956. In the mid-1980s, the total tonnage built by Japan once occupied more than half of the world’s shipping market. In the late 1980s, South Korea and other emerging industrial countries vigorously developed the shipbuilding industry, making Japan’s share in the international shipbuilding market shrink. In 1999, the new order received by the Japanese shipbuilding industry was 9.7 million