
This growth was led by:
- High rates of investment in productive plant and equipment
- The application of efficient industrial techniques
- A high standard of education
- Good relations between labour and management
- Ready access to leading technologies and significant investment in research and development
- An increasingly open world trade framework
What are the economic success factors of Japan?
Yet these economic success factors could be the attributes of the importation from the West, for example western social theory, economic practises, and technologies combined with the values of the State Shinto, Bushido and other Japanese traditions.
What was Japan's economy like before the Lost Decade?
Japan's economy was the envy of the world before succumbing to one of the longest-running economic crises in financial history that would come to be known as the Lost Decade. In the 1970s, Japan produced the world's second-largest gross national product (GNP) after the United States and, by the late 1980s, ranked first in GNP per capita worldwide.
What was the economic development of Japan in the 1920s?
During the 1920s the economic development of Japan began to move into different types of roles with changes if industries taking place. A main development was a better source of electricity which in turn was named the hydroelectric plant.
What was the economic development of Japan during the Edo period?
Economic development during the Edo period included urbanization, increased shipping of commodities, a significant expansion of domestic and, initially, foreign commerce, and a diffusion of trade and handicraft industries.

What contributed to the economic success of Japan?
Investment-led growth Domestic investment in industry and infrastructure was the driving force behind growth in Japanese output. Both private and public sectors invested in infrastructure, national and local governments serving as coordinating agents for infrastructure build-up.
What helped Japan's economy?
The low cost of imported technology allowed for rapid industrial growth. Productivity was greatly improved through new equipment, management, and standardization. MITI gained the ability to regulate all imports with the abolition of the Economic Stabilization Board and the Foreign Exchange Control Board in August 1952.
What was the economy of early Japan?
The economy of early feudal Japan was based almost entirely on agriculture. With rice as the basis of trade, the landowners capable of producing the most rice quickly gained political and social authority. To gain the status of daimyo, one had to produce 10,000 koku of rice or an equivalent form of produce.
What is Japan's economy based on?
The largest industries are agriculture and fishing, manufacturing, and tourism among others. Japan's GDP per sector is as follows: services 71.4%, industry 27.5%, and agriculture 1.2%.
How did Japan become rich and developed country?
With a more educated population, Japan's industrial sector grew significantly. Implementing the Western ideal of capitalism into the development of technology and applying it to their military helped make Japan into both a militaristic and economic powerhouse by the beginning of the 20th century.
How did Japan advance so quickly?
Japan's modernization during the Meiji Restoration was achieved in a much shorter time than expected. Japan's island geography, a centralised government, investment in education and a sense of nationalism were all factors that accelerated Japan's rapid change.
How did Japan grow its economy?
With its phenomenal economic revival from the ashes of World War II, Japan was one of the first Asian countries to climb the value chain from cheap textiles to advanced manufacturing and services – which now account for the majority of Japan's GDP and employment.
How did Japan's economy grew after ww2?
Japan's Postwar Miracle The devastated Japanese economy rose quickly from the ashes of World War II. By 1956, real per capita GDP had overtaken the prewar 1940 level. During the recovery period (1945–56), per capita GDP rose at an average annual rate of 7.1%. Recovery was followed by the era of rapid growth era.
How did Japan advance so quickly?
Japan's modernization during the Meiji Restoration was achieved in a much shorter time than expected. Japan's island geography, a centralised government, investment in education and a sense of nationalism were all factors that accelerated Japan's rapid change.
Carl Mosk, University of Victoria
Japan achieved sustained growth in per capita income between the 1880s and 1970 through industrialization. Moving along an income growth trajectory...
The Legacy of Autarky and The Proto-Industrial Economy: Achievements of Tokugawa Japan (1600-1868)
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from Balanced to Dualistic Growth, 1887-1938: Infrastructure and Manufacturing Expand
After the Tokugawa government collapsed in 1868, a new Meiji government committed to the twin policies of fukoku kyohei (wealthy country/strong mil...
Reform and Reconstruction in A New International Economic Order, Japan After World War II
Surrendering to the United States and its allies in 1945, Japan’s economy and infrastructure was revamped under the S.C.A.P (Supreme Commander of t...
Miracle Growth: Soaring Domestic Investment and Export Growth, 1953-1970
Its infrastructure revitalized through the Occupation period reforms, its capacity to import and export enhanced by the new international economic...
Appendix: Sources of Growth Accounting and Quantitative Aspects of Japan’S Modern Economic Development
One of the attractions of studying Japan’s post-1880 economic development is the abundance of quantitative data documenting Japan’s growth. Estimat...
Table 1: Industrialization and Economic Growth in Japan, 1880-1970:Selected Quantitative Characteristics
Notes: [a] Maddison (2000) provides estimates of real income that take into account the purchasing power of national currencies.[b] Ohkawa (1979) g...
What was the Japanese economy like at the time of independence?
The Japanese economy at the return of independence in 1952 was in the process of growth and change. Sustained prosperity and high annual growth rates, which averaged 10 percent in 1955–60 and later climbed to more than 13 percent, changed all sectors of Japanese life.
What were the main factors that influenced the growth of the Japanese economy in the 1960s?
Two elements underscored rapid growth in the 1960s. The first was the development of a consumer economy , which was given a significant boost by Ikeda Hayato ’s Income Doubling Plan of 1960. This plan reaffirmed the government’s responsibility for social welfare, vocational training, and education, while also redefining growth to include consumers as well as producers. The second was the new industrial policy that emerged out of the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MITI) in 1959. Under these influences the structure of the Japanese economy changed to concentrate on high-quality and high-technology products designed for domestic and foreign consumption. The production of such products also emphasized Japan’s need for stable, economically advanced trading partners to replace the Asian markets to which inexpensive textiles had been sent earlier. Improvements in transportation—e.g., cargo-handling methods and bulk transport by large ore carriers and tankers—helped to remove the disadvantage of the greater distances over which Japan’s products had to be shipped. Most important, the large and growing domestic market was rendering invalid earlier generalizations about Japan’s need for cheap labour and captive Asian colonies to sustain its economy. The era of high growth continued until the “oil shock” of 1973: the embargo by OPEC (the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Nations). In the interim, Japan’s output shifted with world currents, and its industrial expansion made it a world leader in shipbuilding, electronics, precision optical equipment, steel, automobiles, and high technology. In the 1960s Japanese exports expanded at an annual rate of more than 15 percent, and in 1965 Japan revealed the first signs that it had a trade surplus.
What did young men bring up?
Young men brought up on visions of urban life as projected by American television programs were eager to move to the cities after graduation from high school. Young women showed increasing reluctance to become farm wives, and in some instances villagers sought spouses for their sons in Southeast Asia.
What percentage of the population was rural in the Meiji period?
In the Meiji period the rural population of Japan stood at 85 percent of the national total; by 1945 it was approximately 50 percent, and by 1970 it had fallen to less than 20 percent. In the process, both village and urban life underwent significant changes.
What were the changes in Japan's social life?
The first was the significant decline in the birth rate that stabilized the Japanese population. The second was the population shift from the countryside to urban centres. In addition to birth control, such factors as a more highly educated populace, postponement of marriage in favour of education and employment, and a desire for greater independence in early adulthood contributed to changing fertility patterns —as did the increasing conviction among many couples that it was in their economic self-interest to have fewer children. But even with a stable population Japan remained one of the world’s most densely populated countries.
What was the impact of the 1960s on Japan's economy?
A number of factors greatly aided Japan’s economic resurgence during the 1950s and ’60s. One was the complete destruction of the nation’s industrial base by the war.
What was the second industrial policy?
The second was the new industrial policy that emerged out of the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MITI) in 1959. Under these influences the structure of the Japanese economy changed to concentrate on high-quality and high-technology products designed for domestic and foreign consumption.
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Factors Behind the Economic Success of Japan Economics. (2018, Jul 30). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/factors-behind-the-economic-success-of-japan-economics/
How did Japan achieve per capita income growth?
Japan achieved sustained growth in per capita income between the 1880s and 1970 through industrialization. Moving along an income growth trajectory through expansion of manufacturing is hardly unique. Indeed Western Europe, Canada, Australia and the United States all attained high levels of income per capita by shifting from agrarian-based production to manufacturing and technologically sophisticated service sector activity.
How was Japan's growth at the end of the nineteenth century balanced?
Growth at the close of the nineteenth century was balanced in the sense that traditional and modern technology using sectors grew at roughly equal rates, and labor — especially young girls recruited out of farm households to labor in the steam using textile mills — flowed back and forth between rural and urban Japan at wages that were roughly equal in industrial and agricultural pursuits.
What were the achievements of Tokugawa Japan?
In answering this question, Mosk (2001), Minami (1994) and Ohkawa and Rosovsky (1973) emphasize the achievements of Tokugawa Japan (1600-1868) during a long period of “closed country” autarky between the mid-seventeenth century and the 1850s: a high level of urbanization; well developed road networks ; the channeling of river water flow with embankments and the extensive elaboration of irrigation ditches that supported and encouraged the refinement of rice cultivation based upon improving seed varieties, fertilizers and planting methods especially in the Southwest with its relatively long growing season; the development of proto-industrial (craft) production by merchant houses in the major cities like Osaka and Edo (now called Tokyo) and its diffusion to rural areas after 1700; and the promotion of education and population control among both the military elite (the samurai) and the well-to-do peasantry in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
How did emergent dualism affect the economy?
The economic strains of emergent dualism were amplified by the slowing down of technological progress in the agricultural sector, which had exhaustively reaped the benefits due to regional diffusion from the Southwest to the Northeast of best practice Tokugawa rice cultivation . Landlords — around 45% of the cultivable rice paddy land in Japan was held in some form of tenancy at the beginning of the twentieth century — who had played a crucial role in promoting the diffusion of traditional best practice techniques now lost interest in rural affairs and turned their attention to industrial activities. Tenants also found their interests disregarded by the national authorities in Tokyo, who were increasingly focused on supplying cheap foodstuffs to the burgeoning industrial belt by promoting agricultural production within the empire that it was assembling through military victories. Japan secured Taiwan from China in 1895, and formally brought Korea under its imperial rule in 1910 upon the heels of its successful war against Russia in 1904-05. Tenant unions reacted to this callous disrespect of their needs through violence. Landlord/tenant disputes broke out in the early 1920s, and continued to plague Japan politically throughout the 1930s, calls for land reform and bureaucratic proposals for reform being rejected by a Diet (Japan’s legislature) politically dominated by landlords.
What did merchants in Osaka do?
Not surprisingly, the merchants in Osaka, the merchant capital of Tokugawa Japan, already well versed in proto-industrial production, turned to harnessing steam and coal, investing heavily in integrated spinning and weaving steam-driven textile mills during the 1880s.
How did Japan take up the Western challenge?
As a result of these domestic advances, Japan was well positioned to take up the Western challenge. It harnessed its infrastructure, its high level of literacy, and its proto-industrial distribution networks to the task of emulating Western organizational forms and Western techniques in energy production, first and foremost enlisting inorganic energy sources like coal and the other fossil fuels to generate steam power . Having intensively developed the organic economy depending upon natural energy flows like wind, water and fire, Japanese were quite prepared to master inorganic production after the Black Ships of the Americans forced Japan to jettison its long-standing autarky.
What was the impact of public policy reforms after 1945?
After 1945 a series of public policy reforms addressed inequality and erased much of the social bitterness around dualism that ravaged Japan prior to World War II. The remainder of this article will expand on a number of the themes mentioned above. The appendix reviews quantitative evidence concerning these points.
How did Japan's economy succeed?
The economic success of Japan is based on its ability to combine the west with its own traditional lifestyles. Japans success within the free markets of the world and its speedy ascension to be the world’s toped ranked and most powerful is a subject open up to debate. Before the arrival of Commodore Perry during 1853 Japan was stagnated due to isolation and had receive a huge economic blow due to losing World War ll. But success came to the Japanese economy from a number of different attributes. These attributes range from social classes breaking down due to the creation of the Conscript Army and the victory it had gained against the Satsuma Rebellion and the manufacturing of its stable and low interest rates after World War ll which was to stimulate its venture capital. Yet these economic success factors could be the attributes of the importation from the West, for example western social theory, economic practises, and technologies combined with the values of the State Shinto, Bushido and other Japanese traditions. The exception to note here is the major reform mainly came from its upper echelons of the society, which in turn means the government. To contrast the majority of reform in Europe was from the centre up, due to the signing of the Magna Carta, October Revolution and in turn show where limited power from the monarchy is pushed from below. Japans economic speed of ascension could be attributed the novel transition which was instituted by the power of democracy. When looking into the Japanese economic susses there are two main periods which have great importance which are post World War ll Japan reconstruction and the Meiji Restoration, it is during these periods that Japans economic growth was at its greatest, this in turn paved the way for Japan to become a powerhouse for modern economics.
Why did Japan's economy grow during the Korean War?
The reason behind Japans economy boost at this time was because they supplied the USA with weapons of war and supplies to the US army fighting in Korea , suggest Smith (1997). This in turn contributed up to $930 million into the Japanese economy.
How did the Japanese economy change during the Depression?
During 1929 to the year 1930 Japan and the rest of the world had hit hard depression. This depression changed the Japan economy and as a result Japan became militarized as a state with its economy being shaped to militarisation which resulted in a growing demand for services and goods from its military, which in turn stimulated the manufacturing industries in Japan through both technologies and production suggest Smith (1997), but half of Japans manufacturing was in the heavier industries and this does have a negative effect on Japans economy later on. There where Zaibatsu developing during this period with the main one being Nissan. During this period the economy had many flaws with the most noticeable one being that the economy was based mainly on the expansionism of the military with the Japanese national budget being used to expand the military.
Why is Japan a good country?
The Japanese economy is strong and very competitive with the areas that have links with trade and is overall one of the biggest economies in the world. The factors behind Japans success is mainly down to exporting. Japan exports many products ranging from electronics, cars and computers with its main and the most important trading partner being the USA which in turn imports more than a quarter of japans exported products.
Why did Meiji Japan industrialize?
In the Meiji Japan it began to industrialise due to the western countries already being industrialised. This was due to private investments and through enterprise which began the industrialised process. The industrial backbone came from the Zaibatsu. Zaibatsu are financial and industrial conglomerates.
What is dual structure in Japan?
A dual structure is when a company or organisation is capitalized and has access to all the latest foreign available technologies with a workforce who is well paid and highly skilled. But, opposite Japan has another side to the economy structure. The oppose side has medium and small companies or organisations with its duties being mainly subcontracting for the bigger and more advanced organisations. They don’t have the latest technologies like their richer counterparts due to lack of capital and they provide low skilled workers who receive low wages, also the major part of today’s Japan work for the smaller or medium size companies Smith, 1997).
What is the government of Japan?
The government of Japan is a constitutional monarchy which means the powers for the Emperor are limited. The Prime Minister for Japan holds the most power followed by his elected members of government. The only stable party in Japan is the liberal democrats which has been together for over 40 years and has been in power from the beginning of its party in 1958. The clean government party or has its known Komeito is a close competitor but only holds less than ten percent of parliamentary seats. The other political parties include the socialist party, communist party, social domestic party and the liberal party.
What was the main economic shift during the Meiji Restoration?
A main economic shift during the Meiji Restoration involved the land tax reform. Prior to the restoration, most of the revenue for the bakufu and the han governments came from rice taxes. However, in 1873 the government replaced the rice taxes with a monetary land tax. By doing so, the government allowed for private ownership of agriculture land, which in turn improved economic incentives to allocate land efficiently for the use of agriculture.
What makes Japan unique?
What makes Japan especially unique, when considering the economic history of the country, would be their implementations of policies. Analyzing Japan’s Economic Miracle after World War II cannot be done without first considering the country’s background in economic policies. It is not just the morale of the citizens nor assistance ...
What were the long term investments in the Meiji period?
Such long-term investments included new railroads to connect the four major islands, shipping lines, telegraph and telephone systems. At first, most industries that were funded by the government were owned solely by the government. However, after a few years, most of these industries were owned by private businesses to initiate a capitalistic economy (Economic Change). The Meiji period was a fundamental milestone in Japan’s historical growth as it was the outcome of a 200 year long feudal economy as well as a trampoline to jumpstart the economy thereafter, especially in the Taishō (prewar) and post war period.
What was Japan's economy like in the 1970s?
Japan's economy was the envy of the world before succumbing to one of the longest-running economic crises in financial history that would come to be known as the Lost Decade. In the 1970s, Japan produced the world's second-largest gross national product (GNP) after the United States and, by the late 1980s, ranked first in GNP per capita worldwide.
How long did Japan's economy last after the economic shock?
After the initial economic shock, Japan's economy was sent into its now-infamous lost decade, where economic expansion halted for more than ten years. The country experienced low growth and deflation during this time, while the Japanese stock markets hovered near record lows. The property market never fully returned to its pre-boom levels. 3
What Caused Japan's Lost Decade?
Most economic crises immediately follow an economic boom where valuations disconnect from reality. For example, the dot-com bust and the Great Recession in the United States immediately followed several record U.S. stock market valuations. 1
What happened to Japan after the 2008 banking crisis?
In both cases, speculation fueled real estate and stock market bubbles that eventually crashed and led to government bailouts. Both economies also responded by promising to increase fiscal spending to combat deflation.
Why did the Bank of Japan not act quickly?
The Bank of Japan's reluctance to act quickly caused a crisis of confidence among investors and may have exacerbated its problems. Spending isn't the answer. Japan's attempts to spend on public works projects weren't particularly successful in helping it recover more quickly from its economic woes.
Why did the Bank of Japan raise interest rates?
Upon realizing that the bubble was unsustainable, the Bank of Japan raised interest rates to try and stem the speculation. The move quickly led to a stock market crash and debt crisis, as borrowers failed to make payments on many debts that were backed by speculative assets. 3 Finally, the issues manifested themselves in a banking crisis that led to consolidation and several government bailouts. 4
Is Japan aging?
Japan's aging population was a major contributor to its woes, while the U.S. maintains relatively positive demographics with plenty of young workers entering the workforce. The U.S. Federal Reserve has also been much quicker to act than the Bank of Japan.
What was Japan's economy in the 1960s?
By the guidance of Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, with average growth rates of 10% in the 1960s, 5% in the 1970s, and 4% in the 1980s, Japan was able to establish and maintain itself as the world's second largest economy from 1978 until 2010, when it was surpassed by the People's Republic of China.
What was the growth rate in Japan in the 1990s?
Growth in Japan throughout the 1990s at 1.5% was slower than global growth, giving rise to the term Lost Decade. After another decade of low growth rate, the term became the Lost 20 Years. Nonetheless, GDP per capita growth from 2001 to 2010 has still managed to outpace Europe and the United States.
What is the largest fish market in Japan?
Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market is the largest wholesale market for primary products in Japan, including the renowned Tsukiji fish market.
What was the Bank of Japan's policy of easing?
From the early 2000s, the Bank of Japan set out to encourage economic growth through a novel policy of quantitative e asing. Debt levels continued to rise in response to the Global Financial Crisis in 2007-08, the Tōhoku Earthquake in 2011, and the COVID-19 pandemic beginning in late 2019.
How many tons of fish did Japan catch in 2005?
Japan ranked fourth in the world in 1996 in tonnage of fish caught. Japan captured 4,074,580 metric tons of fish in 2005, down from 4,987,703 tons in 2000, 9,558,615 tons in 1990, 9,864,422 tons in 1980, 8,520,397 tons in 1970, 5,583,796 tons in 1960 and 2,881,855 tons in 1950.
What happened in Japan in 1991?
Japan's asset price bubble collapse in 1991 led to a period of economic stagnation known as the "lost decade", sometimes now extended as a "lost 20 years.". From 1995 to 2007, GDP fell from $5.33 trillion to $4.36 trillion in nominal terms.
How much of Japan's debt is domestic?
This debt is predominantly domestic, with 45% held by the Bank of Japan. The Japanese economy faces considerable challenges posed by an aging and declining population, which peaked at 128 million in 2010 and has fallen to 125.9 million as of 2020.
