Decline of the shogunate in july of 1853, commodore matthew c. Economic development history of japan in the last century, specially after the world warii, is spectacular. Import declined as domestic production rose strongly. The world economic forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. Most parts of the world were rural, with smallholder peasant farmers trying to eke out a survival for their families. The impact of economic development of east asia, including. Economic policies and corporate strategies were geared to this utmost mandate in our mindsto catchup. History, trends, challenges, implications for the united states congressional research service summary prior to the initiation of economic reforms and trade liberalization nearly 40 years ago, china. Outline of japanese economic development after the second world war. Settled by migrants from the asian mainland back in the mists of prehistory, japan has seen the rise and fall of emperors, rule by samurai warriors, isolation from the outside world, expansion over most of asia, defeat, and rebirth. Moving along an income growth trajectory through expansion of manufacturing is hardly unique.
In the 1970s, japan produced the worlds secondlargest gross national product gnp after the united states and, by the late 1980s, ranked first in gnp per capita worldwide. The years 18681941 are the only period in four or more centuries when, along with its war years. Let us turn back the clock and reflect on the history of asian economic growth. Japan s experiences, in particular asset bubble burst and longterm stagnation since the early 1990s, can be also useful for prcpolicy making. Significance, prospects, and policy options congressional research service summary japan and the united states are two major economic powers. Sep 18, 2019 japan s economy was the envy of the world before succumbing to one of the longestrunning economic crises in financial history that would come to be known as the lost decade. In the 17th century, the europeans realized that taiwan is located on the strategic cusp between the far east and southeast asia. Studies in economic history, and after 1974 as studies in economic and social history. A brief history of economic development summary before the start of the industrial revolution, total world output was essentially flat and the world was fairly equal in income levels. Lessons on growth from 0 years of japanese history world. Lau abstract the objective of this study is to assess the potential impact of the economic development of the east asian countries, including china, on japan.
A number of factors had an impact on japan s development and these are still common today in the less developed countries ldcs. For this reason the present chapter is devoted to the somewhat laborious task of characterizing more fully the role of overseas trade in the prewar economic development of japan. You can use income per person as your economic indicator in the x. Japan s economic development remains a model for many technologically less advanced countries which have not yet mastered modern technology to organizational forms. Myths and realities in strategy and development kwan s. This fully revised and updated third edition of japanese economic development looks at japan s economic history from the nineteenth century through to world war ii, recasting analysis of japan s economic past in the light fresh theoretical perspectives in the study of economic history and development.
The age of industrialization 1, iwanami shoten, 1990, p. The economic down turn of the 1990s has, in this respect, been positive. Economic development is the increase in the standard of living in a nations population with sustained growth from a simple, lowincome econom y to a modern, high. Pdf china has created an economic miracle since its economic reforms began in the late 1970s, becoming the fastest growing economy in the world. Modern economic growth theory and development economics. Japans recovery is the greatest economic success story. Kim is professor of economics and departmental fellow of the kellogg institute at the university of notre dame. The economic record u taiwan is one of the first newly industrialized economies nies in east asia.
It is a fairly long sweep of history, however, that i am trying to interpret statistically in this study. Literally rising from the ashes of wartime destruction and neglect, the japanese. Using historical examples, the author has successfully depicted the evolutionary and accumulative nature of japan s internal capabilities, and the japanese private sectors dynamism and resilience before external forces. Structural reforms in the japanese development model part vii. At the end of the twentieth century japanese per capita incomes are about as high as western incomes and about. Burns china and japan are friendly neighbors separated only by a strip of water, and the people of the two countries have forged a profound friendship through their exchanges for more than two thousand years. More often than not the importance in japanese development of the foreign marketparticularly the asiatic marketis exaggerated. In early 20, japan launched a threepillar approach, the socalled three arrows of. What lilian knowles set out to write about in her history of the economic development of the british overseas empire was the remarkable economic achievements within the empire. However, from the perspective of todays development thinking, japan s economic history shared a wide range of common factors in usual economic development. Comparative economic development in china and japan. In fact, the tremendous success of japan in postwar recovery and national reconstruction can be compared to that of germany only. So, to adjust for the graying of its population, you need to. Oecd organisation of economic cooperation and development.
This general goal was shared by all economic agents as a national consensus. Economic development as used by the british historians of empire of the 1920s is a concept quite different from the marxist one, with a considerably longer history. The korean war marked the turn from economic depression to recovery for japan. Incorporated as a notforprofit foundation in 1971, and headquartered in geneva, switzerland, the forum is tied to no political, partisan or national interests.
Economic development history of japan as a matter of fact, japan is an industrial wonder in the contemporary global economy. Pdf japan economy has experienced a period of very rapid economic. A longtime global economic power and western ally, japan has had a history of revolv ingdoor leadership in recent years. The korean miracle 19621980 revisited kellogg institute. Economic partnership to political ends katherine g. To understand japans postwar economic growth, we must consider its economic development and history during the 1800s to early 1900s.
Estimates of japanese income and output by sector, capital stock and labor force extend back to the 1880s, a period when japanese income per capita was low. Japan s economy in the twentieth century 5 the growth of national economic output phases of development although japan began to move toward economic modernity in the last decades of the tokugawa shogunate, this transition became a burning national priority only after the installation of the new regime in 1868. Few nations on earth have had a more colorful history than japan. From the latter half of the 1950s when postwar japan entered an age of rapid economic growth, japanese people became more affluent and began to indulge in traveling, with recreational company trips, group trips, and school trips becoming fixed events in society. Economic development, the process whereby simple, lowincome national economies are transformed into modern industrial economies. The economy was primarily agricultural, with only 20 percent of its land suitable for cultivation and tea and silk as major exports. Economic growth is a complicated phenomenon, and japans economic history since the meiji restoration suggests that japanese know more about achieving and sustaining economic growth than most others. Japan and the great divergence, 7301874 jeanpascal. This fully revised and updated third edition of japanese economic development looks at japans economic history from the nineteenth century through to world war ii, recasting analysis of japans economic past in the light fresh theoretical perspectives in the study of economic history and development. The modern history of japan is the history of modernity. The report includes the japanese population, gdp, facts about japan, business, trade, unemployment and other economic data. Nov 18, 20 economic development history of japan in the last century, specially after the world warii, is spectacular. This has motivated him to analyze deeply the history of japan s economic development facing those challenges. From 1995 new studies in economic and social history is being.
First is government activism in national planning and implementation, with guidance of the largely free economy via sophisticated and powerful monetary and fiscal policies. The impact of economic development of east asia, including china, on japan lawrence j. The background it was in the interwar period that japan s economic and social history established itself as a modern academic discipline, but its origins may be traced back to the late nineteenth century. From the opening of the country in 1859, not just commodities and. The country is one of the worlds most innovative economies having the largest electronic goods industry and patent filings.
It is shown that 1 the contribution of the rest of east. Since the early 1990s, however, there has been a shift to a more balanced analysis. Underlying factors and strategies for the growth introduction japans reconstruction of its nation to become the great economic power in less than forty years after the defeat of world war ii has been a somewhat remarkable exception in modern economic history. Lessons on growth from 0 years of japanese history. Together they account for over 30% of world domestic product, for a significant portion of international trade in goods and services. He is a development economist, occasionally serving as an economic. Japan was the first nonwestern country to accomplish successful industrialization, and the dominant perception of its industrial policy had overemphasized specific characteristics of japan. Although living standards still lagged behind those of north america, western europe, and japan, the gap was significantly narrowed. As the staging area for the united nations forces on the korean peninsula, japan profited indirectly from the war, as valuable procurement orders for goods and services were assigned to japanese suppliers.
Japan is the second most advanced economy in the world, the third largest by nominal gdp, and the 4th by ppp. Japan is a country with a number of unique characteristics that both provide advantages and yet present difficulties. Settled by migrants from the asian mainland back in the mists of prehistory, japan has seen the rise and fall of emperors, rule by samurai warriors, isolation from the outside world. Japan is also the worlds biggest creditor with the leading public debt ratio. The origins of this literature can be traced to three lines of research that began roughly one decade ago. We gratefully acknowledge the work of jsc who provided expertise and technical support in implementing this publication.
The economic development of japan 18681941 prepared for the economic history society by w. Economic history of japan 19141955 a dual structure. Furthermore, japan continues to hold by far the greatest foreign exchange reserves. Underlying factors and strategies for the growth introduction japan s reconstruction of its nation to become the great economic power in less than forty years after the defeat of world war ii has been a somewhat remarkable exception in modern economic history. This has motivated him to analyze deeply the history of japans economic development facing those challenges. Given this success, the role of the japanese government in economic growth and the nature of state. Its hardly a knock on japan that its 70yearolds arent producing a lot of economic output. However, the prcs per capita output, as well as economic structure, lags over 40 years behind those of japan, which makes difficult to. Japan is also the worlds biggest creditor with the leading public debt ratio overview of the economy of japan. As seen in uchidas case, the historical origins of economic and social history in japan are found in two separate disciplines. Comparative economic development in china and japan erich weede university of bonn, germany abstract three hundred years ago per capita incomes in china and japan were about equal and fairly close to the global mean. Japan s economy was the envy of the world before succumbing to one of the longestrunning economic crises in financial history that would come to be known as the lost decade.
The economic histor y of jap an is most studied for the spectacular socia l and econom ic growth in the 1800s after the meiji restoration, when it became the first nonwestern great power, and for its expansion after the second world wa r, wh e n ja pan recovered from devastation to become the worlds second larg est eco nomy behind the united states, and from 2010 behind china as well. Economic development is the sustained increase in income of all members of society so as to be free from material want. Oct 03, 2007 japan s phenomenal economic growth since the 1950s has been based on an efficient blend of two economic tendencies. Park normalized relations with tokyo in 1965, over the heated objections of koreans who feared a return of japanese dominance, if not a revival of colonial hegemony. The rate of economic progress of japan during almost half a century after world warii was unparalleled among the industrialized countries of the world. The postwwii japanese economic development was a process of catchup to the other industrialized economies. The recordkeeping and development of the economic history of taiwan started in the age of discovery. In the world warii almost half of japan s national wealth was destroyed. Koreas economic relations with japan in the postwar period were reestablished with the diplomatic normalization of the two countries in 1965.
After 1996, its economic development slowed but was still high enough to achieve a per capita income comparable to the countries of western europe and to shift from a borrower of to an innovator in technology. One aspect of that challenge is to achieve development in an interdependent world, that is a world in which goods, services. By the late 1890s, japan became an exporter of cotton yarn. One of the attractions of studying japan s post1880 economic development is the abundance of quantitative data documenting japan s growth. Revolutions and the evolution of economic systems references on development history, japanese system 1. The economic history of japan is one of the most studied. Japan s phenomenal economic growth since the 1950s has been based on an efficient blend of two economic tendencies. Pdf growth and crisis in the japanese economy researchgate. Historical demographic data allow the estimation of total population for. Although the term is sometimes used as a synonym for economic growth, generally it is employed to describe a change in a countrys economy involving qualitative as well. Wider research paper 200922 japans model of economic. Aug 21, 2019 japan is the second most advanced economy in the world, the third largest by nominal gdp, and the 4th by ppp. South koreas economic development, 19481996 oxford. Japan was also important in south koreas economic development.
The devastation wrought by japans tohoku earthquake and tsunami accounted for 57 percent of total economic damages from natural catastrophes and manmade disasters in 2011. Japan s economic performance since world war ii is one of the truly dramatic trends in recent world economic history. Japan achieved sustained growth in per capita income between the 1880s and 1970 through industrialization. Although the japanese development problem is of great. The economic history of japan is most studied for the spectacular social and economic growth in the 1800s after the meiji restoration, when it became the first nonwestern great power, and for its expansion after the second world war, when japan recovered from devastation to become the worlds second largest economy behind the united states. State the criteria you have used to choose your countries and economic indicators. A number of factors had an impact on japans development and these are still common today in the less developed countries ldcs. Japan is the worlds third largest economy, having ceded the second spot to china in 2010. History of economic and social history in japan ver3. Knowledge of japanese technological and economic history can contribute importantly to our understanding of economic growth in the modern era. Japans economy in the twentieth century 5 the growth of national economic output phases of development although japan began to move toward economic modernity in the last decades of the tokugawa shogunate, this transition became a burning national priority only after the installation of the new regime in 1868. Learn more about japan s economy in the index of economic freedom.
If one focuses on how those institutions were supposed to work in. Economic development japan tax, import, average, growth. Economic progress under emperor meiji world history. To understand japan s postwar economic growth, we must consider its economic development and history during the 1800s to early 1900s. However, from the perspective of todays development thinking, japans economic history shared a wide range of common factors in usual economic development. Japans economy is one of the success stories of the postworld war ii era. At the starting point of modern economic growth when japan became an open economy in the late 1800s, a huge gap existed between the western powers and japan, due to japan s historical isolation from. Historical overview of japanese economic plans during highgrowth period in. A model of japanese economic growth, 18781937 jstor. Once dismissed as a feudal dark age, the tokugawa period 16031867 now. Oecd organisation of economic cooperation and development opec organisation of petroleum exporting countries. Two main european empires that competed to colonize it were the dutch and spanish empires.
Using historical examples, the author has successfully depicted the evolutionary and accumulative nature of japans internal capabilities, and the japanese private sectors dynamism and resilience before external forces. Starting with an economy drastically disrupted by world war ii and more dependent on foreign rawmaterial sources than that of any other major power. The collapse of the asset price bubble in the early 1990s was. Economic progress under emperor meiji early in the reign of emperor meiji, japan s government was determined to modernize the countrys economy. Prime minister shinzo abe, in office since 2012 and elected.