What Was the Japanese “Economic Miracle?”
1. What was the Japanese “economic miracle?”
During World War II Japan engaged in war as an allied of the Nazi armies, and it counted with a strategic position to control the pacific. Its government, militarized and power thirsty started expanding its sovereignty around Southeast Asia and the Manchurian peninsula in China. But it was not until the attack on the American military base, Pearl Harbor, that the Japanese where condemn to suffer the consequences of pacific war. In the aftermath of the war Japan suffered from the first and only atomic bombing attack, massive allied bombings, and major starvation of its people. The country was in ruined; the collapsed government had drained all its resources in war. Consequently, the economic situation was at the will of the allied powers’ occupation. The old ruling military power was trailed and convicted, thousands of pro imperial japan bureaucrats were band from participating in politics as wells as business. The country was in ruins and its people devastated by one the worst atomic attack in history.
Moreover, the United States saw Japan as an important ally in the Pacific, and its objectives toward Japan changed; it consisted in ensuring economic growth and political stabilization. Therefore, in the following decades what became known as the Japanese “economic miracle” was accelerated economic development to the point where Japan was competing as a world wide economic power. It caught up with western industrialized countries. Yet, what conditions allowed Japan’s economic situation to skyrocket after World War II’s devastating effects? In the following paragraphs the reasons behind Japan’s successful recovery are going to be discussed, from the starting point right after Japan’s surrender until the 1990’s economic stagnation.
Japan’s economic miracle is in part a consequence of the politics that governed post-war Japan. Right after Imperial Japan surrender, the Supreme Commander for the allied Powers (SCAP)
During World War II Japan engaged in war as an allied of the Nazi armies, and it counted with a strategic position to control the pacific. Its government, militarized and power thirsty started expanding its sovereignty around Southeast Asia and the Manchurian peninsula in China. But it was not until the attack on the American military base, Pearl Harbor, that the Japanese where condemn to suffer the consequences of pacific war. In the aftermath of the war Japan suffered from the first and only atomic bombing attack, massive allied bombings, and major starvation of its people. The country was in ruined; the collapsed government had drained all its resources in war. Consequently, the economic situation was at the will of the allied powers’ occupation. The old ruling military power was trailed and convicted, thousands of pro imperial japan bureaucrats were band from participating in politics as wells as business. The country was in ruins and its people devastated by one the worst atomic attack in history.
Moreover, the United States saw Japan as an important ally in the Pacific, and its objectives toward Japan changed; it consisted in ensuring economic growth and political stabilization. Therefore, in the following decades what became known as the Japanese “economic miracle” was accelerated economic development to the point where Japan was competing as a world wide economic power. It caught up with western industrialized countries. Yet, what conditions allowed Japan’s economic situation to skyrocket after World War II’s devastating effects? In the following paragraphs the reasons behind Japan’s successful recovery are going to be discussed, from the starting point right after Japan’s surrender until the 1990’s economic stagnation.
Japan’s economic miracle is in part a consequence of the politics that governed post-war Japan. Right after Imperial Japan surrender, the Supreme Commander for the allied Powers (SCAP)
Cited: G. Bingham J. Powell, Jr., Russell J. Dalton, and Kaare Strom, Comparative Politics Today: A World View, 10/E , Boston, Longman, 2012. Allinson, Gary. Japan’s Postwar History Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1997. Allen, G.C. Japan’s Economic Recovery. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1958. Masahiko Aoki and Hugh Patrick, The Japanese Main Bank System (1994)