How Japan became the world's third largest economy after World War 2
After World War II, Japan was one of the greatest economic miracle stories. In just three generations, a society formerly based on farming and agriculture has morphed into one which maintains its position as one of the world's largest economies with a rapidly aging population. How did this transformation take place? What changed in Japan's population structure during this time? How did Japan’s economy prosper amid this transformation and the emergence of global competitors like China? Japan entered the era of peace after World War II with low domestic consumption, exports, and foreign direct investment. Its lead in manufacturing industries and exports gave rise to record-level trade surpluses and increased international demand for its exports. After World War 2, Japan lost much of its industrial capacity and most importantly, many of its farmers. This milestone book examines how this Japanese entrepreneurial spirit--combined with high levels of government investment and help from international organizations such as the United Nations--turned Japan into one of the world's strongest economies. After the war ended, Japan was devastated but had learned a wealth of valuable lessons that would serve it well in becoming a peacetime superpower. These included building up strong manufacturing industries using cheap labor and very low wages, keeping the trade balance at zero to keep inflation at bay, keeping its currency weak so that it could easily take advantage of any economic weakness elsewhere in the world, creating internal demand for transferred money by subsidizing economic development leading to social peace and calmness in the country. Japan's time of recovery after World War 2 was brief. It took the country 17 years to regain its postwar peak and another 12 to reach the top-third position in national income levels.