War Time, Peace Time, Baby Boom, The

Lost Decade,
& Regiomal Competition

Japan, The Land of the Rising Sun has a warrior

culture. It lives and breathes structure and
discipline.
From the beginning of Japanese civilization until 1185 an
emperor ruled all of Japan. An emperor is similar to a king,
but in Japan he was also a religious leader
However, the emperor began to lose power in a series of
wars.A civil war broke out in 1336 that ended the real
power of the emperor. The emperor sent armies of what
became known as samurai to fight the civil war for him,
and when they returned he gave the title Shogun to the
leader of the army, so they would not take him over as
emperor.
This began a new form of control in Japan, where the
leaders of different armies controlled smaller pieces of

Contd

This form of decentralization is a cornerstone then of

how the Japanese used to approach the chess game of
power as they do so in the battles of business in modern
times. Instead of manifesting disunity or divisiveness, it
cultivated structural functionalism instead many
roles working on one goal.
Japan developed a strong sense of pride in nationhood.
Saying NO to the Gaijins temptations but learning all they
could and adapting said knowledge to benefit their own
interests.
decentralization - the dispersion or distribution of functions and powers;
specifically : the delegation of power from a central authority to regional
and local authorities Source: Meriam Webster Dictionary
structural functionalism - is a sociological theory that attempts to explain
why society functions the way it does by focusing on the relationships
between the various social institutions that make up society (e.g.,
government, law, education, religion,etc).
Source : Sociological Theory/Structural Functionalism Wikibooks

Between 1937 and 1945, during the war years, Japanese

economy received rapid development. Production indices
showed increases of 24 percent in manufacturing, 46
percent in steel, 70 percent in nonferrous metals, and 252
percent in machinery.
(source: Japanese economic takeoff after 1945 on www.iun.edu
as based on John Dower, 1992, pp.54-55).

Private companies received government projects to aid in

the war effort of Japan. Most of the world famous brands
started out as manufacturers of Japanese wartime resources
such as weapons, vehicles, equipment and supplies. Some
of these companies are:

 With the initial boost to the economy during its

preparation for war rapidly declining, Japans economy
was also on the downslide midstream of World
War II.
The Big Bang or the atomic bombs detonated by
the United states over Nagasaki and Hiroshima
was also a blow of uncertainty to the ambitious empire.
The empires surrender to the US and its allies was for
all intents and purposes an unexpected catalyst to
its would be booming economy.
The US imposes economic policies on Japan. With
the Cold War between the US and Russia
brewing, Japan suddenly became a strategic partner to
the US and various organizations it belonged to. These
included the forerunner of the World Trade
Organization (WTO) the GATT. This allowed Japan
to trade internationally with lower tariffs.
After including in the Japanese Constitution the
banning of armament, Japan was offered protection

 In other war ravaged countries, a Welfare State

would automatically be in place. This means the
government or the state shall shoulder the
economic and basic needs of its citizens.
In Japan, businesses fortunate enough to survive the war
and benefited from their transition from war factories to
world trade businesses went into an unprecedented
agreement among themselves to ensure total
employment of the populace in exchange for
patronage by the other businesses and tax exemptions
from the government.
This allowed the government to allot what would have
been geared towards welfare, the much needed budget
for other industrial and recovery projects. The ensuing
result is a Welfare Society that aids itself by
aiding others.
The gears of industry were rapidly turning. Productivity
naturally followed. Free Trade boosted by easy access
made doing business with Japan ideal. This allowed for

 The rise of the Japanese economy started to be

noticeable in the late 1950s and was steadily rising until
1970s. It sky rocketed in the 80s all the way to its peak
in the early 1990s
Fueling the surge is the global demand for everything
Japanese. Be it electronics, industrial technologies,
farming
expertise,
economic
strategy
models,
construction, automotive, and even pop culture and
anime. The world was eating it all up.
Postwar companies that crept up after the US
occupation of 1946 to 1949 were the much too willing
face of this technology driven upswing:

Japan was at the peak of its journey when in the 90S

the economy started to steadily decline.
The global market still patronized their products.
Technology and development of industries was still in the
national agenda but the decline ensued as evident in the
Nikkei 225 Stock Average from 1949 to 2014

 In hindsight, Japan still has some of the basic elements

they had after the war. Geography, free trade,
technology, and national pride. But somehow
productivity
quite
the same.
One
factor is
innot
the
economic
decline in Japan in the
1990s was started as an economic solution in the
1980s. The boom of that time prompted the banks to
give out domestic loans for other business expansion.
This created what is now called The Euphoria
Economy too much happy spending due to
too much happy lending. Ten years down the line,
these brings
loans us
aretonow
uncollected
Non
most
Furtherofanalysis
a very
important or
factor.
A
Performing
pulled
the
economy
strength JapanLoans.
has reliedThis
on italone
the past.
The
discipline,
down.
unity, and vigor of its people. When looking back to
when the population grew as soldiers came back
home and had sons and daughters that by the time
of the economic boom became active members of
the workforce. The same workforce that started to
age in the 1990s and in the same period had a

 The return of many of those men after the war set

the stage for Japans first postwar baby boom in
the late 1940s. But the total fertility rate (TFR), a key
indicator of birth trends, ended up plunging within
a decade, dropping from 4.54 in 1947 to 2.07 in 1957.
(source: http://www.japantimes.co.jp)
This rapid ageing is one of the key factors behind Japans
shrinking economic growth potential. It has drastically
increased social security costs and helped foster deeprooted pessimism about Japans long-term future.
(source: http://www.japantimes.co.jp)
By the 1990s, the shortage in local workforce opened the
avenue in the rise in the sourcing out of workers from
India, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, and The Philippines.
Japan was still getting things done, but the income that
could have been re-infused into the Japanese economy are
then being filtered elsewhere.
.

The Asian region is full of Sleeping Giants, Raging

Tigers, and Dragons emerging from Bamboo
Curtains that The Land of The Rising Sun would
have to contend with. The latter, China is currently on
top. In 2013 Chinas Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) rose to almost 10,000 Billion US$

Economies around the world are a result of a nations different

policies. In the case of Japan, culture, people, and various
conflicts and struggles has contributed to its rise and seeming
slide.
However, history has proven over and over that nothing is
permanent. The dominance of Japan did not just cease or
decline due to its own doing. The world just caught up.
It is cycle that is sure to repeat itself.
It is now up to Japan and any other country in the same
situation to reassess the direction they want to take and the
strategies they will use to attain them. Adaptability and the
peoples will and efforts are the secret ingredient. But it is
easier said than done!