Japan. Japan: the basics Area –Germany < Japan < California Population –127 million (~ 4 times...
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Transcript of Japan. Japan: the basics Area –Germany < Japan < California Population –127 million (~ 4 times...
Japan
Japan: the basics
• Area– Germany < Japan < California
• Population– 127 million (~ 4 times California’s)– life expectancy: 84 (87 for female)– 24% are 65 or above
• constitutional monarchy
Japan in history
• Oldest continuous monarchy
• feudal rule under shogun (1192 - 1867)
• U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry– forced Japan to open to trade (1853)
• Meiji Restoration (1868)– centralized government under Emperor– industrialization and trade
Japan in World War II
• Invasion and annexation of Northeast China (Manchuria) (1931-1932)
• full-scale aggression in China (1937-1940)
• alliance with Nazi and fascists (1940)
• Pacific War (1941-1945)– every country and colony in East and
Southeast Asia was invaded
The Occupation
• 1945 - 1952
• Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers (SCAP) - General Douglas MacArthur
• Two main tasks:– demilitarization– democratization
Demilitarization
• Purged almost all wartime officers and politicians
• Disbanded almost all militaristic associations and parties
• Prosecuted almost all war criminals– The issue of Yasukuni Shrine
• Dismantled almost all war industries
War Criminals
• Yasukuni Shrine was built in Meiji 2 (1869)
• Japan’s Pacific War criminals have been worshiped in it since 1978
• Strong protests from other Asian countries
The "Peace Clause"
• Article 9 in the 1947 constitution:
• “the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes
• “land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained”
Korean War (1950 - 1953)
• Economic turning point for Japan:– war supplies to Korea– industrial resurgence– foreign currency
• 1945 - 1950 growth rate: 9.4%
• 1950 - 1955 growth rate: 10.9%
• 1952 Japan’s GDP matched prewar high
Korean War (1950 - 1953)
• Political turning point for Japan
• U.S. started to regard Japan as a vital link in the “arc of containment” against communism
• Demilitarization gave way to reconstituting a military force– Self-Defense Force
U.S. Strategic Change
• General peace treaty in San Francisco in September 1951– China and Soviet Union were excluded– formally ended the Occupation in 1952
• U.S.-Japan Mutual Security Treaty– U.S. troops and military base in Japan
“Arc of Containment”
Japan’s Economic Growth
High Growth of 1955-1962
• Large investment in heavy industry
• Imports of energy and raw materials
• Government’s economic goals:– achieve economic self-sufficiency– achieve full employment– improve export competitiveness– keep domestic demand high
High Growth of 1963-1973
• Government’s “doubling income” plan– Large-scale infrastructure construction
• Labor-intensive to capital-intensive– Technological improvement and facility
modernization under government protection
• Aggressive export strategy– Businesses compete with foreign counterparts
under government protection
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JPY/USD Exchange Rate 1971-2007
Bubble burst
More shocks in 1990s
• Large and rising government deficit and public debt (now more than 200% of GDP)
• Aging population (median age now at 45)
• Banking crises and non-performing loans
• Asian financial crisis (1997-1998)
• “Hollowing out” of industry
• Natural disasters and terrorist attacks
Japan's Top Trade Partners (Total Volume, in trillion yen)
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1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
USA Mainland China Hong Kong
Suggested Readings
• Japanese Prime Minister’s website: http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/index-e.html
• Journals in the UM library:– Japan Echo– Japan Quarterly
• Books and videos in the UM library