Miracle of Japanese Economy .
Can Japan Retain Its Economic Vigor Despite An Aging, Shrinking Population Japan is expected to face tough challenges in the 21st century, these challenges include shrinking and aging population the rising of new economic powerhouses in Asia the diminishing of natural resources and Global Warming. Economic expertise have skeptical and pessimistic expectations regarding the future of Japans position in the world economy. One of these expectations are presented by the Japan Center for Economic Research, this organization expects that by 2030 Japans real GDP will be less than half of Indias and one-fifth the size of Chinas, while Japans population will plummet will be more than 25 from over 127 million now to around 94 million by midcentury.
The Japanese government had noticed the threats that faces the economy, and therefore it it decided to put new strategies to sustain Japans economic vigor. In 2006, Shinzo Abe was elected as Prime Minister of Japan, but he resigned about a year later. Although Abe stayed in office for a relatively short time, he had some remarkable contributions. His most important contribution was establishing an organization called the Innovation 25 Strategy Group. This group consists of a big number of academic experts and industrial leaders who are responsible for creating an innovation roadmap to sustain the power of national economy until the year 2025. Abe also established a new ministry in his government called the Ministry of Innovation. In order to maintain the effectiveness of his governments strategies, he established a new cross-ministry Innovation Promotion Office to ensure the best outcomes of any new proposed plan.
It is a fact that Japanese companies perform well in the markets with their innovative products, but studies show that there are many market-related issues that the government has to deal with. In 2007, a study was conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) on scientific and technological innovation in 82 different countries. Japan ranked No. 1 among the countries that where surveyed in the study. The number of new recorded patents every year in Japan is 51 more than in the United States. However, Japans rank drops to 25 when taking into account the factors of the environment conductive to innovation which includes such factors as flexibility of the labor market, regulation, and openness to foreign investment and cultural influence. Fortunately, at the time of preparing the Innovation 25 roadmap, Abes government was aware of the effects of these problems on Japans economic superiority. Therefore, the Innovation 25 Strategy Group suggested a number of plans to contain any major problem, these plans include imposing new regulations to make it easy for highly-qualified foreign talents to live and work in Japan and lifting restrictions on accepting foreign students in schools and universities.
There are many promising signs of change in the governments policies and in the society. A good example on the positive changes in the governments policies can be noticed in the case of a Japanese design-engineering firm called Takram . The two founders of the firm, Kinya Tagawa and Motohide Hatanaka, are among few Japanese citizens who have completed their college education abroad (Tagawa in the U.S. And Hatanaka in the U.K.). Upon graduation, both men were skeptical about their future as respected engineers in Japanese companies, and therefore they established their own firm.
Shockingly, they found that the government is very interested in supporting all their activities (even marketing campaigns abroad). This case is a good example on the changes in the governments attitude toward foreign investments and the influence of foreign education. An example on the positive change in society is the citizens clean and green behavior. One of the environment-friendly habits that Japanese citizens are committed to is the tendency to use public transportation instead of private vehicles. The levels of using public transportation in Japan are 100-200 higher than in any other developed country. The ability of the government and society to change, makes it possible for Japan to face any tough challenge and turn it into a valuable opportunity.
The Economic Impact of the War on Japan in the 20th Century. The first war that Japan had been involved in during the 20th century was World War I (1914-1917). In this war, Japan fought alongside the Allied Powers (France, Great Britain and Russia) against the Central Powers. The increasing demand on war supplies by the Allies during the years of war gave Japans economy a big boost. All economic sectors found a great opportunity to grow. However, the end of the war was the beginning of new problems (1) The excessive increases in the levels of production led to the exhaustion of Japans natural resources. (2) The huge lack of raw materials led to a devastating inflation. The type of inflation in this case is called Demand-Pull inflation.
In World War II (1939-1945), Japan fought with the Axis Powers (Germany and Italy) against the Allied Powers (Great Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union). It was the most devastating war in Japans history. The excessive attacks and bombing by the Allied Powers resulted in the destruction of Japans homeland. The war had negative impacts on Japans natural resources the labor market and machinery. Japans economy totally collapsed, and it was theoretically impossible to revive it.
The Korean War (1950-1953) was one of the proxy wars between the United States and the Soviet Union during the era of the cold war. The war was between the Soviet-supported North Korea and the US-supported South Korea. North Koreas victory in the war was a huge victory for the Soviet Union and its ideology (Communism) in Asia.
After the war, the United States realized how important it is to have an ally in the region to halt the spread of Communism. Japan was still suffering from the destructive effects of World War II and trying to rebuild its economy. The Japanese wanted to adopt a new economic ideology, but they were confused between Capitalism and Communism. The United Sates took advantage of the situation and offered them the Capitalist ideology. The United States wanted Japan to become a loyal and faithful friend rather than a conventional political ally. The main purpose of forming this friendship was to ensure the presence of American troops in Japan to halt the possibility of establishing a Communist bloc there. The United States had a number of attractive offers for the Japanese government in order to persuade it to accept the idea of becoming the United States ally, these offers included giving Japan a permission to rearm itself and providing it with military and economic support.
The Japanese government had noticed the threats that faces the economy, and therefore it it decided to put new strategies to sustain Japans economic vigor. In 2006, Shinzo Abe was elected as Prime Minister of Japan, but he resigned about a year later. Although Abe stayed in office for a relatively short time, he had some remarkable contributions. His most important contribution was establishing an organization called the Innovation 25 Strategy Group. This group consists of a big number of academic experts and industrial leaders who are responsible for creating an innovation roadmap to sustain the power of national economy until the year 2025. Abe also established a new ministry in his government called the Ministry of Innovation. In order to maintain the effectiveness of his governments strategies, he established a new cross-ministry Innovation Promotion Office to ensure the best outcomes of any new proposed plan.
It is a fact that Japanese companies perform well in the markets with their innovative products, but studies show that there are many market-related issues that the government has to deal with. In 2007, a study was conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) on scientific and technological innovation in 82 different countries. Japan ranked No. 1 among the countries that where surveyed in the study. The number of new recorded patents every year in Japan is 51 more than in the United States. However, Japans rank drops to 25 when taking into account the factors of the environment conductive to innovation which includes such factors as flexibility of the labor market, regulation, and openness to foreign investment and cultural influence. Fortunately, at the time of preparing the Innovation 25 roadmap, Abes government was aware of the effects of these problems on Japans economic superiority. Therefore, the Innovation 25 Strategy Group suggested a number of plans to contain any major problem, these plans include imposing new regulations to make it easy for highly-qualified foreign talents to live and work in Japan and lifting restrictions on accepting foreign students in schools and universities.
There are many promising signs of change in the governments policies and in the society. A good example on the positive changes in the governments policies can be noticed in the case of a Japanese design-engineering firm called Takram . The two founders of the firm, Kinya Tagawa and Motohide Hatanaka, are among few Japanese citizens who have completed their college education abroad (Tagawa in the U.S. And Hatanaka in the U.K.). Upon graduation, both men were skeptical about their future as respected engineers in Japanese companies, and therefore they established their own firm.
Shockingly, they found that the government is very interested in supporting all their activities (even marketing campaigns abroad). This case is a good example on the changes in the governments attitude toward foreign investments and the influence of foreign education. An example on the positive change in society is the citizens clean and green behavior. One of the environment-friendly habits that Japanese citizens are committed to is the tendency to use public transportation instead of private vehicles. The levels of using public transportation in Japan are 100-200 higher than in any other developed country. The ability of the government and society to change, makes it possible for Japan to face any tough challenge and turn it into a valuable opportunity.
The Economic Impact of the War on Japan in the 20th Century. The first war that Japan had been involved in during the 20th century was World War I (1914-1917). In this war, Japan fought alongside the Allied Powers (France, Great Britain and Russia) against the Central Powers. The increasing demand on war supplies by the Allies during the years of war gave Japans economy a big boost. All economic sectors found a great opportunity to grow. However, the end of the war was the beginning of new problems (1) The excessive increases in the levels of production led to the exhaustion of Japans natural resources. (2) The huge lack of raw materials led to a devastating inflation. The type of inflation in this case is called Demand-Pull inflation.
In World War II (1939-1945), Japan fought with the Axis Powers (Germany and Italy) against the Allied Powers (Great Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union). It was the most devastating war in Japans history. The excessive attacks and bombing by the Allied Powers resulted in the destruction of Japans homeland. The war had negative impacts on Japans natural resources the labor market and machinery. Japans economy totally collapsed, and it was theoretically impossible to revive it.
The Korean War (1950-1953) was one of the proxy wars between the United States and the Soviet Union during the era of the cold war. The war was between the Soviet-supported North Korea and the US-supported South Korea. North Koreas victory in the war was a huge victory for the Soviet Union and its ideology (Communism) in Asia.
After the war, the United States realized how important it is to have an ally in the region to halt the spread of Communism. Japan was still suffering from the destructive effects of World War II and trying to rebuild its economy. The Japanese wanted to adopt a new economic ideology, but they were confused between Capitalism and Communism. The United Sates took advantage of the situation and offered them the Capitalist ideology. The United States wanted Japan to become a loyal and faithful friend rather than a conventional political ally. The main purpose of forming this friendship was to ensure the presence of American troops in Japan to halt the possibility of establishing a Communist bloc there. The United States had a number of attractive offers for the Japanese government in order to persuade it to accept the idea of becoming the United States ally, these offers included giving Japan a permission to rearm itself and providing it with military and economic support.
