Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It needs to be recognized that first, like all other societies, the Japanese paid the usual price in accidents and disasters that industrialization extracts -- the Tokyo earthquake of 1923 being the most prominent. Then came the war, and the retribution, particularly in the form of the "firestorm" raids which killed considerably more civilians than Hiroshima.
In the late Forties and early Fifties, there was a photographer who roamed the housing complexes which were quickly assembled, with absolute-minimum facilities (no running water, for example) on the same ground on which noncombatants had been incinerated a few yeas before, Anyone seeking to understand what the Japanese went through should see this man's work.
Last edited by 2nd trick op; 08-25-2013 at 03:55 PM..
I don't think enough credit is being given to MacArthur and his rewriting of their constitution.
Before his management of Japan employment was mostly agricultural and most of the land owned by ancient houses who treated their people like serfs. The semi-slaves didn't own fields but they had to give a fixed amount up to the owner in good yields or bad. MacArthur willed into existence two political parties, unions, land reform, and voting rights for women among other things, bringing the country into the modern age. And giving up an offensive military capability as written in the Constitution by the Japanese themselves, they could direct all their effort into modernization of their economy with us taking care of their security.
Quote:
Originally Posted by X14Freak
I addressed this before in a previous post here but you are giving way too much credit to MacArthur. The person behind the land reform was a Socialist agricultural minister named Hiro Wada. All the things you mentioned such as unions, political parties, and women's rights were things that the Japanese (not all of course but I mean there were tons of Socialist movements) wanted for a while until the out of control military took over and branded anyone who supported these things as communists and attacked or imprisoned them. The dismantlement of the zaibatsus was even something that the militarists in Japan wanted prior to he war since they feared the zaibatsus were becoming too powerful. Getting rid of the military was the first step towards getting these reforms done and WWII destroyed the credibility of the military.
I think the philosophical/religious (hard sometimes to distinguish between the two) orientation of Japanese society has to be closely examined as a factor here.
Japan, like most of Asia, doesn't have a religion in the Western sense of belief. Shinto, upon which much of Japanese expansion was based, is more of a cult -- it only a few hundred years old, and venerates innovation. Under those conditions, MacArthur's approach was a very suitable formula for success.
On the other hand, the usual approach used by the Catholic Church, of "co-opting" and blending with the native beliefs, which worked well in Medieval Germany, the Philippines and much of South America, fared very poorly in insular Japan.
I only ever got to know one native-born Japanese (as opposed to the well-assimilated Japanese-American Nisei) to any degree. Ironically, when she left her native land (accepting the stigma that comes with such a decision) she lived for a time at a facility near San Francisco operated by the activist Maryknoll order, though she never converted to Catholicism, or any form of Christianity.
Yet another trait which took me by surprise was the Japanese attitude toward leisure. Although they save and invest with a fervor, the Japanese will apparently spend freely and intensively when it's time to "cut loose". Thus the popularity of golf in a nation where land must carry a high price tag. Also the heavy consumption of liquor and tobacco after an intense day at work.
We can learn a lot about dealing with the difficulties of our own Great Recession (which, I believe, still has a lot to be played out) by studying the Japanese experience.
Last edited by 2nd trick op; 08-25-2013 at 03:53 PM..
Japan bead manufacturers is one way that helped grow the economy. I read that somewhere when looking up info about those vintage necklaces our Mother's and Grandmother's wore. They are marked "Japan." Other countries made them but Japan was pouring them out big time.
Dinnerware from Japan is popular but I don't know how far back the production of dinnerware such as "Mikasa" goes.
And how exactly do you think that it helped Japan's economy? Also, why do you suppose that the US was so keen on reaching out to Japan?
1) The Japanese government was crucial in helping their companies export. They didn't see it as "protectionism" or big government involvement in private matters. The government helped financially, but no less important, they opened doors for the Japanese companies in the beginning. Korea and China followed this example later.
2) US was always open to foreign imports. Unlike Japan, there is no instant preference for domestic manufacture and local patriotism. Once they set foot in a large retail chain, they were on the map. American market was huge and easy to conquer. On the other hand, when Western firms wanted to export to japan, they had to struggle for each and every small drugstore.
3) US insinuated an official policy to help rebuild Germany and Japan after WWII.
4) That book is outdated, especially since Japan's economy took a dive in the 90s and is far from what it had been in the 70s-80s. Without this chapter, the picture is incomplete.
Because the workforce has been and continues to be mostly comprised of temps. After the lost decade, the whole concept of the "salaryman" went out the window and now they use temps that they call "freeters". The crazy hours were only true in the 80s and 90s. When your economy has been in the doldrums for a decade, you certainly won't be working long hours simply because there isn't much work.
The salaryman system is one of the reasons Japan grew so quickly. Yes they put in long hours but the company was loyal to them, retaining them until retirement, providing assistance to buy homes, etc.
The salaryman system is one of the reasons Japan grew so quickly. Yes they put in long hours but the company was loyal to them, retaining them until retirement, providing assistance to buy homes, etc.
Kinda like working for the US Government, except, of course, the Japanese required each other to actually work.
Kinda like working for the US Government, except, of course, the Japanese required each other to actually work.
In the years of Japan's greatest prominence as an emerging economic superpower, one of the most-commonly-raised criticisms was that it was hard to tell where the private sector ended and the public sector began in Japan. This was, of course, inevitable because the rebuilding of the entire Japanese economy form scratch required central oversight and co-ordination.
But Japan eventually had to face competition from leaner, meaner rivals who operated from the same playbook -- South Korea, which at one time suffered from Japanese domination and exploitation, is a perfect example. If there's a lesson here, I believe it's that "state capitalism" is an oxymoron which any successful nation must eventually learn to outgrow. Nations which have attempted to cling to it (Harold Wilson's Great Britain, for example) sometimes paid a stiff price to catch up.
Hard work and saving. Japan now has over 200% national debt but like china its owed to the Japanese people ;not foreigners.
The doesn't make it any less painful.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Kinda like working for the US Government, except, of course, the Japanese required each other to actually work.
