Japan's Economic Miracle

Japan progressed rapidly since it opened its doors. Even after the destruction of its economy in WWII, it recovered promptly to build a solid infrastructure. After the war, Japan's problem was not how to run the economy but financial aid. But with America's aid in cash to Japan, Japan got through the period of extreme shortage soon. The government decided to limit its spending, which meant more funds for private companies (less taxes), and therefore kept expenditures down.

The industries expanding were mainly the machinery, shipbuilding and technology. These were prospering, especially shipbuilding which was given priority because it was comparatively simple and helped promote the merchant marine. Cheap labor and good Japanese steel were the only main requirements, and thus Japan was able to produce a broad range of ships. Japan also excelled in the automobile industry, Toyota and Nissan turned out well-made cars.

In the machinery industry, camera making was doing well with Canon and Minolta, and then Ricoh photocopiers. Leading computer companies sprung up. Examples include Fujitsu, Hitachi and NEC. Japan was good in the art of copycat -- taking technological ideas from the USA, but improving on it.

In the early 1980s, Japan decided to cooperate with American makers rather than go alone into the field of commercial aircraft. But for rockets and satellites, Japanese pride won out and the goal was again 100% national products. Therefore, Japanese was an "economic miracle" despite its shortcomings as it not only caught up with its Western rivals, but also surpassed them.