For decades, the economic development of Japan has been regarded as a miracle due to its ability to regenerate rapidly after the damage of the Second World War. An impressive part of the Japanese economic success concerns the country’s trade relations with the US and Asian markets (Grimes, 2001). However, when looking closer at the patterns of the Japanese economy, it becomes evident that its growth is, most of all, predetermined by its duality.
Essentially, international trade plays the most important role in Japan, as the services and labor it exports abroad are of significant value to such big economies as the United States. However, when applying the term “economic miracle” to the process of Japanese development, the concept of miracle concerns macroeconomics and the country’s global position. Although during the period of economic growth, the government cooperated with the banking sector on loaning money to the customers and securing interest rate profit, the process was soon followed by economic recession and the inability to stay afloat (Amyx, 2001). Moreover, Japan’s living standards were more challenging than in the states with less impressive economic development.
For example, despite the world’s leading economic position, Japan still struggled with securing gender and racial equality across the country (Brinton, 1992). Even though women played a crucial role in the economic miracle creation, the microeconomics of the country paid little attention to the difference between the real socio-economic situation in the country and the GDP rates presented to the global economic community. Hence, it may be concluded that the mystery behind the Japanese economic development in the 20th century is mostly explained by its disregard of microeconomic specifics, eventually leading to recession and challenges.
References
Amyx, J. A. (2001). Informality and institutional inertia: The case of Japanese financial regulation. Japanese Journal of Political Science, 2(1), 47-66. Web.
Brinton, M. C. (1992). Women and the economic miracle. University of California Press.
Grimes, W. M. (2001). Unmaking the Japanese miracle. Cornell University Press.