Rise and Fall Theory (History of Post-War Japanese Economy 1945-2004)

Author: Sun Zhizhong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: This book primarily studies the major turning points in the economic history of post-war Japan for 60 years. During the 60 years after the war, the Japanese economy achieved unprecedented rapid growth, but in the process, it experienced fluctuating phases of prosperity and recession: In 1968, Japan suddenly became the world's second-largest economic power. However, under the impact of the second oil crisis in 1974, production declined to varying degrees in capitalist countries worldwide, with Japan suffering the greatest impact, leading to the most severe post-war economic crisis, which some Japanese scholars referred to as the "Third Japanese Calamity." By the late 1970s, when the second surge in oil prices occurred, capitalist countries including the U.S., UK, Germany, France, and Italy all faced economic crises, while Japan alone avoided this downturn, neither experiencing a decline for six consecutive months nor an annual decline. This was mainly due to the Japanese government's decisive preventive measures, such as maximizing efforts to conserve oil consumption, particularly by reducing fuel consumption in products and enhancing their competitiveness, thereby expanding exports. By 1985, Japan became the world's largest creditor nation, but at the same time, in the latter half of the 1980s, Japan fell into an unprecedentedly severe bubble economy. Starting in 1991, Japan's bubble economy burst, and the economy fell into a long-term recession, which was the longest post-war economic downturn in the global economic crisis. During the recession, after discussions in academia, the Japanese government found a steady path to withdraw, so Japan did not experience the severe ups and downs seen in history from 1929 to 1933 during this period. This book primarily studies the major turning points in the economic history of post-war Japan for 60 years. During the 60 years after the war, the Japanese economy achieved unprecedented rapid growth, but in the process, it experienced fluctuating phases of prosperity and recession: In 1968, Japan suddenly became the world's second-largest economic power. However, under the impact of the second oil crisis in 1974, production declined to varying degrees in capitalist countries worldwide, with Japan suffering the greatest impact, leading to the most severe post-war economic crisis, which some Japanese scholars referred to as the "Third Japanese Calamity." By the late 1970s, when the second surge in oil prices occurred, capitalist countries including the U.S., UK, Germany, France, and Italy all faced economic crises, while Japan alone avoided this downturn, neither experiencing a decline for six consecutive months nor an annual decline. This was mainly due to the Japanese government's decisive preventive measures, such as maximizing efforts to conserve oil consumption, particularly by reducing fuel consumption in products and enhancing their competitiveness, thereby expanding exports. By 1985, Japan became the world's largest creditor nation, but at the same time, in the latter half of the 1980s, Japan fell into an unprecedentedly severe bubble economy. Starting in 1991, Japan's bubble economy burst, and the economy fell into a long-term recession, which was the longest post-war economic downturn in the global economic crisis. During the recession, after discussions in academia, the Japanese government found a steady path to withdraw, so Japan did not experience the severe ups and downs seen in history from 1929 to 1933 during this period.