japan

1.  1600, Foundation of Tokugawa shogunate, beginning of early modern industrialization
 1868, Meiji Restoration, beginning of industrialization
 1930s, Controlled economy
 1945, Surrender of Japan: economic prostration; American Occupation
 1948, Reverse Course Conservative governments
 1950s, Recovery and growth.
 1960, Income Doubling Plan
 25 April 1971, End of the gold standard
 22 September 1985, Plaza Accord
 29 December 1989, Nikkei 225 average peaks at 38,915
 1990s, "the Lost Decade", the time after Japan's economic bubble collapsed. The Nikkei
225 stock index bottomed out at 7603.76 in April 2003, moved upward to a new peak of
18,138 in June 2007, before resuming a downward trend.
 July 1997, start of the Asian financial crisis which caused several companies
including Nissan Mutual Life Insurance and Yaohan to go bankrupt
 Post 2000, Bank of Japan begins quantitative easing strategy
 2011, the Aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami had far-reaching economic
consequences
 Abenomics Prime Minister Shinzō Abe's programme to help the country's economic
recovery: the economics side is one part of a more general programme, which was
commented by Joseph Stiglitz.[103]
 2020, COVID-19 pandemic, with Abe announcing that Japan had encountered its worst
economic crisis since the end of World War II.[101]
Historical Trends in Japan’s Foreign Economic Policies
Japan’s foreign economic policies have changed dramatically in the 2010s: rebalancing of core
policies (trade, investment, economic assistance); geographical redirection of trade and
investment flows; greater activism in seeking out a voice in global economic governance; and
departure from an exclusive focus on multilateralism to advance trade liberalization and financial
crisis management through regional and bilateral forums. This chapter assesses the drivers of
Japan’s foreign economic policy activism as well as the obstacles that have produced a
checkered record in terms of implementation. By combining explanations at the systemic,
societal, and state level, this analysis elucidates conditions that facilitate policy departures in
Japan’s economic diplomacy: international crises that threaten core Japanese interests, and
disenchantment with the performance of existing international institutions; a strong domestic
advocate that welcomes the policy departure; and streamlined decision-making involving a
single ministry that can handle the issue in a technocratic manner.

2. Japans Economic History
Life in Japan between 1860 and 1900 was marked by drastic social, political, and
infrastructural changes which opened up Japan to the rest of the world, and helped to create
the Japanese culture that we know today.
1600, Foundation of Tokugawa shogunate, beginning of early modern industrialization
Tokugawa shogunate/Edo Period (1603 - 1868)
 Tokugawa Ieyasu
-was the most powerful man in Japan after Hideyoshi had died in 1598. Against
his promises he did not respect Hideyoshi's successor Hideyori because he wanted
to become the absolute ruler of Japan.
 In the battle of Sekigahara in 1600,
-Ieyasu defeated the Hideyori loyalists and other Western rivals.

3. (Hence, he achieved almost unlimited power and wealth.)
 In 1603, Ieyasu was appointed Shogun by the emperor and established his
government in Edo (Tokyo).
( The Tokugawa shoguns continued to rule Japan for a remarkable 250 years.)
 Ieyasu brought the whole country under tight control.
(He cleverly redistributed the gained land among the daimyo: more loyal vassals
(the ones who supported him already before Sekigahara) received strategically
more important domains accordingly. The daimyo were also required to spend
every second year in Edo. This meant a huge financial burden for the daimyo and
moderated his power at home.)
 Ieyasu continued to promote foreign trade.
(He established relations with the English and the Dutch. )
 On the other hand, he enforced the suppression and persecution
of Christianity from 1614 on.
 After the destruction of the Toyotomi clan in 1615 when Ieyasu captured Osaka
Castle,
( he and his successors had practically no rivals anymore, and peace prevailed
throughout the Edo period. Therefore, the warriors (samurai) were educating
themselves not only in the martial arts but also in literature, philosophy and the
arts, e.g. the tea ceremony.)
 In 1633, shogun Iemitsu forbade travelling abroad and almost completely isolated
Japan in 1639

4. (by reducing the contacts to the outside world to strongly regulated trade
relations with China and the Netherlands in the port of Nagasaki. In addition, all
foreign books were banned. Selected daimyo were also allowed to trade with
Korea, the Ryukyu Kingdom and the Ainu in Hokkaido.)( Despite the isolation,
domestic trade and agricultural production continued to improve.)
 During the Edo period and especially during the Genroku era (1688 - 1703),
(popular culture flourished. New art forms like kabuki and ukiyo-e became very
popular especially among the townspeople.)
 The most important philosophy of Tokugawa Japan was Neo-Confucianism,
(stressing the importance of morals, education and hierarchical order in the
government and society: A strict four class system existed during the Edo period:
at the top of the social hierarchy stood the samurai, followed by the peasants,
artisans and merchants. The members of the four classes were not allowed to
change their social status. Outcasts, people with professions that were considered
impure, formed a fifth class.)
 In 1720, the ban of Western literature was cancelled,
(several new teachings entered Japan from China and Europe (Dutch Learning).
New nationalist schools that combined Shinto and Confucianist elements also
developed. Even though the Tokugawa government remained quite stable over
several centuries, its position was steadily declining for several reasons: A steady
worsening of the financial situation of the government led to higher taxes and
riots among the farm population. In addition, Japan regularly experienced natural
disasters and years of famine that caused riots and further financial problems for

5. the central government and the daimyo. The social hierarchy began to break down
as the merchant class grew increasingly powerful while some samurai became
financially dependent of them. In the second half of the era, corruption,
incompetence and a decline of morals within the government caused further
problems.In the end of the 18th century, (external pressure started to be an
increasingly important issue, when the Russians first tried to establish trade
contacts with Japan without success. They were followed by other European
nations and the Americans in the 19th century. It was eventually Commodore
Perry in 1853 and again in 1854 who forced the Tokugawa government to open a
limited number of ports for international trade. However, the trade remained very
limited until the Meiji restoration in 1868. All factors combined, the anti-
government feelings were growing and caused other movements such as the
demand for the restoration of imperial power and anti western feelings, especially
among ultra-conservative samurai in increasingly independently acting domains
such as Choshu and Satsuma. Many people, however, soon recognized the big
advantages of the Western nations in science and military, and favoured a
complete opening to the world. Finally, also the conservatives recognized this fact
after being confronted with Western warships in several incidents.)
 In 1867-68, the Tokugawa government fell because of heavy political pressure,
and the power of Emperor Meiji was restored.

6. 1868, Meiji Restoration, beginning of industrialization
 After 1854, when the Tokugawa shogunate first opened the country to Western
commerce and influence (Bakumatsu), Japan went through two periods of
economic development.
( When the Tokugawa shogunate was overthrown in 1868 and the Meiji
government was founded, Japanese Westernization began completely. )
 The first term is during Pre-war Japan, the second term is Post-war Japan)
 In the first half of the Meiji period,
( most labour disputes occurred in the mining and textile industries and took the
form of small-scale strikes and spontaneous riots. )
 The second half of the period,
(witnessed rapid industrialization, the development of a capitalist economy, and
the transformation of many feudal workers to wage labour. The use of strike
action increased, and 1897, with the establishment of a union for metalworkers,
saw the beginnings of the modern Japanese trade-union movement.)
 The industrial revolution first appeared in textiles
(including cotton and especially silk, which was based in home workshops in
rural areas.)
 By the 1890s, Japanese textiles dominated the home markets
(Competed successfully with British products in China and India, as well.
Japanese shippers were competing with European traders to carry these goods
across Asia and even to Europe. As in the West, the textile mills employed mainly
women, half of them under age twenty. They were sent there by their fathers, and
they turned over their wages to their fathers.[45] Japan largely skipped water power

7. and moved straight to steam powered mills, which were more productive, and
which created a demand for coal.)
 1907 saw the greatest number of disputes in a decade
(large-scale riots at Japan's two leading copper mines, Ashio and Besshi, which
were only suppressed by the use of troops. None of these early unions were large
(the metalworkers union had 3,000 members, only 5% of workers employed in the
industry), or lasted longer than three or four years, largely due to strong
opposition from employers and the government's anti-union policies, notably the
Public Order and Police Provisions Law (1900).)
 Biggest impacts on the economy that the Meiji period brought was the end of the
feudal system (Relatively loose social structure, the Japanese people were able to
advance through the ranks of society more easily than before. They were able to
do this by inventing and selling their own wares. More important was the fact that
the Japanese people now had the ability to become more educated. With a more
educated population, Japan's industrial sector grew significantly. Implementing
the Western ideal of capitalism into the development of technology and applying
it to their military helped make Japan into both a militaristic and economic
powerhouse by the beginning of the 20th century.)
 In the Meiji period
(leaders inaugurated a new Western-based education system for all young people,
sent thousands of students to the United States and Europe, and hired more than
3,000 Westerners to teach modern science, mathematics, technology, and foreign
languages in Japan (O-yatoi gaikokujin). The government also built railroads,

8. improved roads, and inaugurated a land reform program to prepare the country for
further development. To promote industrialization, the government decided that,
while it should help private business to allocate resources and to plan, the private
sector was best equipped to stimulate economic growth. The greatest role of
government was to help provide the economic conditions in which business could
flourish. In short, government was to be the guide, and business the producer. In
the early Meiji period, the government built factories and shipyards that were sold
to entrepreneurs at a fraction of their value. Many of these businesses grew
rapidly into the larger conglomerates. Government emerged as chief promoter
of private enterprise, enacting a series of pro-business policies.)
1930s, Controlled economy
 From 1918 to 1921, a wave of major industrial disputes marked the peak of organized
labour power.
(A prolonged economic slump that followed brought cutbacks in employment in heavy
industry.)
 By 1928, the GNP of Japan at current prices peaked at ¥16,506 million.
 In the mid-1930s, the Japanese nominal wage rates were a tenth of those in the United
States (based on mid-1930s exchange rates), while the price level is estimated to have
been about 44% that of the US.
 In the 1930s, the Japanese economy suffered less from the Great Depression
(than most industrialized nations, its GDP expanding at a rapid rate of 5% per year.
Manufacturing and mining came to account for more than 30% of GDP, more than twice

9. the value for the agricultural sector. Most industrial growth, however, was geared toward
expanding the nation's military power.)
1945, Surrender of Japan: economic prostration; American Occupation
 After the Japanese surrender on 15 August 1945,
(allied forces, mostly American, rapidly began arriving in Japan. Almost
immediately, the occupiers began an intensive program of legal changes designed to
democratize Japan.)
 on 22 December 1945
(One action was to ensure the creation of a Trade Union law to allow for the first
time workers to organize, strike, and bargain collectively, which was passed by the
Diet of Japan)
 1948, Reverse Course Conservative governments
 R e ve rs e Cours e
(Nickname given to the second stage of the post-war occupation of Japan, during
which time some of the intial aims of the occupation were reversed.)
 With the rise in the late 1940s of the Cold War (the struggle between the United States
and its allies and the USSR and its allies)
(The American desire to reform Japan was overtaken by a desire to turn the country into a
strong ally. The resulting change in occupation policy is often called the reverse course.
 In 1947 and 1948 the U.S. government in Washington decided to actively promote the
recovery of Japan’s devastated economy.
(The American occupation reversed its policy of breaking up big business concerns, and
it encouraged the Japanese government to adopt anti-inflation policies and stabilize

10. business conditions through fiscal austerity. Conservative political leaders like Yoshida
Shigeru, who hoped to restore Japan’s position in the world as an economic power,
welcomed the change in direction. With assistance from the United States, the Japanese
government also began to crack down on the domestic Communist movement and curb
the activities of radical labor union groups.)
 1950s, Recovery and growth.
o After Japan surrendered in 1945, ending World War II, Allied forces led by the
United States occupied the nation, bringing drastic changes. Japan was disarmed,
its empire dissolved, its form of government changed to a democracy, and its
economy and education system reorganized and rebuilt. Years of reconstruction
were required to recover from thousands of air raids, including the atomic
bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
o By the 1950s, a former enemy became a Western ally, parts of American culture
became part of the Japanese landscape -- and Japan began to find its economic
footing as a manufacturer consumer devices and electronics.
 1960, Income Doubling Plan
 25 April 1971, End of the gold standard
 22 September 1985, Plaza Accord
 29 December 1989, Nikkei 225 average peaks at 38,915
 1990s, "the Lost Decade", the time after Japan's economic bubble collapsed.
The Nikkei 225 stock index bottomed out at 7603.76 in April 2003, moved upward to a
new peak of 18,138 in June 2007, before resuming a downward trend.
 July 1997, start of the Asian financial crisis which caused several companies
including Nissan Mutual Life Insurance and Yaohan to go bankrupt
 Post 2000, Bank of Japan begins quantitative easing strategy

11.  2011, the Aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami had far-reaching
economic consequences
 Abenomics Prime Minister Shinzō Abe's programme to help the country's economic
recovery: the economics side is one part of a more general programme, which was
commented by Joseph Stiglitz.[103]
 2020, COVID-19 pandemic, with Abe announcing that Japan had encountered its worst
economic crisis since the end of Wold War II
(Prior to the global COVID-19 recession, the 2019 4th quarter GDP shrank an annualized
7.1% from the previous quarterdue to two main factors. One is the government's raise
in consumption tax from 8% to 10%.The other is the devastating effects of Typhoon Hagibis,
also known as the Reiwa 1 East Japan Typhoon or Typhoon Number 19.The 38th depression,
9th typhoon and 3rd super typhoon of the 2019 Pacific typhoon season, it was the strongest
typhoon in decades to strike mainland Japan, and one of the largest typhoons ever recorded
at a peak diameter of 825 nautical miles (950 mi; 1529 km). It was also the costliest Pacific
typhoon on record, surpassing Typhoon Mireille's record by more than US$5 billion (when
not adjusted for inflation).[ In the resort town of Hakone, record rainfall of almost a meter
(942.3 mm, 37.1 inches) fell in only 24 hours. This adds to the effects of the COVID-19
pandemic on people's lives and the economy, the prime minister unveiling a "massive"
stimulus amounting to 20% of GDP.[99] In April 2020, Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe announced that COVID-19 pandemic in Japan, which also forced a national state of
emergency,[100] gave the nation its worst economic crisis since the end of World War
II.[101] Jun Saito of the Japan Center for Economic Research stated that the pandemic
delivered the "final blow" to Japan's long fledging economy, which also resumed slow

12. growth in 2018.[102] Two stimulus packages, in April and May 2020, injected 234 trillion yen
(US$2.2 trillion), or almost 40% of Japan's GD
References :
https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199916245.001.0001/oxf
ordhb-9780199916245-e-008
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_history_of_Japan
https://www.britannica.com/event/Meiji-Restoration
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2128.html
https://www.japanpitt.pitt.edu/glossary/reverse-course’
https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2014/03/japan-in-the-1950s/100697/