How Did Japan Become an Economic World Superpower?
Japan
When one thinks economic superpower, countries like the United States, China, and Russia immediately come to mind, but how many times would one say Japan right away? Quite often, Japan is overlooked and—as history tells it—is a prime example of how most countries have developed or should develop their economies. Although an island nation, Japan’s population is more than 127 million people, which boasts one of the world’s best public transportation systems and is one the world’s top superpowers in terms of economics and diplomacy. At a whopping $4.6 trillion, Japan has the world’s 3rd largest nominal GDP and is ranked 2nd after the United States for most developed country (WorldBank.org). Given this information, how did Japan manage to set themselves up for a successful economy while others countries in the past have failed to do so? This post will frame the success of Japan’s economy due largely to social reforms enacted in the late eighteen to early nineteen-hundreds, specifically the reformations establishing equal classes. To analyze the roots of Japan’s economy, one must take a look into Japan’s history, their actions, and their decisions to catalyze their position as a world power.
If there is one thing that people know about Japan, is that it is quite known for its long-standing feudal history. From the twelfth to nineteenth centuries, the old samurai code dominated over Japan’s society, which kept social hierarchy in order in Japan for a long period of time. The social caste was made up of the samurai and feudal lords at the top of the tier and merchants at the bottom. Making up the lowest rung of the social ladder, merchants were looked upon as the greedy vermin of the earth, only existing to thrive off of fortune of others (about.com). Japan maintained their societal expectations and caste system throughout the years, until the start of the rise of imperialism and globalization that brought the Western world to Japan’s doorsteps.
The initial globalization of Japan started with the voyage of Marco Polo to the Asian world during a period called the Nanban Trade period (shibuiswords.com). Describing Japan to be a land of “gilded temples and palaces”, the western world was eager to see what goods Japan had in store (Masakatsu). Japan, rich with volcanic geography, became an ideal area for mining resources that were in heavy demand in the western world (Japan-guide.com). Eventually, trade with the Western world slowly began and Japan started to globalize until the start of the 17th century.
The Edo Period of Japan, which lasted from 1603-1868, was ruled by the Tokugawa Shogunate, a decentralized monarchy with one shogun sharing leadership with a collective of smaller rulers of individual lands, thus vastly limiting the power of the Shogun. To an extent, the Edo Period became the trial and error phase of Japan’s interaction with the outside world (Columbia Uni.). In the beginning of the seventeenth century, Japan was trading goods but in small exchanges. Urbanization rapidly increased as more and more people began to move to the cities for new and highly demanded skills and trades. Japan significantly increased domestic commerce with the construction and artisan trades flourishing. The population increased exponentially, as more resources became available. Japan began to modernize, but shortly after the beginning of the seventeenth century, Japan’s progress slowed drastically upon entering the period of Sakoku, or Isolationism. Although Japan still resumed trade, it was strongly regulated with outside contact to the world prohibited without authorization and the trade exchanges occurring in smaller frequencies (Columbia Uni.)
The Isolationism period lasted for more than a century as Japan stood still until, in 1853, commanded by Commodore Matthew Perry, the United States’ Navy blockaded the harbor of Nagasaki and issued Japan an ultimatum to open their gates with the adoption of an unequal trade agreement in favor of the U.S. to avoid becoming another seized colony for the Western World’s portfolio (historytoday.com). Wishing to avoid the same fate as China, just having been defeated by England, Japan grudgingly signed the trade agreements (Columbia Uni.). Although Japan was forced to interact with the rest of the world under unfair trade treaties, Japan ultimately benefited from globalization in the long run as the arrangement led to Japan’s rise as of one of the greatest economies this world has ever seen.
As Isolation ended, Japan resumed international trade in higher exchange frequencies, but still opposed the imbalanced trade arrangement. Seeking to change current conditions, many of those with great concern for Japan began to become restless in the late eighteenth century. Public disapproval of the Tokugawa Shogunate, as a result of the leadership’s lack of power and response to outside threat, led to distrust as many began to question the effectiveness of the Tokugawa Shogunate. General opinion became that Japan was weak under the current administration leaving little room for the development of Japan. Many nationalists, comprised of military and government officials, were infuriated with the Shogun’s diplomacy, causing many to believe Japan was in need of a more effective governing administration. Eventually, the discontentment sparked a coup d’etat of the shogunate and gave way to a new order in Japan. Japan became unified under a new centralized monarchy and established a constitution with the creation of a parliamentary body, effectively moving Japan towards a better future.
The establishment of a new governing system ended the Edo Period and began the Meiji Restoration period (HistoryToday.com). The coup d’état allowed the takeover of Emperor Meiji to unify Japan and to collectively work together as a country, without which may have left Japan behind in development and prime candidate of colonization.
During the Meiji Restoration (1868-1890), the administration was able to radically change Japan for the better, modernizing Japan. Under the practical imperial rule of Emperor Meiji, Japan became unified and easier to govern under one leader. As a result, Meiji was able to establish a constitution, legislate major social and economic reforms, and ultimately plant the seed to Japan’s economic future (Columbia Uni). Arguably, one of the most important and impactful reforms was the abolishment of the social caste and declaration that all classes were all equal, spurring rise of the merchant class, which in due time hurtled Japan’s economy to the top of the list. The establishment of equal classes resulted in the loss of privileges once owned by the samurai and feudal lord and gaining to the rest of the social castes, drastically changing public opinion of merchants and capitalism.
After the ratification of the constitution, the pre-war period of Japan began and many faucets of life began to change for the Japanese. As history shows, Japan took almost every right step towards creating a strong economy. Japan’s first economic reform began with the adoption of western economic models adapted to fit the qualities of Japan. Next, they began to vastly improve infrastructure which created more work and the need for skill and made education compulsory in order to have more well-versed citizens. Industrialization took hold and administration began building factories and shipyards to sell at a fraction of their value to promote the private sector, with a strong public sector acting as anchor. Urbanization greatly encouraged industrialization and with the establishment of a strong National army and new Navy, Japan took world stage after claiming victory over China in 1894 in dispute over Taiwan. Additionally, Japan entered a risky engagement with Russia over ownership of Korea in 1904. Japan surprised the world, defeating Russia, who had already begun globalization, modernization, and industrialization well before Japan did, and gaining Korea as a territory of Japan. In 1902, Japan was able to establish the first superpower alliance with Great Britain backing the growth of Japan (history.com). Japan nixed the previous unfair trade agreements and developed trade treaties with many western countries to benefit Japan and the trading country equally (history.com).
As Japan’s development skyrocketed, so did the economy. The export of textiles and other goods for the exchange of steel and raw materials furthered Japan’s naval and defense development. As cities grew rapidly with the majority of the populations moving to industry and urbanizing, Japan quickly became established and international diplomacy began to evolve. Japan was placed on the on the world map upon entering the first WWI allied with the U.S. and the U.K. (Columbia Uni.). Although Japan underwent periods of economic downturn leading up the present day, the country and the economy was strong enough to adjust to grow Japan’s economy so that the downturn has a little impact on the economy as possible. During the twentieth century, Japan was greatly affected by the Great Depression and had an impact on their economy and growth rate. However, Japan was able to move out of the depression to get back on track of further development and growth of the economy. Due to the continuing growth and development of Japan’s economy, Japan was able to overcome obstacles and barriers that slowed or halted economic growth, and placing them as the world’s third largest economy, serving as a major superpower influence in international affairs. Through smart policies and regulation, Japan has been able to manage their economy even in times of disaster. When the Tōhoku Earthquake of 2011 struck, Japan reacted by pumping in over $180 billion USD into the world market to ensure that their financial system was still secure with an additional $61 billion ready to assist risky investments.
Quite often, people see economic growth and development a result of primarily economic reforms, however this was quite the contrary to the birth of Japan’s vast economy. As seen in Japan, society and its expectations can play a major role in the success or failure of an economy. Japan’s initial social reforms resulted in the rapid development was a social reform as the elimination of Japan’s old societal caste system allowed trade and capitalism to thrive, promoted mercantilism and commerce, and gave hope and motivation to the lower classes to work hard, prosper, and live better lives for themselves and for their country. One of the few countries in Asia that was not colonized, Japan was not as greatly affected by western influence as other colonized countries were. Japan’s history and the rise to power is truly astounding and can serve as precedent for other countries currently trying to become developed.
Sources:
"Japan, Colonized." Encyclopedia.com. HighBeam Research/ Cengage Learning. Web. http://www.encyclopedia.com/article-1G2-2587300231/japan-colonized.html.
"Japan: Isolationism & Internationalism." Japan: Isolationism & Internationalism. Web. http://www.historytoday.com/jean-pierre-lehmann/japan-isolationism-internationalism.
"Japan." Japan. WorldBank. Web. http://data.worldbank.org/country/japan#cp_wdi.
"Japan's Modern History: An Outline of the Period | Asia for Educators | Columbia University." Japan's Modern History: An Outline of the Period | Asia for Educators | Columbia University. Web. http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/timelines/japan_modern_timeline.htm.
"Nanban Trade." Nanban Trade. Web. http://www.shibuiswords.com/namban.htm.
“The Four-Tiered Class System of Feudal Japan”. About Education. Web. http://asianhistory.about.com/od/japan/p/ShogJapanClass.htm
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Great article!
Well, although it was not colonized per se, it was defeated in WWII and its economy destroyed. We do not know how things would have gone otherwise but arguably it was those very same social reforms that caused the war. The causes to the recent growth I think can be traced down to the economic reforms of the last 70 years since the defeat at the war, most of it is economic reforms but of course the social reforms that preceded the war were necessary for things to have gone the way they have.
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