Japan Japan the basics Area Germany Japan California

Japan

Japan: the basics • Area – Germany < Japan < California • Population – 126 million (> 3 times California’s) – life expectancy: 86 (90 for female) – nearly 30% are 65 or older • Parliamentary constitutional monarchy

Japan in history • Oldest continuous monarchy • feudal rule under shogun (1192 - 1867) • U. S. Commodore Matthew Perry – forced Japan to open to trade (1853) • Meiji Restoration (1868) – centralized government under Emperor – industrialization and trade

Japan in World War II • Invasion and annexation of Northeast China (Manchuria) (1931 -1932) • full-scale aggression in China (1937 -1940) • alliance with Nazi and fascists (1940) • Pacific War (1941 -1945) – every country and colony in East and Southeast Asia was invaded

The Occupation • 1945 - 1952 • Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers (SCAP) - General Douglas Mac. Arthur • Two main tasks: – demilitarization – democratization

Demilitarization • Purged almost all wartime officers and politicians • Disbanded almost all militaristic associations and parties • Prosecuted almost all war criminals – The issue of Yasukuni Shrine • Dismantled almost all war industries

War Criminals • Yasukuni Shrine was built in Meiji 2 (1869) • Japan’s Pacific War criminals have been worshiped in it since 1978 • Strong protests from other Asian countries

The "Peace Clause" • Article 9 in the 1947 constitution: • “the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes • “land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained”

Korean War (1950 - 1953) • Economic turning point for Japan: – war supplies to Korea – industrial resurgence – foreign currency • 1945 - 1950 growth rate: 9. 4% • 1950 - 1955 growth rate: 10. 9% • 1952 Japan’s GDP matched prewar high

Korean War (1950 - 1953) • Political turning point for Japan • U. S. started to regard Japan as a vital link in the “arc of containment” against communism • Demilitarization gave way to reconstituting a military force – Self-Defense Force

U. S. Strategic Change • General peace treaty in San Francisco in September 1951 – China and Soviet Union were excluded – formally ended the Occupation in 1952 • U. S. -Japan Mutual Security Treaty – U. S. troops and military base in Japan

“Arc of Containment”

Japan’s Economic Growth

High Growth of 1955 -1962 • Large investment in heavy industry • Imports of energy and raw materials • Government’s economic goals: – achieve economic self-sufficiency – achieve full employment – improve export competitiveness – keep domestic demand high

High Growth of 1963 -1973 • Government’s “doubling income” plan – Large-scale infrastructure construction • Labor-intensive to capital-intensive – Technological improvement and facility modernization under government protection • Aggressive export strategy – Businesses compete with foreign counterparts under government protection

Bubble burst

More shocks in 1990 s • Large and rising government deficit and public debt (now more than 200% of GDP) • Aging population (median age now at 47) • Banking crises and non-performing loans • Asian financial crisis (1997 -1998) • “Hollowing out” of industry • Natural disasters and terrorist attacks

Japan's Trade Partners Export destinations China United States South Korea Import origins China United States Australia 20% 18% 8% $136 billion $125 billion $54 billion 25% 11% 6% $157 billion $67 billion $35 billion

Japanese Ties to Mississippi • Japanese foreign direct investment creates more jobs in Mississippi than FDI from any other country. • Approximately 9, 700 Mississippians are employed by Japanese companies. • More than 650 Japanese citizens live in Mississippi. • Major Japanese corporations across Miss.