Showa Period (part two) - Japanese History - week three extra information
The Sun rises again - The Showa Period Part Two (To read part one please click here)
The decades following the war were of well-coordinated corporate and bureaucratic efforts to revive both business and the country. Protected by the American military umbrella, Japan was able to funnel full economic resources into its economy. Meanwhile, the provincial millions who continued to flow into Tokyo - its population more than doubled after 1950 - often found homes along the railway tracks leading from the main terminals of Shibuya, Shinjuku and Ikebukuro.
With the urban population's explosive rise, farming's importance dropped to a fraction of the nation's gross national product, although the farmer's political power actually increased. Unusual for a developing ot developed country Japan's new national wealth was evenly distributed amongst the people, leaving almost no one in an economic lower class. Unemployment remained low. Industrial labour disputes and strikes were minimal.
During the post-war reconstruction, government regulation had served Japan's interest well. But as Japan joined the advanced industrial economies in the 1960s and especially the 1970s, the one-way nature of Japan's markets strained relations with others, especially with the US, its largest market, and Europe. Over-regulation and chummy business-government relationships saddled customers with ridiculously high prices for everything.
High rates of household savings created excess capital, used by business and the government for funding massive infrastructure projects. The economy accelerated with uncanny momentum, surpassing every other country except the United States. Japan became the new global paradigm for success and potency. The stock market was on a trajectory that, in the late 1980s, momentarily exceeded the New York Stock Exchange in volume and vigour. Real estate in Japan became the planet's most valuable, and banks dished out money, securing the loans with highly over-valued land. Japan's rising sun seemed, for the moment, to outshine most of the world.
