Japan: The Little Country That Could

Japan is an important and powerful country in today's economy, but why? Well, some people can attribute its quick rise in the world to its loss in World War II, and the period of reconstruction afterward. Today, even though Japan is in a recession, with some "unreconstructed pessimistsÐ'...[believing] that Japan never does anything right,"(Roche) and that "Japanese household wealth is a myth because it is held in banks that own bonds that the government can never pay off,"(Roche), it is still a huge distributor and great influence throughout the world. From the 1960s to the 1980s some analysts described Japan's economy as a bubble economy because it was growing too quick, according to James K. Glassman in his article "The Sun Finally Rises Again," he says that "During the second half of the 80s, Japan was growing at 5% annuallyÐ'...and the Nikkei [the Japanese stock market] soared from 10,000 to nearly 40,000 in five years." Another factor that added to the growth of Japan was the fact that their products were cheaper in price and were better in quality than American made products.

Even before WWII had started, Japan had a good economy. According to Andrew J. Dabilis' article "Trade Secrets experts on Japanese culture and commerceÐ'..." he says, "Since 1915 Japans GNP [gross national product] has grown eleven foldÐ'..." Japan didn't just grow overnight economically; if that had been the case then the Japanese government wouldn't have been able to fund them-selves during the war.

Today, even though the Japanese are going through a recession, and "The government is so bust that it wouldn't qualify for a microfinance loan to buy a chicken coop in an African village,"(Roche) they are still managing to control the trade economy, holding the second largest trade percentage and "Ð'...[growing] fasterÐ'... than any G7 economy except America." According to The Economist's article "Picking itself up; Japan's Economy." They also go on to say, "Ð'...rapid export growth played a crucial part in boosting industrial productionÐ'..." Their exports include car makes like Honda, Suzuki, Toyota and Mitsubishi; gaming devices from companies like Sony, and Nintendo; and Electronics in markets such as personal audio