Despite the destruction of its social and economic infrastructure during the Second World War, Japan's subsequent remarkable recovery and growth propelled it rapidly into the ranks of the developed nations. In order to trace this post-war transformation formally, the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) convened a committee of independent academics to compile a seventeen-volume History of Japanese Trade and Industry Policy, of which this volume acts as a summary. Translated for the first time into English, it examines the planning, drafting, and implementation of various policies adopted by MITI against their economic and industrial background in the period from 1945 to 1979. It provides an objective overview and analysis of the development of international trade and industry policy that will be of interest to economists, political scientists, policy-makers, and public administration lawyers alike.

This open access book provides an in-depth examination of Japan's policy responses to the economic challenges of the 1980s and '90s. While MITI's earlier role in promoting rapid growth has been addressed in other studies, this volume, based on official records and exhaustive interviews, is the first to examine the aftermath of rapid growth and the evolution of MITI's interpretation of the economy's changing needs. Covering such topics as the oil shocks, trade conflict with the United States, and the rise and collapse of the so-called bubble economy, it presents a detailed analysis and evaluation of how these challenges were interpreted by government officials, the kinds of policies that were enacted, the extent to which policy aims were realized, and lessons for the longer term. This book is recommended especially to officials of countries concerned about the challenges that follow on high economic growth and to readers interested in Japan’s contemporary economic history.

The Occupation era (1945-1952) witnessed major change in Japan and the beginnings of its growth from of the ashes of defeat towards its status as a developmental model for much of the world. The period arguably saw the sowing of the seeds of the post-war flowering of what some term the ‘postwar Japanese economic miracle’. However, some scholars dispute this position and argue that the Occupation's policies and impacts actually hindered Japan's recovery. This volume addresses this question and others surrounding the business and economic history of this crucial period. The chapters presented in The Economic and Business History of Occupied Japan are authored by major scholars of the Occupation from the U.S., Japan, and Europe. The chapters are divided into three sections: 'Planning, reform and recovery', 'Industries under the Occupation', and 'Legacies of the Occupation era'. Following an introduction focusing on the historiographical background, the first section examines zaibatsu dissolution and its significance, the role of Japanese businessmen within the Occupation's reforms, the crucial impact of Japan's postwar Materials Crisis, and the impact of reform at the local level in Hokkaidō. Part two looks at a number of individual industries and their development during the era, including the fishing, automotive, and cotton spinning industries. The final section looks at the human impact of the changes of the initial postwar years, including the reintegration of repatriates into the Japanese labour force and the impact of changing working patterns on society and family life. This book covers a key period of the economic and business history of Japan and presents numerous new approaches and original contributions to the scholarship of the Occupation era. It will be of interest to scholars of modern Japan, economic history, business history, development studies and postwar U.S.-Japan relations.

Japan, although now listed as the world’s third-largest economy after that of the United States and China, has been too readily dismissed in the late 20th century as a spent force. This is as unfortunate as it is incorrect for a number of reasons. First, while the Peoples’ Republic of China. is indeed growing and its markets are expanding, an enormous amount of the impetus for development as well as logistical support is coming from large numbers of Japanese corporations operating in the PRC. Major Japanese enterprises such as Toyota, Sony, and Honda are already in China or are in the process of establishing a presence there. The export of Japanese technology remains an important contribution to China’s development. The benchmark of product quality within Asia and in some areas beyond has been set by Japanese industrial standards. This second edition of Historical Dictionary of Japanese Business contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 800 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, Japanese businesses, politics, and economy,. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Japanese Business.

This book looks at the debates on global value chains (GVCs) and free trade agreements (FTAs) as springboards for industrial development in developing countries, especially India. It connects the outcomes in GVC-led industrial restructuring and upgrading to industrial policy choices in trade and FDI liberalisation, in particular those through FTAs. With the share of manufacturing in GDP stagnant at around 15–16% since the 1980s, India’s policymakers have pinned their hopes on greater integration into GVCs to revitalise the manufacturing sector. The multiple FTAs the country has signed over the last few years, specifically the ones with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), South Korea, Malaysia and Japan have been sought to be rationalised using the same argument. The book argues that failing to factor in the industrial policy causalities involved in sustainable indigenous technology development, structural barriers to the entry into GVCs, the assessments of the available evidence on the adverse impact of trade and FDI liberalisation as well as existing FTAs on firm-level incentives for undertaking domestic production, and the industrial policy constraints imposed by FTAs can prove costly for the trajectories of developing country economies, including India. Rich in data, this book will be useful to scholars and researchers of development economics, economics in general, development studies and public policy as well as government bodies, industry experts and policymakers.

The impact of energy on global security and economy is clear and profound, and this is why in recent years energy security has become a source of concern to most countries. However, energy security means different things to different countries based on their geographic location, their endowment of resources their strategic and economic conditions. In this book, Gal Luft and Anne Korin with the help of twenty leading experts provide an overview of the world's energy system and its vulnerabilities that underlay growing concern over energy security. It hosts a debate about the feasibility of resource conflicts and covers issues such as the threat of terrorism to the global energy system, maritime security, the role of multinationals and non-state actors in energy security, the pathways to energy security through diversification of sources and the development of alternative energy sources. It delves into the various approaches selected producers, consumers and transit states have toward energy security and examines the domestic and foreign policy tradeoffs required to ensure safe and affordable energy supply. The explains the various pathways to energy security and the tradeoffs among them and demonstrates how all these factors can be integrated in a larger foreign and domestic policy framework. It also explores the future of nuclear power, the complex relations between energy security and environmental concerns and the role for decentralized energy as a way to enhance energy security.

Structured into sub-sector by sub-sector analyses, this book provides a clear and accessible examination of industrial development, without over-generalizing or being weighed down by historical details. Written by an authority in the area of development economics it explores the companies and the individuals that have pushed Japan's economy forward

This study provides up-to-date coverage of the most important domestic and external political and economic influences on Japanese trade policy, as well as the evolutionary dynamics of that policy in the post-war period.

As Japan moves from a "catch-up" strategy to a post-developmental stage, it is changing its actions and reactions both in terms of international political economy and domestic policy issues. The current changes in Japan can best be understood as following a path toward "permeable insulation." Japan's government and economic system continue to insulate domestic businesses from full competition and the rigor of market forces, but this insulation is also permeable because a decline in state power vis-a-vis the private sector since the 1990s has combined with a decline in the solidarity of private institutions (such as keiretsu or trade associations) to make strategies of insulation much less rigid and uniform. As a result of the "permeable insulation," Japan's response to the global and domestic challenges of the 1990s is neither one of full acceptance nor rejection of global standards and practices. Instead, the basic scheme is one of pragmatic utilization of new rules and circumstances to continue industrial policies of promotion or protection in a new post-developmental era. By bringing together in-depth case studies of eight critical issue areas, this book looks at Japan's responses to globalization and move toward "permeable insulation." Part 1 introduces the reader to the concept of "permeable insulation" and provides a detailed review of past practices and changes in policy. Part 2 deals with international trade issues, Japan's compliance with and resistance to global trade rules, and the domestic interests visible in Japan's compliance. Part 3 focuses on domestic measures and policies that Japanese firms have used to adapt to the changes, within Japan and abroad, triggered by globalization and liberalization.