The economy of a nation is a major indication of its success. One aspect of a nation's economic success or failure is the system of government. Whether a nation is socialistic, communistic, ruled by absolute sovereignty, or based on capitalistic principles can be a key factor in a country's economic success or failure. Government is the foundation of an economy but it is not what determines its success. Issues that determine a nation’s economic success include growth strategies, improved or increased resources, investment and savings, government policies, trade, foreign direct investment, income distribution, labor allocation, innovations in technology, and several other economic issues. I feel that economic growth is the main indicator of economic success. Additionally, innovations in technology, improving human capital, and improving foreign direct investment (FDI) are three issues that can lead to economic growth.
In the following essay I will try to compare two highly developed economies, Japan and The United Kingdom. I will emphasize the success of their economies and how human capital, advancing technology (innovation), and FDI have contributed to their current success or failure. I will briefly discuss the contemporary history of each country, thoroughly cover their current conditions, and end with expectations for their future.
Introduction: Comparison of Japan and the United Kingdom
The U.K. and Japan seem natural subjects for comparison. British and Japanese observers alike have long been fascinated by the many parallels (and the even more numerous divergences) in the histories of these two island nations. Particularly interesting about these two was the "economic role reversal” which occurred between Japan and Britain over the course of the twentieth century. In 1900, the United Kingdom was the world's dominant colonial, financial and naval power, as well as a center of industrial production and technological innovation. Japan was a mere up-start, a precocious and aspiring, but still unthreatening, economic competitor in East Asia. The beginning of the twentieth century, and more accurately the 1950s, saw Japan and Great Britain’s economic “role” reverse. Although Britain has enjoyed healthy growth rates and rising standards of living over the past 100 years, it has been progressively eclipsed by Japan as an economic superpower and an international model. Indeed, Britain's accomplishments have paled in comparison to Japan's meteoric rise: while Japan has emerged as the outstanding economic "success story" of the twentieth century, Great Britain's relatively modest performance has been both discouraging and confounding.
Brief Contemporary History:
After a long period of isolationism, China and Japan were pressured to open trade and have foreign relations with the West in the nineteenth century. During the late 1800’s the Industrial Revolution created a huge gap between the Western and Eastern powers, which left China and Japan in a military and technological disadvantage (Fruhstuck, Lecture). Initially, China and Japan closed their doors to the West because they were both self sustaining nations, did not like foreign influences, and believed that their society was superior to the West. They both tried to resist foreign influences by keeping their interaction with the West to a minimum, but they were no match for Western technology and eventually they each had to sign unequal treaties that favored the Western powers (Craig & Reischauer, 1978). However, China and Japan’s reactions to the treaties that forced them to open their trading ports for foreigners were very different; China rejected Westernization while Japan accepted it (Lockwood, 1956).
In 1900 Britain was in many respects the world’s leading nation, enjoying a large share of world trade, a dominant position in the international money market, and possessing a far flung empire supported by the world’s most powerful navy. Japan was a complete contrast, sharing with Britain only the fact that it too was a nation of Islands lying off the shore of a major continent. Until the 1860s it had possessed a social and economic structure more akin to that of feudal, rather than twentieth century, Europe. By the 1990s, the positions were almost reversed. This paper sets out to examine the contrasting democratic political systems of the two nations and to explore the social and democratic consequences of the changes that have occurred.
In the early 1800’s, Japan had blocked off all trade from other countries. Foreign whaling ships could not even reload or repair their ships in Japan territory. This offended many other countries. In 1852, Matthew Perry was sent to Japan to negotiate open trade. Japan felt threatened by the United States, and gave in to their demands. Japan was frightened by their stipulations, and immediately began to reform. They developed a new education system that was similar to America and Europe’s. They also developed a Western style judiciary system.
In the middle of the 19th century, despite a few similarities between the initial responses of China and Japan to the West, they later diverged; which ultimately affected and influenced the modernizing development of both countries. At first, both of the Asian nations rejected the ideas which the West had brought upon them, and therefore went through a time period of self-imposed isolation. However, the demands that were soon set by Western imperialism forced them, though in different ways, to reconsider. And, by the end of the 19th century both China and Japan had introduced ‘westernizing’ reforms. China’s aim was to use modern means to retain and preserve their traditional Confucian culture. Whereas Japan, on the other hand, began to successfully mimic Western technology as it pursued modernization, and thus underwent an astounding social upheaval. Hence, by the year 1920, Japan was recognized as one of the world’s superpowers, whereas China was on the edge of anarchy.
...feat of Japan in World War 2). With the changes of the nature of power, Japan by balancing out aggressive economic policies and a quiet military buildup, was able to build herself up to become a prominent player in the international sphere today. In closing, while Japan’s policies today in general have been skewered towards the arguments of the ‘Gentleman’, increasingly Japan has considered more realist concerns of security in the escalation of tensions of the East Asian geopolitical sphere. Chomin’s Discourse has nonetheless served as a prophetic blueprint for more than a century of Japan policy-making.
WriteWork contributors. "The impact of World War 1 on Japanese development in the early 20th century" WriteWork.com. WriteWork.com, 05 January, 2010. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
During the 19th century, European countries were implementing a new form of imperialism on many areas. Through this process these European countries gained a lot of power. Some of the areas that were affected from imperialism form the European countries was Asia especially was China and Japan. Asia was a huge area for imperialism, but both China and Asia were very appealing areas to colonize. Both countries reacted differently towards western imperialism, which would change their fates regarding foreign relations and the future of their nation. Japan accepted imperialism and it led them to become a world power and China was against the Western ways and therefore being used by Europe. In this paper I will discuss why China and Japan experienced different fates in the age of imperialism.
So, if Japan does not “belong” to Asia, does it belong to some other amorphous collection of nations, namely Europe or the West? Certainly in the modern post-WWII era Japan has seen phenomenal economic growth, even to the point of threatening the US as the primary global economic power during the height of the “bubble economy.” Some credit this success to the changes implemented during the US occupation. Undoubtedly without US assistan...
63). This not only increased the Japanese people’s nationalism but also their imperialistic journey because of the samurai having military leadership roles; this stressed the importance of their loyalty to society. British roles that already existed in Japan had affected their education— “For a long time, Japanese naval cadets had been sent to Great Britain for training. British experts and officers had worked in Japan in advisory and instructing roles, and most of the Japanese fleet had as built in British yards” in which Japan resulted with multiple strategies for way (Roberts, p. 62 and 212). Another thriving element was Japan’s environment; it provided support through trading with other countries by being a “…semi-developed, diversifying society, with a money economy, large commercial cities and the beginnings of a quasi-capitalist structure in agriculture.” Therefore, they were able to compete and trade not only with Britain but with
...high power status, Japan had to have a self-reliant industrial common ground and be able to move all human and material resources (S,195). Through the Shogun Revolution of 1868, the abolition of Feudalism in 1871, the activation of the national army in 1873, and the assembly of parliament in 1889, the political system of Japan became westernized (Q,3). Local Labor and commercial assistance from the United States and Europe allowed Japan’s industry to bloom into a developed, modern, industrial nation (Q,3). As a consequence production surplus, and food shortage followed (Q,3). Because of how much it relied on aid of western powers, Japan’s strategic position became especially weak. In an attempt to break off slightly from the aid of the west Japanese leaders believed that it would be essential for Japan to expand beyond its borders to obtain necessary raw materials.
The Japanese Economy & nbsp;& nbsp;& nbsp;& nbsp;& nbsp; The prewar economy of Japan was a Socialist economy and the country was ruled by an emperor up to WW2 and after WW2 it started to lean towards a mixed market economy until what it is today, although its government is Socialist it is leaning towards a mixed market economy. & nbsp; The Japanese economy is a mixed economy that leans towards market, it is like this because almost all businesses are run by private corporations or people. and that is the market of the economy. And the reason that they are thriving and are so competitive is because of the trade tariffs and quotas that the government has in place. These regulations include heavy taxes on some products.
...is part is the most prominent part of my paper and I will try to demonstrate how post-war economic development affects Japanese society with some examples in some cases. In order to have an idea about social impacts, I tried to explain and analyze economic development process after WW2 in Japan in the second part. Afterwards I will deal with its social consequences in this part. As I tried to mention in the introduction, social transformation is not linear. It has ups and downs or positive and negative impacts over society. If Japan has economically been developed Japanese society has not benefitted from development right rate. While some Japans have been living in prosperity, the others were suffering on the other way. Especially in 1960s, people were enjoyed with this economic development, but upcoming years the system created its own victims in Japanese society.
Our preliminary class gave a brief, yet detailed outline of major events affecting the East Asian region. Within that class, prompted by our limited geographical knowledge of Asia, we were given a fundamental explanation of the geographical locations of the various events taking place in the region. In subsequent classes, we were introduced to the major wars, political shifts, and economic interests which shaped Japan, China and Korea to what they are today. We examined the paradigm of pre-modern Japanese governance, the Shogunate, and the trained warriors which defended lord and land, Samurai. In addition, we examined the socio-economic classes of Medieval Japan, which included the Samurai, peasants, craftsmen, and the merchants. We also examined pre-1945 Japan’s policies toward foreign entities, notably the Sakoku Policy, which sought to expunge all foreign presence and commerce in an effort to protect its borders and culture. 1945, however, saw ...
In order for any country to survive in comparison to another developed country they must be able to grow and sustain a healthy and flourishing economy. This paper is designed to give a detailed insight of economic growth and the sectors that influence economic growth. Economic growth in a country is essential to the reduction of poverty, without such reduction; poverty would continue to increase therefore economic growth is inevitable. Through economic growth, it is also an aid in the reduction of the unemployment rate and it also helps to reduce the budget deficit of the government. Economic growth can also encourage better living standards for all it is citizens because with economic growth there are improvements in the public sectors, educational and healthcare facilities. Through economic growth social spending can also be increased without an increase of taxes.
Economic growth is one of the most important fields in economics. In current generation economic is developing well. Economic growth is really important to country and for the world as well. Economic are one of the identity for country because it shows a country development and attraction for other countries (F, Peter. 2014). For example well economic develop such as Singapore, Dubai, New York, and Japan. These countries are well develop and maintaining their economic growths. Economic growths are really important because higher average incomes enables consumers to enjoy more goods and services. Then, lower unemployment with higher output and positive economic growth firms tend to utilize more workers creating more employment. Enhanced public