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The Industrialization & Modernization of Japan
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Examines the growth & development of Japan since 1853. Divides that era into 4 periods: the Meiji Epoch, the Aggressive Epoch, the Apology Epoch, & the Schizoid Epoch.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Examines the growth & development of Japan since 1853. Divides that era into 4 periods: the Meiji Epoch, the Aggressive Epoch, the Apology Epoch, & the Schizoid Epoch.
Paper Introduction:
The Industrialization and Modernization of Japan
Japan as a World Power Player has only been on the international scene since 1853, which was the year that US Naval Admiral Oliver Hazard Perry parked his fleet of gunboats in Tokyo Bay and ordered the reclusive Emperor to abandon its 250 years of splendid isolation and accept the philosophy of the West. Seldom has a country's historical record had such a clear and jolting turning point (Mallaby, 1994, J-3).
Before that historic year, Japan was literally frozen in feudalism, a country where lords were bound to each other by ties of vassalage and where peasants surrendered part of their crops as feudal dues. After that year began a period of "Western awareness" unequaled in any study of the importance of economic geography. This discussion will trace the relentless
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(1994, Feb. For example, the sons of the rich landowners in the 186 sbrought back reports and drawings (this was before cameras) of vastnetworks of roads and railroads. That approach, in itssimplest terms, is this: A) seek out the most attractive and potentiallyprofitable foreign examples, whether it be building styles or politicalsystems; B) select those foreign models that seem to be the best, and onlythe best; C) copy precisely the physical aspects of those models; D) adoptthose models into the Japanese culture, and; E) finally adapt themselves tothose models. Themuch smaller agricultural sector is highly subsidized and protected, withcrop yields among the highest in the world. Between 1988 and 1989 alone, total direct foreign investment by Japanese firms increased from $47. Because western countries were the mostadvanced, other countries would come to resemble them as they developed.This belief in a common destiny still pervades America's foreign policy.Yet the idea that modernization necessarily means westernisation hasattracted plenty of critics. 23(24), 26. & Brull, S. The turning point epochs are:the Meiji Epoch (roughly 1853 to 192 ); the Aggressive Epoch (roughly 192 to 1945); the Apology Epoch (1945 to 1965); and the Schizoid Epoch (1965 tothe present).The Meiji Epoch At the beginning of this epoch, Japan was practically a case study inthe important impact of geography on a nation's development. Bremner, B. One aspect of a schizoid personality is the inability todeal with reality. This discussion will trace therelentless modernization and industrialism of Japan by dealing with thecountry's turning points while also attempting to show the cause-effectnature of Japanese history since 1853, which basically ignores the Japanesenation's previous 2, years of history. It should be noted,however, that the epoch names are subjective, being an attempt to arrive atsome semblance of understanding concerning this country that in less thanfifty years has gone from infrastructure destruction to a place as thesecond most-powerful economy in the world. References Bird, A. A person who exhibits strong personality shiftsand who seems to be different people at different times is called"schizoid." This term can justifiably be used to describe Japan between199 and today. Before that historic year, Japan was literally frozen in feudalism, acountry where lords were bound to each other by ties of vassalage and wherepeasants surrendered part of their crops as feudal dues. Today, Japanese TNCs represent a formidable international presence around the world. This attention is due, in part, to the increased level of overseas investment by Japanese firms. After that yearbegan a period of "Western awareness" unequaled in any study of theimportance of economic geography. At last - sayonara to theblahs. Four time periods, or epochs, have been selected for the purposes ofthis analysis. Japanese agriculture became more efficient due to theintroduction of new seed strains, new fertilizers, and new methods ofcultivation, all of which were learned by the young people who had beensent into the Western world to learn all they could. These Wars were a direct result ofJapan's success in the Asian world, since it was, of all Pacific Rimnations including China, the most powerful and educated. This time, the businessinterests took the reins, and the nation turned inward, concentrating ondeveloping a strong government-industry cooperation, establishing andmaintaining a strong work ethic, creating a masterful system of education,mastering high technology, and refusing to spend hardly anything on anArmy, the Japanese nation began a step-by-step plan of industrialdevelopment. One notable characteristic of the economy is the working together ofmanufacturers, suppliers, and distributors in closely knit groups calledkeiretsu. Conclusion It has been seen that Japan's industrial history and spatial attitudeshas been one of copying elements of other societies that seem to work andapplying them to its own situation. It puts white nations at the top, so inflamingracial sensitivities. . At year end 1995, the financial structure is shaky withbanks holding hundreds of billions of dollars of suspect assets. In the 186 s, the sons of these wealthy land owners were sent off toschools in London, Paris and Boston, where they were ordered to learn asmuch about Western culture as possible, and at the same time to select thefinest examples of what made the West so powerful. Business Week, 54(2). 2 -25. The Industrialization and Modernization of Japan Japan as a World Power Player has only been on the international scenesince 1853, which was the year that US Naval Admiral Oliver Hazard Perryparked his fleet of gunboats in Tokyo Bay and ordered the reclusive Emperorto abandon its 25 years of splendid isolation and accept the philosophy ofthe West. The same situation is happening today, but in reverse, as revealed ina fascinating study published in 1995 which states in its introduction: Japanese management practices have received considerable attention and notoriety over the past fifteen years as Westerners have searched for the key to Japan's meteoric economic success. Suddenly things changed. This is a logical pattern to follow,and it has allowed the Japanese to build a powerful economy not just once,but twice. The Japanese people have not squarely faced the realitythat their vast economic power has several attendant obligations in theworld community. The nation remained relatively agrarian during this period ofinfrastructure development. Each has been provided with a descriptive name in order toeasily identify it over the course of the analysis. Rice yields increasedthrough the use of scientific experiments and genetic engineering. Several Japanese scholars relied on thephilosophical works of several American presidents in the 18 s whodeveloped a construct for aggression called the Manifest Destiny andapplied it quite well. Usually self-sufficient inrice, Japan must import about 5 % of its requirements of other grain andfodder crops. (1996, January 22). The first rail line wascompleted in 1872, running between Tokyo and Yokohama and within twentyyears, the country was linked by more than 2, miles of track. It claims universality for rich nations' values, soconflicting with the reluctance of a free and tolerant world to passjudgment. The West claimed to have discovered universal lawsgoverning everything from economics to aesthetics; until the second worldwar most political thought assumed that such laws would push countriestowards a common destiny. Therigidity of Japan's political and economic systems are causing the countryto stagnate. Inaddition, the "select and adopt" philosophy led to the creation of asubstantial export market for silk, tea, and a growing demand for cotton.All these advancements helped generate capital needed for investment inmanufacturing.The Aggressive Epoch By the beginning of the 192 s, the Japanese government had selected,copied, and adopted many concepts from the West, but only those whichprovided favorable conditions for economic growth. The weakness of this pattern of pragmatic assimilation,however, is that it leaves the typical Japanese without a strong feeling ofpersonal identity or individualism. (1995, March 1). The Japanese politicians (still very much the feudallords in attitude and power) decided that if Westernization was going to beforced upon them, they should learn what it was all about. At thesame time, the continued basic strength of the economy has been reflectedin substantial trade surpluses, sizable foreign investments, and remarkablylow rates of unemployment, inflation, and social disorder. Growth came to a halt in 1992-95 largely because of the aftereffectsof overinvestment during the late 198 s and contractionary domesticpolicies intended to wring speculative excesses from the stock and realestate markets. This has often been called "saving face," possibly the strongestsocietal motivator in Japan. . 2 billion to $67.54 billion, more than a five-fold increase over the 1985 investment level $32.54 billion including 2,668 new cases of investment. It is a situation well worth watching. Mallaby (1995) wrote a stunning essaywhich challenges this belief, and offers many troubling arguments: "JAPAN will disappear," wrote Yukio Mishima, novelist and nationalist; "it will become inorganic, empty, neutral-tinted; it will be wealthy and astute." Some 25 years after this prediction that material success would destroy Japan's traditional values, an opposing suggestion has gained currency: that a superstar economy, admired internationally, might enable Japan to spread those values beyond its shores (Mallaby, 1995, 3).Japan's post-war success has seemed to threaten the idea that modernizationmeans westernisation. Links between businessstrategy and human resource management strategy in U.S.-based Japanesesubsidiaries: An empirical investigation. Although annual Japanese investment in the United States declined 19.7% from the 1989 figure, 2,269 new cases, amounting to $26.1 billion in new Japanese investment flowed into the United States in 199 (Bird & Beechler, 1995, 24). From America, theyborrowed the idea of unrestricted trade between states and so removed mostof their feudal trade restrictions. Japanese transnational corporations (TNCs) have aggressively moved into a global business arena once dominated by European and American TNCs. Since they did not have the time to allow private enterprise andcapitalism to fuel a Japanese industrial revolution, the government tookover and made the revolution happen. Economic indicators (1995) Journal of Japanese Trade & Industry, 657. For the next 2 years, though othercountries had larger absolute growth rates, Japan continued as the fastestgrowing of the developed countries. The country's leaders, realizing thatthey would have to modernize to stay independent, responded by organizingan industrial revolution in record time (Mallaby, 1994, J-4). Seldom has a country's historical record had such a clear andjolting turning point (Mallaby, 1994, J-3). For instance, the power of the kereitsu harks back to theattitude of Japanese insularity that was destroyed in 1853, as wasmentioned in the beginning of this argument. In many sectors, hope for the future has been replaced withcynicism and doubt. Thus began an approachto problem solving that has been uniquely Japanese. Modernization Versus Westernization One aspect of this schizoid personality discussed above is theapparent confusion rampant within the Japanese culture that modernizationis equivalent to Westernization. Along with thegovernment, the Zaibatsu, the huge financial and industrial companies alsoinvested in Japan's industries (Walsh, Burton, Chang, & Shari, 1996, 22).The Aggressive Epoch Beginning in the 193 s, the Japanese began a series of wars with itsAsian neighbors, seeking room to grow. The newly formed government (copied fromsystems discovered in England and America) copied Western infrastructure byfocusing their investments heavily on railroads. Though there were some bumps along theway, the long-term trend was upward. 18). Oncetransportation between cities was effected, the Japanese leaders turnedtheir attention to transportation within cities, and in 1895, Kyoto becamethe first Japanese city with Trolleys. Industry, the most important sector of theeconomy, is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and fuels. Japanese foreign direct investment [FDI] grew phenomenally after the Plaza Accord of 1986 which caused an abrupt and steep drop in the value of the dollar against the yen. This was logical, since once a nation waslinked by transportation, the next important step is to ensure a stablesupply of food. Shortly after World War II and until 197 , Japan posted the highesteconomic growth rates in the world. It will be recalled that following Perry's forcing the Japanese people toopen its nation to the outside world that the Japanese sent many youngpeople out into the world to seek out, select, copy, adopt, and adapt thoseelements of the Western world that suggested success. (1996, October 1).Asia: Long march to greatness. As in all industrial countries, Japan saw theimportance and necessity of all these industries. The key ingredient for the pessimism is the fact thatin 1994, Japan posted the lowest growth rate of any developed country.Japan understands that problems exist and must be resolved.The Schizoid Epoch Schizophrenia has often been defined as a fragmented personality,sometimes dual in nature. The Japanesenation is a string of some 1,4 mountainous islands with a land areaapproximately the size of California. The nation's major tactical error in adopting thisphilosophy was assuming that control of America was part of its ManifestDestiny, which prompted the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.The Apology Epoch Following the dropping of two atomic bombs in 1945, which effectivelydestroyed most of Japan's infrastructure, and a comprehensive treaty ofsurrender which effectively destroyed much of the freedom of movement theJapanese had enjoyed in its rapid modernization and industrialization, theJapanese government set about rebuilding. It was also themost crowded per square mile. & Beechler, S. Trade gap with Japan hits record,Austin American-Statesman, E1. This attention has shifted in the last few years from what the Japanese are doing at home to what they are doing overseas. (1994, July 9) Death of a role model. Another situation which heightens the typical Japanese businessperson's schizoid unease is the impact of an interesting historic reversal. Thegovernment took the lead in establishing and operating cement works, plantsmanufacturing glass and tile, textile mills (silk and cotton), shipyards,mines, and munitions works. Crutsinger, M. The Economist.J3(3). Journal of InternationalBusiness Studies. It implies a hierarchy of cultures, sooffending egalitarians. Whether this attitude of "giving in," ofsublimating individuality to the group will carry Japan into the nextcentury remains to be seen. The typical Japanese has been contentto exist in a consensual environment, keeping personal opinions andattitudes quiet, rather than suggesting different approaches to problemsolving. From England, they borrowed the ideaof an industrial revolution, yet added their own special adaptation. Mallaby, S. A second basic feature has been the guarantee of lifetimeemployment for a substantial portion of the urban labor force; thisguarantee is slowly eroding. Time International. Walsh, J., Burton, S., Chang, H., & Shari, M. For more than a thousand years, thelack of navigable rivers and roads made internal transportation withinJapan very difficult.
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