Japan's Trade Policy and Economy

The Economic Effect on Japan during Post World War II Japan’s economy was greatly affected by the atomic bombs dropped on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan’s economic recovery as a result of this incident transformed Japan’s economic growth which has become known as the “Economic Miracle.” The bombs caused Japan to reconstruct many more facilities in which the economy moved forward. The Economic Planning Agency, which used to be known as the Economic Stabilization Board, helped Japan to become one of the leading economic nations. The United States also contributed to much of Japan’s recovery by occuping it from 1945-1951.

In 1639, Japan did unfair trading, which led to expelling most foreigners and foreign traders. Japan also had to limit their trades with China and the Dutch.

Although Japan changed in many ways from 1853 to 1941, there were also many factors that remained the same throughout the history of Japan. One such continuity was the maintained existence of a figurehead ruler controlled by other political authorities. The feudalistic emperor of Japan was the supposed “highest, most powerful authority” in the land, but was actually controlled by the military leaders- the shogun. Similarly, the militaristic emperor of Japan decades later continued to remain a figurehead ruler controlled by military and government officials. In addition, Japan continued to remain reliant on exports in order to maintain its economy. As a result of Japan’s small geographical size, the island nation had few natural resources and was forced to rely on exports to survive economically. The nation also grew increasingly reliant on other nations to provide materials and supplies that it could not provide for itself. This complete reliance on other nations was seen illustrated when the Japanese military was provoked to attacking another superpower- the United States, in response to the 1940 United States embargo

The main challenge about trade is the long-term condition of Japan. Although Japan performs well now, it is a receding market. There is a significant challenge for Japan in the future. It is facing a dwindling work population, as the average populace gets older. This provides a serious risk as if the workforce reduces in size so does the production. And production is one of the main factors that make Japan wealthy. In addition, even though it is the second largest economy in the world it will face high expenditure. This is a serious issue if not properly taken care of. However, a country with one of the highest GDP’s in the world is unlikely to mistreat

The United States began to reach outward for trade, showing interest in Japan. Almost forcing the country to begin to trade with the U.S.

For the last several decades China and Japan have both risen as superpowers and dominated the Pacific. Japan during the 1980s had the “economic miracle”, however it had a recession in the 1990s that set Japan back. As China becomes a rising superpower due to growing populations and cheap labor and, while Japan remains a “fragile superpower” because of the lack of resources and ageing population both nations will continue to grow, or will China become another fallen communist nation and will the tiger of the Pacific come to a roaring halt? Ever since the Four Humiliations in 1839 China was in desperate need to modernize and change many aspects of its government if it wanted to keep up with the ever-changing world.

In 1850-1935, Japan has become an industrial power and replaced its traditional, feudal government with a regime in which ministers appointed by the emperor combined with parliament. The interwar years were not a time of crisis for Japan, however. During the 1920s, new cultural developments, an expanding economy and a brief commitment to liberal democracy produced important currents as well. In the 1930s, Japan turned to a more adventurous foreign policy in response to economic challenge and political change. Japan participated in the global economy by changing its government to benefit the economy, the emergence of open trade and still continuing to depend heavily on imports of raw materials.

Currency: Japan uses the Yen, as The United States Uses the dollar. Exchange Rate 12/31/04 US=$1 and Yen = 110.5. Gross Domestic Product (GDP, at market exchange rate) $4.8 trillion for Japan and for the United States it is $11.50 trillion for 2004. Inflation Rate (consumer prices) Japan actually as a deflation of -0.4% as the United States as a inflation rate of 1.90%. Current Account Balance (2004F): $174.1 billion for Japan and the United States is 187.9 billion .Major Trading Partners for both countries.: Germany, Asian NIEs, China, OPEC Merchandise Exports (2004F): $522.4 billion for Japan and $630.57 billion for the United States. Merchandise Imports (2004F): $395.9 billion for Japan and 647 billion for United States. Merchandise Trade Surplus (2004F): $126.5 billion for Japan and for the United States it is $167 billion. Major Export Products for Both Countries: Machinery and transport equipment; chemical and other manufactured goods Major Import Products both countries: Chemical and other manufactured goods; machinery and transport equipment; mineral

Japan’s unemployment rate of about 4% opposed to the U.S. unemployment rate of close to 10%. Even the financial debt to GDP ration is an advantage, and debt in the private sector has not increased unlike the U.S. and European countries, (Time, 2009). In addition, since Japan is a huge exporter and with the U.S. demand going downward, the international balances and growth declined especially as the dollar value dropped and the yen surged. •

Hand in hand, the zaibatsu and government guided the nation, borrowing technology from the West. Japan gradually took control of much of Asia's market for manufactured goods, beginning with textiles. The economy structure became very mercantilist, importing raw materials and exporting finished products — a reflection of Japan's relative poverty in raw materials.[2]

In 1945, Japan was devastated and lost a quarter of the national wealth after suffering a defect in the second world war. A majority of the commercial buildings and accommodation had been demolished, and massive machinery and equipment formerly used in production for the civil market were out of service to provide metal for military supplies (Miyazaki 1967). Despite the trash and ruins had left over in Japan, Japan was able to rebuilding its infrastructure and reconstruct their economy. It is revealed that the Japanese economy was on its way to recovery, which received a rapid development since the war, and the reconstruction of Japan had spent less than forty years to become the world’s second largest economy in the 1980s. This essay will explore the three factors account for the economic growth of post-war Japan: the financial assistance from the United States, the external environment, and the effective policy of Japanese government.

The deregulation of financial markets catalysed by Globalisation worldwide has impacted on the amount of trade within the Japanese economy beneficially allowing easier access to foreign currencies, facilitating a higher flow of goods between nation, by relaxing laws that severely prevented foreign buying of currency, and floating the yen. These drivers have helped boost Japan's trade and recovery from its recession. Technology has allowed finances to be traded and communication to be near to instantaneous. This has increased dramatically the amount of FDI into Japan largely thanks to the numerous strategies the Japanese government has taken to promote economic growth and hence development. Finance and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) have increased as a direct result of globalisation doubling from $63 billion in 2001 to $144 billion in

Since the end of World War II, Japan's economic strategy for growth was based on exports, that allowed the development of its powerful industrial sector. During the 1980s, Japanese automakers in particular were enjoying an unprecedented and largely unexpected period of prosperity. They managed to establish a successful domestic automobile industry and to gradually sell their products abroad. Thanks to their competitive advantage in producing cars with respect to foreign competitors, due to labor differences, technical efficiencies (lighter and fuel-efficient cars), better designs, and of

Japan ranks as the third largest economy in the world as of 2010. The GDP at current prices in US dollars in Japan was reported at 5068.06 billion in 2009, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Japan’s resurgence after World War II has however reached an inflection point in yearly 1989 after the burst of Japan’s asset price and real estate bubbles. As can be seen from the graph below, Japan’s GDP has hovered around the same level through more than 20 years of economic stagnation. The GDP’s slow growth has been exacerbated by the world financial crisis of 2008. A major landmark of Japan’s stagnation has been the BOJ’s fight against deflation.

While Japan’s economy may be contracting, the unemployment rate has lowered to 3.1 percent in October which came down from the 3.4 percent that is was at in January of 2015. The lowest value since July of 1995, but as the number of unemployment has declined sharply and employment has rose. The average of unemployment was 2.7 which was set in 1953. The unemployment rate for Japan is reported by the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communication.