Working Within a Global System, working Outside Foreign Influence: The Complexities of Japanese Economic Development during the Tokugawa and Meiji Periods and the Post World War II Era
This 9-page graduate paper considers the role of foreign influence at key moment’s of Japan’s economic development, and concludes that government intervention and a desire to adopt and appropriate ideas and theories have over the years developed a unique style of Japanese capitalism while keeping Japan from being too influenced or overwhelmed by foreign influence. This paper considers the roles of the government and roles of foreign powers in three key incidents of Japanese history: the Tokugawa period, the Meiji period, and U.S. occupation of Japan following World War II. In the Tokugawa period, two events occurred simultaneously - the Tokugawa family rose to power and European missionaries and traders arrived in Japan. At first, the missionaries and traders were welcomed, and the Japanese adopted their ideas for their own good. However, the Tokugawa felt threatened by foreign encroachment, and policies reduced outside influence to a small tickle of texts obtained through traders. In the Meiji period, Japan realized the power of other nations when it was forced to open trade through force. In an attempt to establish economic power, the new government carefully studied foreign nations - and allowed those nations access to Japan - in order to learn from them and in order to gain back power which unjust treaties had taken from Japan. During the foreign occupation of Japan in 1945, the Japanese government found that it was forced to make some economic changes. At the same time, the government used the power it had remaining to establish a system which protected core industries and which allowed for the creation of powerful private companies such as Sony and Honda. This paper considers economic development from a historical perspective, and suggests the ways that Japanese development was part of greater movements - such as colonization, rebuilding after war, and nineteenth century economic downturns - and thus affected by these global trends.
