Essay On Japan Economy

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Japan's economy went through stages of prosperity and depression. During the 1950- 1973 years Japan's economy has experienced a rapid growth period. Then the economy slowed down until the end of the 1980s. After the 1980s, japan suffered from an economic crisis for a decade. This decade is know as the “Lost Decade”. Some say you have to know your past in order to see your future. In this essay I will discus the major issues from from the past and present within the Japanese economy. These issues is what cause Japan to become the fourth largest economy in the world.

EDO Period

Tokugawa Ieyasu ruled Japan after Hideyoshi died in 1598. In 1603, the emperor made Ieyasu, Shogun and established his government in Edo (Tokyo). “Shogun means commander-in-chief or a country's top military commander in feudal Japan ("Shogun | Define Shogun at Dictionary.com",n.d., p.1).” The Tokugawa shoguns ruled Japan for 250 years.
Tokugawa Ieyasu was a strict ruler and had Japan under tight control. In 1633, Ieyasu successor shogun Iemitsu, forbid traveling and almost isolated Japan by reducing the contacts to the outside world. Trade relations with China and the Netherlands were limited. He also banned all foreign books. Despite the isolation domestic trade and agricultural production improved .
Although the Tokugawa government remained stable over several centuries, its position was steadily declining. They were faced with several problems: The financial situation of the government led to higher taxes and riots among the farm population, natural disasters, and years of famine that caused riots. This caused further financial problems for the central government. In 1868, the Tokugawa government fell because of the political pressure...

... middle of paper ...

... ailing or fledgling company by a business benefactor with a financial stake in the company("What is Capital Infusion? definition and meaning",n.d., p.1) ”) from the government. However, most of these companies were in too much debt to survive on bail-out funds.
Japan Today
Since the periods that I mention above, Economic growth continued after 2001, but the economy has fallen into recession three times since 2008. Government spending helped the economy recover in 2010. But, in 2011 Japan was hit hard with an earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 and a tsunami. This disrupted the manufacturing in Japan. Since the disaster the economy has recovered. Japan's new Prime Minister Shinzo ABE has made the government his top priority. In 2013, Japan was named the fourth largest economy int the world(National Foreign Assessment Center (U.S.), United States,1981, p.all).”

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