ABSTRACT
The Japanese society and economy have begun to change rapidly with the advent of the 21st Century. This chapter analyses the structural change in terms of human capital, goods and services, and capital. There are three key words to decribe and explain this recent change in the Japanese economy. They are ‘internationalisation’, ‘the aged society’, and ‘structural adjustment’. The Japanese economy was greatly affected by the Gulf Oil Crisis in 1973 which brought along a stable but low rate of growth. The movement of population from provincial areas into the big cities has continued unabated. Overpopulation in the big cities on the one hand, and depopulation in the rural districts on the other hand, have occurred. As Japanese industries developed, the proportion of the labour force in the various industrial sectors also changed. Lacking natural resources, Japan has no choice but to import raw materials and export manufactured goods to earn foreign currencies.
