ABSTRACT
The law of unintended consequences is always with us. When the Western powers broke Japan open during the 1850s, it was with the aim of securing coaling stations on the Asian rim of the Pacific and of finding new markets for goods and services. They did not expect to awaken a sleeping giant. Without the slightest intention of doing so, Western penetration of Japan unleashed one of the most remarkable chains of innovation the world has witnessed. As a result, within eight decades, Japan had emerged as one of the world's great industrial and military powers.
