ABSTRACT
After the postwar recovery and the Korean War, the Japanese economy entered a period of high growth. From the mid 1950s to the early 1970s, average real growth was approximately 10 percent. It should be noted that post-WW2 growth momentum did not stop until Japan reached high income. While problems and short-term business cycles were encountered along the way, no structural impediment emerged that was serious enough to stall Japan's growth at middle income. During the period of 1945-49, economic planning of the war years was basically retained, and Japan was practically a closed economy. Some industries succeeded in rationalization but others failed. Between coal and steel, the former turned out to be a loser and the latter a winner. Both contributed to a rise in overall productivity-the coal industry by disappearing and the steel industry by becoming more competitive.
