ABSTRACT
After the Second World War, Japan was totally demilitarized and a new institutional alliance was formed by the government, industry, and academia to foster economic growth by catching up with Europe and the United States. The government was successful in formulating ideal policies; industry was successful in strategies, and academia was successful in capabilities. Their collaboration resulted in a very effective, nationwide catch-up science and technology (S&T) system. Within this framework, a number of private firms imported and improved foreign advanced technologies; this was accompanied by government guided resource allocation and by capability building in academia. The result was strong international competitiveness, especially in manufacturing industries including automobiles and electronic appliances.
