ABSTRACT
Introduction Since the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the influence of Western Economics over Japanese intellectual life has been cast in a history of over a century and a half. During this period, Japanese scholars have experienced several waves of Overseas Economics schools of thought, learned new approaches by reading Western books and journals and studying abroad, whilst at the same time attempting to create their own theories (see Sugiyama, 1994). We can divide this period of influence into five phases:1 1. Encounter and enlightenment: from the 1850s to the 1880s; 2. Assimilation of German-style economics: from the 1890s to the 1910s; 3. Quest and disarray for Japanese economics: from the 1920s to the war years; 4. Rehabilitation after the war defeat: from 1945 to the 1970s; and 5. Age of globalization: from the 1980s to the present. However, it is hopefully not necessary to delve too far into details of the fifth phase in which Japanese economics has become fully synchronized with that of the international level, as this is better known.
