ABSTRACT

JAPAN'S POSTWAR rapid economic growth is often referred to as an "economic miracle." The level of economic development in Japan since at least the 1970s has been so high that few remember that the nation was classified as a developing country in the 1950s and 1960s. Not only has Japan's growth been rapid, but its developmental path has been at variance with the dominant theories of political development. It has developed a strong political democracy under conditions that some argue make this transition difficult.