ABSTRACT
From the debris of World War II Japan was reborn like a phoenix. Japan’s GNP was a mere 4.3% of U.S. GNP in 1951, even after Japan recovered from the immediate postwar disorder. Following the Peace Treaty in 1952, Japan began to move along a growth path, and subsequently sustained high economic growth for more than two decades. In particular, it achieved double-digit growth through the 1960s up to 1973. Even in the post-Oil Shock decade since 1974, Japan has continued to maintain a comparatively high growth rate among advanced countries. Thus, by 1981 its GNP rose to 38.5% of U.S. GNP, while its population was 51% of that of the United States. Japan is now the second largest economic power in the world.
