ABSTRACT
Since World War II Japan has been regarded as a country of economic miracle. Following World War II, the Japanese government tried to overcome its technical backwardness to Western countries while at the same time practicing a high productivity and growth-oriented economic policy. It led to a rapid economic growth during the 1960s. With the collapse of the Bretton Woods system and the two oil crises in the 1970s, Japan faced severe economic problems. Although the external economic environments restrained its economic growth, it handled it wisely. Its reaction was based on industrial rationalization, rationalization of firms, improvement of industrial structure, and industrial restructuring (Komiya 1984). Through these various policies the Japanese industrial structure shifted from capital-energy-intensive sectors such as heavy and chemical industries to knowledge-intensive sectors such as the electronics industry.
