Japan's Economy: From Resource Constraints to External Surpluses

Now how might the Japanese people, crowded on narrow, resource-poor islands, possibly make a living? This was the starkly obvious, most urgent question facing the defeated nation in 1945. The population was soon to reach 80 million, after repatriation of more than 5 million soldiers and civilians from occupied areas in Asia and after a postwar baby boom. Japan’s attempt at imperial control over areas rich in sources of food, fuels, and raw materials had failed utterly.