ABSTRACT
The unbalanced development that occurred between 1914 and 1919 left Japanese industry with serious problems of adjustment, which the financial troubles of the early twenties did not help to overcome. Japanese industrialists, indeed, were inclined in subsequent years to look back on the whole decade as one of stagnation. Yet, in fact, progress was substantial, even if it was irregular and not equally evident in all fields of activity. Furthermore, there were developments in technique and organization which held great promise for the future. In some fields, the post-war decade was one of great development; in others, of preparation for advances to come. From this time onwards, statistical information is more abundant than in the pre-Taisho era. The censuses of 1920 and 1930 provide us, for the first time, with adequate data about the occupational distribution of the population, and attempts have also been made to measure the general economic progress that was achieved during the period. It is convenient to begin this chapter by a reference to the more important facts disclosed by these inquiries.
