ABSTRACT
Japan's economic development after the end of the Second World War was truly remarkable, especially when viewed in light of the condition of the country at the conclusion of hostilities in 1945. Economic exploits in the 1970s and 1980s brought the Japanese once again the full and occasionally hostile attention of the international community. The economic development process was encouraged by political leadership, which recognized not only the need for economic growth but also that such growth was dependent on the maintenance and strengthening of national unity. One of the distinguishing characteristics of the economy is a national strategy that emphasizes capital expansion at the expense of both public and private consumption. The heady years of seemingly limitless economic success ended in the 1990s, when major problems developed. Rapid economic development after the end of the war was helped by a reservoir of industrial manpower in the form of under-employed agricultural workers.
