How Modern Japan Is Described in Textbooks around the World
(Select a Country to review excerpts)
Europe ……………
Austria,
France,
Germany,
Switzerland,
UK
Asia ……………… China,
India,
Indonesia,
Korea,
Malaysia,
Russia,
Singapore,
Vietnam
North America ……
Mexico,
USA
South America ……
Brazil
NORTH AMERICA
Mexico
Title:
Economic Geography
Pages: 199-218
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Interamericana Editores, S.A. de C.V., Hightstown, NJ, USA, 2001
Excerpt:
Population
Japan's overpopulation has been both the cause and effect of its economic development. With the opening of its border to international trade, there was a rapid increase in population due, on the one hand, to the introduction of health standards and, on the other hand, an increase in the birth rate due to propaganda that promoted Japan's human growth potential, particularly for military purposes.
Japan's population is one if its most important economic development factors. Especially important is its culture, which is the basis of their life philosophy: obedience, respect, responsibility and discipline. These are vital elements for the success of a capitalist economic system that finds fertile ground for growth in Japan.
Japan has one of the highest quality labor forces in the world due to its training, and is also one of the cheapest in the world, especially if we consider that intense job competition has decreased the cost of labor. It is inexpensive when compared to other countries with high quality standards like the US, Germany and France.
World Commerce
Japan currently ranks fourth in the world for international trade, after the US, Germany and the UK…For a long period of time, Japan’s international trade was dominated by the United States, who in 1946 were the recipients of 65% of Japan’s exports and provided 86% of its imports. These numbers have changed dramatically, until the present time when 22.4% of Japan’s imports are from the US, and 27.3% of Japan’s exports are to the US.
Japan is presently active in almost all developing countries, engaging in trade as well as providing considerable assistance, mainly in technical training.
The Japanese economy, which in the nineties suffered its worst recession of the post-war period, has yet to enter a process of recovery. As a result of the higher rate of the yen versus the dollar and the effect of the worldwide liberalization of the agricultural trade, there was a dramatic increase of importation of inexpensive food items from foreign countries.
Japan’s Influence and Global Importance
Before and during WWII, most of Japan’s economy was controlled by a small segment of the population. In the last couple of decades, Japan’s economy has expanded quickly and its base industries are heavy industry, chemicals and electronics, which constitute at least two-thirds of the total value of exports. In 1994, Japan’s GDP was $4,590 billion, one of the highest in the world.
Japan’s main Asian trading partners were South Korea, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Singapore. During this same period, the countries that today form the EU - especially Germany, Great Britain and France - provided 13% of Japan’s imports and bought 17% of its exports. The US absorbs 28% of Japanese exports and provides 22% of its imports. Other important trading partners for Japan are Australia, Canada and the countries that used to form the Soviet Union.
