Basic Information About Japan

Geographically Japan is a very small country with an Area: 377,765 sq. km. (145,856 sq. mi.); slightly smaller than California. Its terrain is rugged and consists of mountainous islands. Its population as per published figures of the year 1998 is 12.62 Crores. The country has a very nominal growth of population at 0.23% (1997).

The country has almost the entire population educated (Literacy 99%). The country has also made good progress in health and medical care with Infant mortality rate--4/1,000 and Life expectancy--males 77 years., females 83 years.

On the negative said Japan has no natural resources. Its mineral resources are negligible. Japan is dependent on foreign sources for many of the minerals essential to modern industry. Iron ore, coke, copper, and bauxite must be imported, as must many forest products.

Given its heavy dependence on imported energy, Japan has aimed to diversify its sources. Since the oil shocks of the 1970s, Japan has reduced dependence on petroleum as a source of energy from more than 75% in 1973 to about 57% at present.

Japan is one of the most densely populated nations in the world, with some 330 persons per square kilometer (almost 860 persons per sq. mi.). For 1997, the population growth rate was about 0.23%. Japan's low population growth rate in recent years has raised concerns about the social implications of an aging population.

Only 15% of Japan's land is suitable for cultivation. The agricultural economy is highly subsidized and protected. With per hectare crop yields among the highest in the world, Japan maintains an overall agricultural self-sufficiency rate of about 50% on fewer than 5.6 million cultivated hectares (14 million acres). Japan normally produces a slight surplus of rice but imports large quantities of wheat, sorghum, and soybeans, primarily from the United States.

World War I permitted Japan, which fought on the side of the victorious Allies, to expand its influence in Asia and its territorial holdings in the Pacific. The postwar era brought Japan unprecedented prosperity. Japan went to the peace conference at Versailles in 1919 as one of the great military and industrial powers of the world and received official recognition as one of the "Big Five" of the new international order. It joined the League of Nations and received a mandate over Pacific islands north of the Equator formerly held by Germany.

During the 1920s, Japan progressed toward a democratic system of government. However, parliamentary government was not rooted deeply enough to withstand the economic and political pressures of the 1930s, during which military leaders became increasingly influential.

Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931 and set up the Puppet State of Manchukuo. In 1933, Japan resigned from the League of Nations. The Japanese invasion of China in 1937 followed Japan's signing of the "anti-Comintern pact" with Nazi Germany the previous year and was part of a chain of developments culminating in the Japanese attack on the United States at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 1941.

After almost 4 years of war, resulting in the loss of 3 million Japanese lives and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan signed an instrument of surrender on the U.S.S. Missouri in Tokyo Harbor on September 2, 1945. As a result of World War II, Japan lost all of its overseas possessions and retained only the home islands. Manchukuo was dissolved, and Manchuria was returned to China; Japan renounced all claims to Formosa; Korea was granted independence; southern Sakhalin and the Kuriles were occupied by the U.S.S.R.; and the United States became the sole administering authority of the Ryukyu, Bonin, and Volcano Islands

After World War II had ended, Japan was devastated. All the large cities (with the exception of Kyoto), the industries and the transportation networks were severely damaged. A severe shortage of food continued for several years.

The occupation of Japan by the Allied Powers started in August 1945 and ended in April 1952. General MacArthur was its first Supreme Commander. The whole operation was mainly carried out by the United States.

Japan basically lost all the territory acquired after 1894. In addition, the Kurile Islands were occupied by the Soviet Union, and the Ryukyu Islands, including Okinawa, were controlled by the USA. Okinawa was returned to Japan in 1972, however a territorial dispute with Russia concerning the Kurile Islands has not been resolved yet. The remains of Japan's war machine were destroyed, and war crime trials were held. Over 500 military officers committed suicide right after Japan surrendered, and many hundreds more were executed for committing war crimes. Emperor Showa was not declared a war criminal.

A new constitution went into effect in 1947: The emperor lost all political and military power, and was solely made the symbol of the state. Universal suffrage was introduced and human rights were guaranteed. Japan was also forbidden to ever lead a war again or to maintain an army. Furthermore, Shinto and the state were clearly separated.

MacArthur also intended to break up power concentrations by dissolving the zaibatsu and other large companies, and by decentralizing the education system and the police. In a land reform, concentrations in land ownership were removed.

Especially during the first half of the occupation, Japan's media was subject to a rigid censorship of any anti-American statements and controversial topics such as the race issue.

The co-operation between the Japanese and the Allied powers worked relatively smooth. Critics started to grow when the United States acted increasingly according to her self interests in the Cold War, reintroduced the persecution of communists, stationed more troops in Japan, and wanted Japan to establish an own self defence force despite the anti-war article in the constitution. Many aspects of the occupation's so called "reverse course" were welcomed by conservative Japanese politicians.

With the peace treaty that went into effect in 1952, the occupation ended. Japan's Self Defence Force was established in 1954, accompanied by large public demonstrations. Great public unrest was also caused by the renewal of the US-Japan Security Treaty of 1960.

After the Korean War, and accelerated by it, the recovery of Japan's economy flourished. The economic growth resulted in a quick rise of the living standards, changes in society and the stabilization of the ruling position of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), but also in severe pollution.

Japan's relations to the Soviet Union were normalized in 1956, the ones to China in 1972.

The 1973 oil crisis shocked the Japanese economy, which was heavily depended on oil. The reaction was a shift to high technology industries.

Though both are comparatively smaller countries, totally devastated by the war with major economic infrastructure dismantled, the two countries could, in a brief period of a decade, reverse the course of history. Today one visiting Japan or Germany would not find signs that these countries were defeated and their economy was totally destroyed on account of the war. What helped them to secure such a remarkable feat?

1. First is the people of the respective countries. They are educated, near homogeneous and staunchly nationalistic in outlook. Literacy rate continues at near 100% in both countries. A good part of the population perished in the war, and much of the tangible possessions were destroyed during the war, but the more precious "human capital" was not lost. The skill, talents and knowledge resources of the Germans and Japanese were not destroyed by the World War. Human capital represents the combined value of the knowledge, experience and goodwill of the people. The people "Germans" and "Japanese" have the experience of living as a great nation before their defeat. They were not only educated, but were talented. As they built their country earlier, they repeated the same feat with more rapidity and with greater vigour this time. The moral is that the "human Capital" is more valuable than all other physical assets. It is possible to quickly replace other assets, if lost, but it needs sustained efforts to create a "human capital" in a country.

2. Both countries were prohibited to expand again their military might as per the terms of their respective treaties with the Allied Powers, and this prevented diversion of resources from development towards building destructive weapons.

3. Both countries accepted "free economy" and dismantled all State controls acting as barriers for economic progress. The human capital in a country asserts to its maximum potential in a free economy driven by market factors.

We will study more about "human Capital" and "Knowledge Assets" and the progress our own country is striving to make in the next chapter.