First, the U.S. policy of support. Mainly in:
First, the exclusive occupation of Japan and political transformation. After World War II, the United States occupied Japan alone for seven years to ensure the integrity of Japan's territory and the singularity of its social system and ideology, which was conducive to Japan's long-term stable development. The United States also carried out a political transformation of Japan based on democracy and the rule of law. Robert? Edelstein and Jean? Michael? Prof. Paul said, "In order to succeed, immediate and extensive institutional reforms are necessary, i.e., creative breaking down of those barriers that have impeded Japan's economic recovery or economic growth." (1) For example, the dissolution of the zaibatsu removed, to a certain extent, the feudalism and exclusivity based on family blood ties in large enterprises, eliminated some of the feudal ills of the zaibatsu enterprises, and created favorable conditions for more equal competition among enterprises, and a number of capable newcomers were promoted to leadership positions. The agricultural land reform, which basically dismantled the semi-feudal land system in Japan, liberated the agricultural productivity and expanded the rural market, which enabled Japan to enter a relatively pure capitalist society. For the sake of its strategy in the Far East, the United States also preserved the Japanese emperor and the emperor system, and reformed Japan's fascist and militarist system of government on the basis of the American principle of "separation of powers". These measures of the United States for Japan after the war to embark on peace building, focus on the development of the road to provide a reliable guarantee.
Due to the needs of the "Cold War", the United States gave strong support to the recovery and development of the Japanese economy. The United States gave up on Japan's war claims, the withdrawal of the demolition of Japan's military industries as war reparations program. 1947 January to March 1948, the United States has put forward two new programs, the previous "compensation program" to make substantial changes to the demolition of industrial equipment to 30% of the program. In May 1949, the U.S. announced that it would cancel all Japanese reparations. In the early post-war period, the U.S. gave Japan more than 2 billion dollars in aid and loans, and supplied Japan with large quantities of energy and raw materials such as oil, coal, and iron ore. Thus promoting the revitalization of the Japanese economy after the war, and the United States "nuclear umbrella" strategy greatly save the cost of security and defense.
Second, the two local wars in Asia provided an important opportunity for the development of the Japanese economy. The Korean War, in particular, greatly facilitated Japan's post-war economic recovery. The war caused a "special needs boom", the U.S. military invasion of North Korea, a large number of military orders and purchase of cheap labor to Japanese manufacturers, so that the Japanese enterprises accumulated 10-15 million yen inventory of slow-moving products swept away, and at one fell swoop to change the financial austerity in the struggle of the Japanese economy in a passive situation. According to statistics, from the outbreak of the war to 1953, this special needs income of 1.28 billion U.S. dollars, broadly speaking, special needs income of 2.38 billion U.S. dollars. Japan's foreign exchange reserves in 1949 was only 200 million U.S. dollars, in 1952 did not increase to 1.14 billion U.S. dollars, three years within the nearly five-fold increase in special needs income in foreign exchange income ratio to 1953 amounted to as much as 38.1%, more than 200,000 people directly benefited from the special needs of the production, all in all, to 1955, Japan's special needs income totaled 3.6 billion U.S. dollars. Special needs income stimulated the recovery of the Japanese economy, increased the income of workers, led to the growth of effective demand, but also for the increase in imports of raw materials and advanced technology imports, the renewal of obsolete equipment to provide favorable conditions. The outbreak of the Korean War and the resulting changes in the international situation promoted the rapid development of Japan's foreign trade. The Korean War gave Japan the opportunity to realize the expansion of import and export, Japan usually export trade increased significantly, in July 1950, Japan's total exports grew to 74 million U.S. dollars, an increase of 18% over June, creating a post-war Japan's highest monthly export record. 1950 first half of the month, Japan's average monthly exports of 50 million U.S. dollars, the second half of the month, then all of a sudden jumped to 80 million U.S. dollars. It can be said that the Korean War was a miracle cure for the rebirth of the Japanese economy. ③
Second, the Japanese government's strong state intervention and leadership is the source of economic development. State monopoly capitalism pushes, and its main form of expression is the state to strengthen the macro management of the economy.
First, the government in various periods of economic development, according to the characteristics of different stages, through a variety of plans to promote economic takeoff. For example, the Hatoyama Cabinet's Five-Year Plan for Economic Self-Defense, the Kishi Nobusuke Cabinet's New Long-Term Economic Plan, and the Ikeda Cabinet's National Economy Doubling Plan.
Second, the government is committed to the cultivation and development of new industries, guiding and regulating the development of new industries. For example, it has passed the "Act on the Development of the Synthetic Resin Industry," the "Temporary Measures for the Revitalization of the Electronics Industry," and the "Special Measures for the Synthetic Rubber Manufacturing Business," and through the implementation of these plans, it has not only adjusted the structure of industry and established the direction of externally oriented economic development, but also made it possible to implement the government's macro-management of the economy and the adjustment of the domestic economic life. Of course important basic industries, if the market chooses it, then any form of government intervention is redundant, for these industries, the government in the confirmation of the market must not go to the choice, it will be the appropriate method to choose them, by the government to use the law, the financial tax system, the intermediate organization to coordinate the interests of the means of intervention to make up for it.
Third, the government determined the main direction of economic development, formulated a new economic policy, and realized the transformation from a "trade-based country" to a "technology-based country". Japan's domestic market is narrow, industrial products rely on a large number of exports, the government put forward the slogan "trade as a nation", the export trade is growing rapidly, 1960-1970, Japan's industrial production increased by an average of 13.6% per year, while the export trade increased by an average of 16.9% per year. The Japanese government believes that science and technology is the core element of national strength, and has adapted to the situation of the new technological revolution and put forward the strategic idea of "technology-based nation". Japan attaches importance to the multi-faceted role of technology in national development, and has adopted a model of economic and technological development from imitation to innovation. According to statistics, from the 1950s to 1977, more than 29,000 foreign technologies were imported and then improved, supplemented and developed in accordance with the country's economic characteristics and technological base to become "Japanized" new technologies. Of course, many people attribute economic growth to strong government intervention, but despite government intervention, the Japanese economy continued to evolve according to its own laws for most of the period. According to a major study, economic freedom remains a central element of economic growth. ④
Third, Japan's modern business management system and entrepreneurship have been the driving force.
Japanese enterprises have implemented a strict but flexible scientific management system. In the 1950s, many large enterprises in Japan implemented the "life-long employment system" and the "annual merit pay system", which organically combined the interests of employees with those of the enterprise, and made the employees feel dependent and secure. Secondly, by widening the gap between employees' compensation, employees feel that only through constant competition and innovation can they receive high compensation, thus giving them a sense of pressure. Enterprises attach importance to the "emotional investment" in employees, take the initiative to coordinate labor-management relations, and cultivate the spirit of dedication of employees "to the factory as their home". This "Japan Inc." model has helped Japan to develop a strong industrial capacity. ⑤ Corporate managers emphasize spiritual investment. As Akio Morita, the general manager of Sony, said, "There is no secret or recipe for a good Japanese company. The success of a company depends on people, not on theories, programs or government policies. The first and foremost task of a Japanese business manager is to establish a good relationship with his staff and to cultivate a family-like, interdependent relationship. In Japan, the companies that do well are those that make all employees share the same suffering and **** destiny. I have not found any country other than Japan that has adopted this simple management method. Practice has strongly proved that it works." In Japan, business managers do everything possible to cultivate a family-like relationship with their workers, caring not only for their work, but also for their lives; not only for the individual worker, but also for his or her family. Birthdays, marriages, illnesses and deaths of workers are good opportunities for companies to "invest in their feelings". For example, the Seibu Group holds a unique shoe-shining ceremony every year, in which the senior staff first shines the shoes of the new staff members, and then the new staff members shine the shoes of their seniors, and the presidents of the head office and branch offices attend this grand ceremony, which is broadcast nationwide by TV stations via satellite, in order to cultivate the spirit of workers' love for the company and to promote the communication between coworkers. (6) Japan's modern entrepreneurial spirit is closely related to Japan's traditional familism and family values. Japanese familism and family concepts are different from the Chinese clan system and family concepts, which are bound by blood relations, and their starting point is that the family is a business unit. Therefore, it not only excludes the traditional Chinese extended family relationship and the "nepotism" which is still prevalent, but also can be more harmonious, closer and more united than the Western structure, and become a kind of social cohesion. Japanese scholars say: the unit of Western society is the individual, which is assembled into a nation, while the unit of Japanese society is the family, which is assembled into a nation. ⑦ So Japan to "labor and capital as one", "to the enterprise as a home" publicity and education, the Japanese people's concept of family-oriented concepts into a company-based concepts, the formation of a kind of unity and progress of the spirit of work.
Fourth, the positive impact of traditional Japanese culture and education.
First, the island's cultural environment promoted Japan's openness. Before the U.S. occupation after World War II, foreigners have never invaded and conquered Japan's mainland, and there has been no large-scale immigration of foreigners. The long-term stability and relative closure of the environment, so that the Japanese people have developed a special kind of national consciousness, in their concepts and feelings, foreigners and the Japanese nation has a clear demarcation line, the natural formation of the sense of affinity and cohesion of this nation, and at the same time, form a sense of affinity and cohesion of foreigners. At the same time, the psychology of "internal and external difference" is formed, which has become one of the bases of the group consciousness of unity and external competition of Japanese enterprises today, and has also become the psychological cornerstone of Japan's willingness to absorb the culture of foreign advanced cultures, including those of hostile countries. Therefore, traditional Japanese culture is compatible, tolerant and coexisting, and is an open and diversified cultural compound. Of course, in international cultural exchanges, it always "receives a lot, but gives very little" ⑧.
Second, the light thinking and practical cultural psychology and effective absorption and digestion of foreign advanced cultural achievements. Japanese people's cultural psychology is heavy reality, heavy practical, heavy practice, Japan can be called the world's advanced culture of the best successor and practitioner. In modern times, the Japanese have successfully absorbed and digested modern European science and technology, and extremely rapidly and effectively. ⑨
Third, their refusal to fail and their recognition of humiliation are y rooted in their psyche. Japanese corporate culture readily tolerates low returns, but hardly tolerates outright failure. ⑩ And in Japan, a dedication to learning is a deep-rooted tradition, Japanese companies, the atmosphere of learning is very strong.
Fourth, the Japanese education system is a universal education system. In the Edo period, the education system was already in the form of compulsory education, which was the basis for compulsory education in the early years of the Meiji Restoration. After World War II, the Japanese government took the development of education as a national policy, and in the case of extreme financial difficulties, insisted on the implementation of compulsory education in primary and junior high schools, and provided free meals and textbooks for primary and junior high school students. In 1947, the Japanese government increased compulsory education for three years, and each year, it was necessary to allocate 6% of the gross national product as education funds. This has raised the level of the nation's cultural and scientific and technological knowledge and has played an important role in improving the quality of the nation. As the government emphasized the cultivation of human resources, education was the first step, and people made the best use of what they had learned. In the post-war period, 60% of Japan's economic growth was achieved by technological progress.
To sum up, after World War II, Japan's economy was able to create a miracle because it fully combined its own superior history, geography and culture, and took advantage of the favorable international environment, so as to create more advantages to develop their own results.