MITI and the Japanese miracle

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transformed from the poverty of the 1930's and the death and destruction of the 1940's to some of the highest levels of per capita income on earth. During the decade Japan's economy had also weathered two petroleum crises and emerged in stronger condition, despite the fact that Japan remained the most vulnerable of the world's economies to commercial interruptions.

Acknowledgment of and respect for Japan's achievements were universal. The

Times

of London (July 21, 1980) declared that Japan had emerged as "the world's leading industrialized nation." MITI leaders were not complacent; they continued vigorously to shape Japan's industrial structure for the future. But the attainment of a per capita GNP approximately the same as that of the other advanced industrial democracies clearly marked the end of an era. The future problems of the Japanese economy now begin from an entirely new premise: Japan is one of the world's rich nations. This achievement has also generated major interest throughout the world in how Japan grew so fast and for such a long period of time, a subject of particular interest in the United States, which is increasingly concerned to revitalize its own economy. The question repeatedly asked by Japan's economic partners and competitors is What are the lessons to be learned from Japan's recent economic history?