How did Japan rebuild its economy after World War 2?
Japan had already developed to a high level in heavy manufacturing, steel making, ship building, heavy chemicals and vehicle manufacturing prior to WW2 based on a policy of a partnership between business and government with a high degree of government direction and assistance with investment. With the destruction by bombing of much of Japans industrial infrastructure the Japanese took the opportunity to invest in new state of the art manufacturing facilities. As a result Japan spent a higher percentage of its GDP on investment than countries like the US and the UK and Japanese consumers accepted that sacrifices had to be made in the medium term to rebuild the economy and accepted a lower standard of living in the years following the war. A system of training and apprenticeships in industry was also highly developed and the university system had close links to industry to provide the correct level of trained management personnel. The Japanese system of a ‘job for life’ plus a comprehens
