Transcript East Asia and Southeast Asia Ch. 17 Sec. 1

East Asia and Southeast Asia
Ch. 17 Sec. 1
Bell work #1
The herald gazette don’t review science
fiction movies such as robot or space
creatures however popular it might be




Japan Becomes an Economic
Superpower
In 1945, Japan lay reeling. It had suffered perhaps
the most devastating property damage of any nation
involved in WWII. Why do you think so?
Hiroshima and Nagasaki were leveled. Tens of
thousands of Japanese were homeless and hungry.
Occupation Goals- American military government
set two main goals for the occupation of Japan: to
destroy militarism and to ensure democratic
government. Japan’s armed forces were disbanded.
Trials were held to punish those responsible for
wartime atrocities.
In 1946, a new constitution provided that “the
Japanese people forever renounce war as a
sovereign right of the nation.” Japan, it said, would
never maintain military forces except for its own
defense.
Japan economic Power
The Constitution
The constitution stripped the emperor of
power. Instead, power was vested in the
people, who elected representatives to the
Diet, or parliament. Also, it protected basic
rights such as freedom of thought, press,
and assembly.
 The Americans introduced economic
reforms designed to promote democracy.
The constitution protected the right of
workers to organize unions.

The Cold War
United States eager to end the occupation
and turn its WWII enemy into an ally
brought about a peace treaty with Japan in
1952.
 Japan was happy to be under the nuclear
umbrella of the U.S.
 Through this the two became trading
partners and, in time, competitors for the
global market.

Japanese Successes


Between 1950 and 1975, Japan produced its
own economic miracle, even more spectacular
than Germany’s. It chalked up huge jumps in
gross domestic product (GDP). GDP refers to
the total value of all goods and services
produced by a nation.
The Japanese success story was built on
producing goods for export. By the 1970s,
Japanese cars, cameras, and television sets
found eager buyers on the world market. Their
electronic goods form computers to robots were
competing with western, especially American ,
products.
Reason For Success
As Japan's economy expanded, it invested
in ventures around the world. The
Japanese financed and operated mines
and plantations. They built airports and
chemical plants. When a tire factory was
to be built in East Africa or a dam in
Central America, the engineers were as
likely to be Japanese as American.
 With few natural resources, how did Japan
enjoy such enormous success?

Reason For Success

After the war, Japan like Germany had to
rebuild form scratch. Also like Germany it
had the advantage of having successfully
industrialized in the past. Now it quickly
built efficient, modern factories that out
produced older industries in the West. It
adapted the latest technology form the
West to create its own high quality
products. They benefited form a welleducated and skilled work force. Workers
saved much of their pay which gave banks
the capital to invest in industrial growth.
A New World Role
Nothing brought home Japan’s
dependence on world markets more than
OPEC’s price hikes in the 1970s. Japans
booming industries had fed on cheap
imported oil. Higher energy costs sent
shock waves through its economy.
 In response, Japan sought better relations
with Oil-producing nations of the Middle
East. It also tried to reduce energy use by
building more efficient power plants and
expanding and improving public
transportation.

International Politics

Although Japan was an economic
superpower, it took a back seat in
international politics. Today it ranks as the
world’s largest donor nation. In 1990, it
provided money, but no soldiers for the
Gulf War. Two years later, its soldiers
joined a UN peace keeping force for the
first time.



Changing Patterns
In the past 50 years, Japan has enjoyed many
economic successes. In the 1990s, however. Japan
faced its worst economic depression since the
1930s. Companies had to make cutbacks, and
many workers lost the security of guaranteed
lifetime employment.
Crowded cities- Today 80 percent of the Japanese
population live in cities, which are hugely
overcrowded. Housing is expensive, and space is
scarce. Most people live in tiny, cramped
apartments. Many space hungry Japanese move to
the suburbs but then face long commutes to work.
In 1995, a severe earthquake badly damaged the
city of Kobe. Japan lies in a region often rocked by
earth quakes, and Japanese highways and other
structures were supposed to be designed to
withstand such quakes. The disaster in Kobe raised
question about just how much technology can
protect against natural forces.