By Abb-d Choudhury for Curate Magazine (Issue 1)
There is a huge fascination in todays western society about cities and places in the far east. Being an advocate myself for destinations such as Japan (which I can’t recommend enough) and the lifestyle, traditions, and people that come with being in a foreign land, it’s hard to think how Japan and other countries have gone through difficult times in the past. A gruelling six years of war with the allied forces, depression, famine, so on so forth. Here I’d like to portray how Japan made a triumphant return from being an enemy to the west, through to today’s global technological powerhouse.
The second world war endured for a long and gruelling six years (1939–1945). At the end it resulted in the fall of the Japanese empire and rise of a democratic nation formed by the allied forces.
Despite all this, Japan have been in the technological game for quite some time. Companies and brands we all know existed long before the war, companies such as FUJI, Panasonic, Canon, Sharp, Nintendo, Toshiba etc. and this doesn’t even begin to delve into the automotive industry. The only exception would be Sony, probably the biggest tech company in todays market which was founded in 1946 directly after the war. Each of these companies and many more helped bring Japan to the forefront as pioneers of technological science. Panasonic for example (founded in 1918) played a key part in building Japans economy. During WWII Panasonic operated factories in Japan and other parts of Asia which produced electrical components and appliances such as light fixtures, motors, electric irons, wireless equipment, and even its first vacuum tubes.
After the war, Panasonic regrouped as a Keiretsu (known as a set of companies with interlocking business relationships and shareholdings) and began to supply the post war boom in Japan with radios, appliances, and bicycles for transport. Even to this day Japan has a very strong bike culture which is portrayed in numerous movies and animations.
After the war, Panasonic regrouped as a Keiretsu and began to supply the post war boom in Japan with radios, appliances, and bicycles for transport.
The founder, Konosuke Matsushita had a brother in-law (Toshio Iue) who founded the company Sanyo initially as a subcontractor which supplied components after WWII. Sanyo eventually grew to become a competitor and was later acquired by Panasonic recently in 2009.
In 1961, Matsushita traveled to the States and met with American dealers to further Japans global economy and distribution. The company began producing television sets for the western market under the Panasonic brand, and expanded over to Europe in 1979.
Panasonic wasn’t the only company to help put Japan back on a global scale. In 1956 Fuji developed the nation’s first electronic computer, the FUJIC1999 which was almost entirely built by one person — Dr. Okazaki Bunji. The purpose of it’s development… to achieve a speed 1,000 times faster than human calculation. The result itself ended up being double its estimate. The potential in technology became apparent and Japan saw it’s ticket.
In terms of Japans global presence the FUJIC1999 was just a small feat, as most of their economy growth came from industries such as anime (animation cartoons), the Tokaido Shinkansen train line, and numerous nuclear power plants across the country that all took play between 1960–70. Due to these developments Japan was known as the economical power during the Cold War and had a strong foot in the ground.
With Japans nuclear power plants there was no reliance on imported fuel — the country had the power it needed and the industries for economic growth allowing for a stable upward trajectory for another decade. And from these industries, sub-cultures such as ‘the otaku’ (a term for people with obsessive interests which stemmed from the anime and manga industry) formed in 1983. Then followed by the introduction to the bubble economy in 1985. Things looked good.
In come the 90’s, the bubble economy crashed due to real estate and stock market prices being greatly inflated. The stock index had plummeted to half its peak and the asset price began to fall beyond recovery, leading to the economic crash in 1991.
This period was known as the lost decade (90’s — 2000’s) — it was the first time since the 60’s Japan had a lower growth rate due to the crash. Since then Japan has steadily been on the track to recovery by playing their strengths in scientific research and global distribution. Japans funding for technology has been substantial and the country is known to be number 1 for scientific research and development for robotics, and 3rd in the world for scientific research. In 2013 20% of the worlds industrial robots were’ designed and supplied by Japan and are seen as a benchmark for engineers and scientists alike.
The Japanese population are aware of the negative aspects of nuclear power plants, and need to invest (with the rest of the world) on clean energy.
To this day remnants and influences from the past are still actively used. The Japanese population are aware of the negative aspects of nuclear power plants, and need to invest (with the rest of the world) on clean energy. Doraemon, a cute robot alien anime character created in 1960 when the anime industry was born, is still hugely popular in todays Japanese culture which holds a strong soft-power influence the the way people think. And as we’re all aware, their image as a ‘country of the future’ with its high-tech advancements thanks to Japanese tech companies growth and pioneering in the countries history.
Like any other country however, Japan isn’t perfect. The current challenges they face would be things like the lack of military power, which was an agreement after WWII with the allied forces after Japans defeat. Ultimately this means a risk of invasion most likely from their neighbour China who are now considered the worlds super power. And with history as it is (Japans occupation of China between 1937–1945, also known as the Second Sino-Japanese War), this wouldn’t be out of the question.
Japan’s prime minister and government officials are currently in progress of strengthening relations with China and South Korea to prevent such events, and more globally aim to secure a seat in the UN for more international matters.
In conclusion, Japans return as a global powerhouse is a roller coaster rise, fall, rise, fall, and rise again of the countries economy, and their contribution globally as a technological leader in robotics. If that doesn’t say ‘comeback’ I don’t know what does.
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