After World War II, Japan was a poor country with a number of economic and social problems as well as one of the biggest debtors of the World Bank.
People and politicians were unanimous that something fundamental needs to change, and that was the only opportunity for Japan to have a bright and promising future.
And so it happened.
Japan took a whole new way of development with the clear mission to revive the suffering Japanese economy. After about 40 – 50 years of great efforts, the Land of the Rising Sun has become one of the new world superpowers.
From one of the largest debtor countries, Japan has become one of the largest creditors in the world.
The incredible progress of the country over the last few decades is known as the “Japanese Economic Miracle”.
The progress of Japan in 12 steps are written below
Working time
To a large extend the progress of Japan is the result of extended working week and day. Compared with other countries, Japan needs a shorter period of time to achieve the same financial results.
Today the average number of hours worked per week tends to decrease but is still significantly longer in comparison with most countries in Europe.
The tradition employees to remain in the office even after the end of the regular working day is still popular.
However, today Japan is replaced by other countries when it comes to the average number of working hours per person per week.
Nowadays, the people in countries such as the United States in North America, Chile in South America and Turkey in Europe work much longer hours.
The Japanese culture and mentality
One of the secrets of the incredible success of Japan lies in the traditional culture and way of thinking of the Japanese people.
They have enormous respect when it comes to the workplace and are very serious about their duties.
In addition to the long hours they spent at work, Japanese people make great efforts to reach the highest possible quality of their job.
Investment in research
Investment in research is a giant step towards the progress of each nation. Japan makes great efforts and regularly invests huge resources to develop new technologies and innovations in every sphere of the economy.
The country promotes creative and imaginative thinking in the younger generation and invests serious amounts of money in education. Japan does not underestimate the new and strange-looking ideas.
Building a good name and perfect reputation
As a producer of high-quality technological and industrial products, over the years Japan has become one of the countries with the most impeccable reputation.
The country is well known for its world famous car brands such as Toyota, Nissan, Suzuki, Honda, Infiniti, Mitsubishi and others.
Rapid deployment of new technologies
The Japanese Economic Miracle is to a large extent the result of the rapid deployment of the latest scientific discoveries and technological developments in the real economy.
Investment in promising industries
Japan is a rich country and as such is very important to invest properly in promising sectors of the economy. This is the easiest way for a country to increase its wealth in future.
The good network of partners and stable foreign relations
The network of foreign partners and trade relations are very important for Japan. As a high-tech country specializes in the production of high-technology products and industrial goods, Japan is heavily dependent on exports.
Strong currency
The Japanese Yen is the third most-traded currency in the world. It is widely used as a reserve currency in many countries around the world.
In this respect, it is the fourth most popular currency after the U.S. Dollar, the Euro and the British Pound.
The stability of the Japanese Yen clearly reflects the stability of the Japanese economy as a whole.
High level of personal security of employees
The high level of personal security in most Japanese corporation is considered to be one of the main factors behind the powerful economic development of Japan.
In many companies is popular the so called lifetime employment. This is a kind of guarantee that a person can keep their job in the corporation until retiring.
This affects the quality of work, because people feel a greater responsibility, especially having in mind that most corporations guarantee gradually climbing up the career ladder.
Strong industrial production
Industrial production is one of the greatest sources of incomes a country may have. Simply put, a country that traditionally exports raw materials will probably enjoy less benefits in comparison with a country which exports ready-to-use industrial products.
Yes, Japan is dependent on raw materials, but on the other hand the country produces about 97% of all the needed industrial goods.
Excellent infrastructure
Japan has an excellent infrastructure. This in turn attracts many investors. Some of the fastest trains in the world connect the large cities in the country.
Furthermore, all major cities are connected by excellent highways, which allow high speed and reliability.
Extremely low levels of crime
Japan is extremely safe and peaceful country. Although the capital Tokyo is the largest city on the planet, it is very safe in comparison with most large cities in the world.
This attracts not only a large number of investors but also numerous tourists.