Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Level of economic
development: Japan
- Background
- Second most powerful
economy after the USA
- Few mineral or
energy resources
- Tertiary sector now
accounts for 3 quarters
of Japanese GDP
- Low growth phase
from 1975-2005
- Did not start to industrialise
until the second half of the
19th century - nearly 100
years later than the UK
- its physical and industrial
infrastructure lay in ruins
at the end of WWII
- High
growth
phase
from
1955-1975
- Internal factors
- Human resources
- 150 million
population
- strong
work ethic
- healthy
attitude
to wealth
- willingness to embrace
new work practices and
new technology
- strong loyalty to employer
- As Japan has prospered,
the labour force has
expected higher pay
- no
development
of real trade
unions
- rising cost of labour explains why
manufacturing has moved abroad
- Government intervention
- often cited as the
supreme example of
the free-market
economy (no gov
intervention)
- Since WWII Japan's
economy has been
carefully managed
by its gov in a
variety of ways
- Maintained strict
control over the banks
- Made sure that the Yen has been
slightly undervalued
- used to benefit
exports but not
imports
- Business culture
- 'Just in time' system: a
manufacturing system
designed to minimise the costly
holding of large ordering and
reliable delivery of inputs.
- TNCs main
cause for
economic
development
- most economic
power and wealth
mainly in a small
number of huge
trading companies
with considerable
overseas business
interests
- new production techniques seeing commercial
spin-offs from new technology and undertaking
the most through market research
- External factors
- Trade
- one of the
leading trade
nations
- Due to the lack of
raw materials and
energy resources
- needs to seek out overseas market for
its huge output of manufactured goods
- Overseas direct
investment (ODI)
- Main way that businesses from
one country become involved in
the economic life of another
- Aims to take advantage of
cheap labour and raw
materials or to gain better
access to foreign markets
- Aid
- interested in ensuring future supplies of
energy and raw materials, as well as opening
up new markets for its manufacturers
- Japan has always had a
pragmatic approach to aid
- Ensuring aid is
returned