The Japanese Challenge

The economic miracle that transformed Japan into one of the largest, most fiercely competitive economies in the world did not occur until after the Second World War. Faced with the total devastation of their industrial base, the Japanese used American financial aid not only to rebuild but also to transform the structure of their economy. By the mid-1960s and early 1970s, armed with advanced high technology and a loyal battalion of inscrutably efficient workers, Japan came to pose a serious and powerful threat to some of the world’s most prestigious economies.