eli5 How did Japan become a technology superpower after WW2?
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To add an historical perspective, Japan has always had a knack for incorporating foreign ideas and making them better.
Here’s an example I like: Japan was introduced to the gun in 1542, during their warring states period. It was a flintlock arquebus. At first, they needed to trade with the Portuguese (and then thr Dutch) to get their weapons, but they soon started making their own.
By 1600, just 58 years later there were more guns made in Japan than there were in any nation in all of Europe.
Japan takes a good idea and then goes into overdrive.
It should be noted that Japan was already a technological superpower that got sanctioned and starved to death by the Allies before they went to war. And then the bombings they had which weren’t atomic bombs but regular totally safe bombs destroyed their manufacturing infrastructure. So it’s important to remember that while America bombed German and Japanese car factories. It’s still wasn’t long after that Japan bounced back. But that’s what happens when a country puts you on the brink of starvation and then drops to nuclear bombs on you. And they keep telling you that they are the heroes. And then they go do it again and again and again and again. And you just keep making solid tech. But then there Banks took care of everything and now China is the most innovative country in the world because for some reason we build all our factories there for 30 years and let them learn how to make things better. Don’t forget that western influences tried to get the whole nation of China addicted to opium. It’s easier to understand why China is getting us addicted to everything right now if you know that it’s a kind of a revenge thing and we probably all deserve it. Japan is advanced like British men are gentleman. I think it happened once a little while ago but not now.
all their old and defunct infrastructure went away and their new best friend americans paid for a bunch of new good stuff
There are some macro and world factors, but internally, MITI is what made Japan different.
The Ministry of International.Trade and Industry had a heavy hand in directing Japan’s research and investment. Post WW2, MITI help reindustrialize Japan by more or less providing a centralized organization that could advise and direct the expansion of industries it considered key to Japan’s success. It helped get capital, arrange research trips, advise on mergers, etc.
They sometimes even decided which companies could and could not work within certain industries, in order to prevent excess competition. And they weren’t always right. Famously, MITI did not approve of Honda (which had been famous for its motorcycles) producing cars. MITI sought to restrict car production to Japan’s established car companies, like Toyota and Nissan. Honda outmaneuvered MITI and succeeded in spite of the organization’s disapproval. Still, Honda may never have risen to success without MITI’s early grants, back when Honda was just a scrappy, small motorcycle company – just one of hundreds of scrappy small motorcycle companies in Japan.
Probably most importantly, MITI was heavily protectionist and it shielded Japanese companies from foreign competition, allowing them to grow. It also kept exchange rates favorable to exports, which allowed Japan to compete abroad – perhaps unfairly.
As Japan’s economy shifted (sometimes under intense US lobbying, seeking faired trade agreements) and later collapsed, MITI lost a lot of its power. Still, up until about the mid ’70s, Japanese companies were often reliant on MITI’s approval, guidance and financial support.
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