Japan: The leader of post-war East Asian industrialization

The rapid transformation of Asia following the decolonization that took place after the Second World War has been a unique experience in human history. The rise of Asian countries is unprecedented in the history of the world. Those countries comprise the first group of non-European economies to have come out of a state of underdevelopment, and they are now challenging the supremacy of the North Atlantic seaboard countries in all areas of economic and human development. The policies pursued by these countries in their remarkable journey of transformation are also distinctive in the history of the development of non-European countries. The story of the resurgence of Asia after the Second World War starts with the rise of Japan like a phoenix out of the ashes of the war and continues with the advancement of the newly industrializing economies of Hong Kong, China; the Republic of Korea; the city state of Singapore; and Taiwan Province of China, followed by the astonishing growth and development of China itself. This chapter deals with this dramatic story, reserving the ascent of China and the stories of the newly industrializing economies and South-East Asia for subsequent chapters.

Related Subject(s): Economic and Social Development