708-Chaudhari Technical Institute, Gandhinagar - Gujarat ...

Japan Economy overview
In the years following World War II, government-industry cooperation, a strong
work ethic, mastery of high technology, and a comparatively small defense
allocation (1% of GDP) helped Japan develop a technologically advanced
economy. Two notable characteristics of the post-war economy were the
close interlocking structures of manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors,
known as keiretsu, and the guarantee of lifetime employment for a substantial
portion of the urban labor force. Both features are now eroding under the dual
pressures of global competition and domestic demographic change. Japan's
industrial sector is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and fuels. A
small agricultural sector is very much subsidized and protected, with crop
yields among the highest in the world. Usually self sufficient in rice, Japan
imports about 60% of its food on a caloric basis. Japan maintains one of the
world's largest fishing fleets and accounts for almost 15% of the global catch.
For three decades, overall actual economic development had been
spectacular - a 10% average in the 1960s, a 5% average in the 1970s, and a
4% average in the 1980s. Growth slowed markedly in the 1990s, averaging
just 1.7%, largely because of the after effects of inefficient investment and an
asset price bubble in the late 1980s that required a protracted period of time
for firms to reduce excess debt, capital, and labor. Measured on purchasing
power parity (PPP) basis that adjusts for price differences, Japan in 2011
stood as the third-largest economy in the world after China, which surpassed
Japan in 2001. A sharp downturn in business investment and global demand
for Japan's exports in late 2008 pushed Japan further into recession.
Government stimulus spending helped the economy recover in late 2009 and
2010, but the economy contracted again in 2011 as the massive 9.0
magnitude earthquake in March disrupted manufacturing. Electricity supplies
remain tight because Japan has temporarily shut down most of its nuclear
power plants after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors were crippled by
the earthquake and resulting tsunami. Estimates of the direct costs of the
damage - rebuilding homes, factories, and infrastructure - range from $235
billion to $310 billion, and GDP declined almost 1% in 2011. Prime Minister
Yoshihiko NODA has proposed opening the agricultural and services sectors
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