Japan's Changing Growth Factors and its Future Prospects

Abstract

The main objective of this book has been to examine what were the basic factors of the unprecedented high growth of the Japanese economy in the postwar world. However, with 1970-71 as a turning point, Japan began to slow down its growth to the rate observed for a mature economy owing to the following major internal and external reasons: (i) As internal factors responsible for Japan's rapid growth reached maturity and their driving force became weakened, Japanese economic growth has run into a period of deceleration. (ii) Since late 1973, significant changes occurred in the world economic system, which had nurtured Japan's rapid economic growth. (More on these later.)