The rapid modernization and industrialization that took place in Japan happened almost by chance. In 1853, Japan had reluctantly given in to Western influence during the Tokugawa Reign. However, the overthrow of Tokugawa in 1968 by the Meiji Restoration marked the actual beginning of ‘economic miracle’. The period that followed the coup was marked by sharp disagreements on how the country would deal with Western influence.
Consequently, one school of thought was of the view that all Western influence should be eliminated from Japan, while another group deemed acceptance as the only logical response to Western influence. Eventually, a path of modernization was embarked on and history was changed in the process.
As part of the transition from the Tokugawa era, Japan’s early policies of isolation meant that the country had little if any access to Western technology. Nevertheless, the Meiji Restoration “was able to make the gap smaller by agricultural technology developed during the Tokugawa Period and also, instituting measures that enabled Japan to import technologies and ideas from the Western countries” (Rosovsky 29). In the period of about twenty-five years, beginning from the 1880s, the rate of economic development in Japan was unprecedented. In the end, Japan had become a global force both economically and militarily.
The factors that culminated in the Meiji Economic Miracle are not isolated incidents, but they are hurdles that all developing countries must cross before realizing overall success. Currently, the globally acknowledged Millennium Development Goals have laid out priorities for lifting world nations from poverty. Key among these goals is the need to make elementary education available to all children. For example, by the 1920’s it was not only the economic horizon of Japan that was different, but most of the other spheres of life had been transformed radically.
Notably, among these changes was the democratization of the country and a highly and uniformly educated citizenry. The nationalization of the education and the shift of power from individuals to the parliament were of particular importance to the democratization of Japan.
Prosperity during and after the Meiji regime has often been attributed to the accumulation of talents and knowledge following sustained efforts from the government. It is important to note that Japan’s rapid modernization and economic prosperity have only been witnessed in a few countries around the world including West Germany and Israel. These countries are all beneficiaries of what is known as a knowledge-based economy such as the one that drove Japan’s industrialization to unprecedented levels.
The shape of an economic regime most often determines its level of economic prosperity. For example, the only difference between Japan and China in the early 1900s was the education levels of citizens. However, it took China several centuries to align its educational regime with that of its neighbor. The take-off period of the Japanese economy depended on educational policies that ensured that all citizens had the same advantages when it came to education.
A modern education system has also been applied by other countries around the world, such as Denmark, to beat the odds that come with overpopulation and lack of natural resources within a country. Although the Meiji Restoration was using education as a means of modernization, it ended up “raising the quality of the people’s skills, modernizing their thought, and making it possible for them to participate successfully in modern economic activities” (Rosovsky 34).
Works Cited
Rosovsky, Henry. Japanese Economic Growth: Trend Acceleration in The Twentieth Century. California: Stanford University Press, 2003. Print.