Episode 539 – Japan Falling

July 26, 2024 1 Comment

In the penultimate episode of the Revised Introduction to Japanese History: the 1980s sees the rise of Japan’s asset bubble and the peak of the high-rollin’ postwar. But the new prosperity is built on faulty ground that is already beginning to creak…

Sources

Pempel, T.J. Regime Shift

Anchordoguy, Marie. Reprogramming Japan

Werner, Richard. Princes of the Yen

Kingston, Jeff. Japan in Transformation, 1945-2010.

Images

A graph from Nakaso Hiroshi’s paper showing the fall in Japan’s economic growth rate after the bubble.
Japan’s unemployment rate has spiked since the bubble; it still remains low compared to other industrialized countries, but the effects on Japanese society have been substantially disruptive.
Another shot of the Ginza in the 1980s. By the height of the bubble, one square meter of commercial real estate here cost $750,000.
The grounds of the Imperial Palace in downtown Tokyo. According to some estimates, during the height of the asset bubble this ~2 square mile area was worth more than the entire state of California.

1 thought on “Episode 539 – Japan Falling”

  1. 1. The period you described is the emergence of the “micro”computer revolution and the emergence of Silicon Valley. So, how come the tech sector didn’t take off in Japan even though they had the technical expertise and capabilities? They were able to do it with consumer electronics but outside of video game consoles you never saw any companies close to rivaling Apple, IBM, Microsoft or Dell?

    2. Did Japan engage in any PR or “soft power” campaigns to help improve their image in the west?

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