A short history of Japan - From Samurai to Sony

A short history of Japan

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Dr Curtis Andressen is a senior lecturer in the School of

Political and International Studies at Flinders University, South

Australia. He has been a willing student of Japan for over two

decades and has spent several years living there. Curtis

Andressen has published widely on a variety of aspects of

contemporary Japanese Society and is co-author of Escape

from Affluence: Japanese students in Australia and author of

Educational Refugees: Malaysian students in Australia.

Series Editor: Milton Osborne

Milton Osborne has had an association with the Asian region

for over 40 years as an academic, public servant and inde￾pendent writer. He is the author of eight books on Asian

topics, including Southeast Asia: An introductory history, first

published in 1979 and now in its eighth edition, and, most

recently, The Mekong: Turbulent Past, Uncertain Future, pub￾lished in 2000.

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A short history of Japan

From Samurai to Sony

Curtis Andressen

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For my parents, Thorsten and

Marilyn Andressen

First published in 2002

Copyright © Curtis Andressen, 2002

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or

transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,

including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and

retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one

chapter or 10 per cent of this book, whichever is the greater, to be

photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes

provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has

given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under

the Act.

Allen & Unwin

83 Alexander Street

Crows Nest NSW 2065

Australia

Phone: (61 2) 8425 0100

Fax: (61 2) 9906 2218

Email: [email protected]

Web: www.allenandunwin.com

National Library of Australia

Cataloguing-in-Publication entry:

Andressen, Curtis A. (Curtis Arthur), 1956– .

A short history of Japan: from samurai to Sony.

Bibliography.

Includes index.

ISBN 1 86508 516 2.

1. Japan—History. I. Title.

952

Figures from A Brief History of Chinese and Japanese Civilisations,

Second Edition by Conrad Schirokaner, © 1989 by Harcourt, Inc.

reproduced by permission of the publisher.

Set in 11/13 pt Sabon by DOCUPRO, Canberra

Printed by South Wind Productions, Singapore

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Some images in the original version of this book are not

available for inclusion in the eBook.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments vii

Abbreviations viii

1 Introduction 1

2 In the beginning 16

3 Chaos to unity: Feudalism in Japan 47

4 Modernisation and imperialism 78

5 War and peace 104

6 The miracle economy 128

7 Japan as number one? 147

8 Bursting bubbles 178

9 The way ahead 210

Glossary 223

Notes 228

Selected further reading 231

Bibliography 236

Sources 240

Index 241

v

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Japan’s lands and cities.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

No book is written without a lot of support. Many

Japanese friends and colleagues over the years

provided valuable insights into their society. Keen Western

observers of Japan also helped me to understand Japanese

culture, and prominent here is Peter Gainey. A number of

people provided a great deal of help in the editing stage,

including my hardworking parents and Andrew MacDonald.

Peter, again, proved to be invaluable at this stage. Debbie Hoad

was a dedicated and creative research assistant. I also owe a

debt to Professor Colin Brown for his encouragement to

undertake this task. Any errors or omissions, of course, remain

the responsibility of the author. Finally, a special thank you to

Blanca Balmes, for her love and unwavering support.

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ABBREVIATIONS

ADB Asian Development Bank

ANA All Nippon Airways

APEC Asia–Pacific Economic Cooperation forum

ASEAN Association of South East Asian Nations

CEO chief executive officer

DAC development assistance committee

EEOL equal employment opportunity law

EU European Union

FTA US–Canada Free Trade Agreement

GDP gross domestic product

GNP gross national product

JAL Japan Airlines

JNR Japan National Railways

JR Japan Railways

LDP Liberal Democratic Party

MITI Ministry of International Trade and Industry

MOF Ministry of Finance

NAFTA North American Free Trade Agreement

NEC Nippon Electric Company

NIC newly industrialising country

NIE newly industrialising economy

NTT Nippon Telephone and Telegraph

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ODA official development assistance

OECD Organisation of Economic Cooperation and

Development

OPEC Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries

POW prisoner of war

PRC People’s Republic of China

SCAP Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers

SDF Self Defence Forces

SDPJ Social Democratic Party of Japan

UNHCR United Nations High Commission for Refugees

UNTAC United Nations Transitional Authority in

Cambodia

Abbreviations

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INTRODUCTION

F

EW COUNTRIES HAVE BEEN the subject of so much

scholarly attention yet remain so elusive. Who

exactly are the Japanese? Are they peace-loving or war-like?

Creators of stunningly beautiful art forms or destroyers of

pristine natural environments? Isolationist or expansionist?

Considerate of other cultures or arrogantly dismissive? Willing

members of the international community or shy and fearful of

engaging with others? Wildly successful or perched on the edge

of economic ruin? Newspapers over the past few decades have

provided all of these images.

In the late 1980s Japan appeared on the verge of an

economic takeover of the world. The purchase of Columbia

Pictures by Sony and the Rockefeller Center by Mitsubishi

Real Estate at the time were two of the more dramatic

examples of Japanese economic power. In Australia residents

of Queensland’s Gold Coast (with the notable exception

of local real estate agents) protested the Japanese buy-up of

prime real estate. The reaction in many parts of the world was

fear. Movies such as Rising Sun intimated that there was a

rather sinister plot by inscrutable kingpins to make Japan

the next superpower by taking control of the global economy.

Yet governments around the world at the time vied for the

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investment opportunities held out tantalisingly by Japanese

megafirms.

So what happened? Since the early 1990s this image has

been turned on its head. Suddenly Japan is a giant with feet

of clay. Financial institutions are closing their doors, or merg￾ing, and their leaders are being marched off to jail or are

hanging themselves in hotel rooms. At the same time, the

Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), in power almost continuously

since the end of the Pacific War, has managed to remain in

control of the government, while voter apathy—reflected in

the 1995 election of former comedians as governors of both

Tokyo and Osaka—is at an all-time high. The recession in

Japan, which has dragged on for more than a decade, seems

to present a problem too large and complex for the govern￾ment to handle. Politicians appear unable to dissociate

themselves from long-standing interest groups, so stimulus

packages designed to pull Japan out of recession continue to

take the form of pork-barrelling, with massive contracts

awarded to construction companies and the like who in turn

fill LDP coffers. Unfortunately, the money is not spent effec￾tively, public confidence has not been restored, and Japan’s

economy in the early twenty-first century continues to slump.

Part of the problem concerns the demographic profile of

Japanese society. Voting is not compulsory, and those who vote

are disproportionately older and more conservative, so out￾dated policies tend to endure. Japan also has a very rapidly

ageing population, with high numbers of people entering

retirement over the next ten to twenty years. At the same time

the birthrate has dropped to its lowest levels ever, so there are

fewer and fewer people to support an ageing population.

Hence, when contemplating retirement, older Japanese workers

have a tendency to save even more than usual. This lack of

spending continues to inhibit economic recovery.

Japanese companies, too, which appeared unstoppable in

the 1980s, are suddenly looking for international partners to

help them out of their dire financial straits, hence the recent

link-up between Nissan and the French automobile company

Renault, preceded by the American company Ford’s massive

A Short History of Japan

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purchase of Mazda shares. At the same time many Japanese

companies, which continue to make world-class products, are

posting record profits, and through the 1990s recession Japan

enjoyed huge trade surpluses. It is an unusual type of economic

downturn. Furthermore, Japan continues to hold by far the

greatest foreign exchange reserves of any country in the world,

is second only to Germany in overseas assets and has been the

world’s largest creditor nation since 1985. The country pro￾vides nearly 16 per cent of the world’s economic output and

is therefore, for a range of reasons, watched carefully by other

countries.

On the international front, however, Japan is relatively

subdued. A few personalities have emerged on the international

scene, such as Akashi Yasushi, the head of the United Nations

Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) during the UN

reconstruction of that country in the early 1990s and, more

recently, Ogata Sadako, present head of the United Nations

High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), especially promi￾nent during the UN’s recent intervention in East Timor. These

are exceptions, though, and Japan continues to play a less

visible role than is appropriate for a country that still has the

second largest economy in the world. At the same time, it is

a key source of funds and direction for many international

organisations such as the UNHCR and the Asian Development

Bank.

In part the Japanese reluctance to be more assertive is a

reflection of the country’s vulnerability. In many ways the label

of ‘fragile superpower’ continues to hold true. In spite of

massive investments abroad, trade surpluses and cutting-edge

products, Japan remains vulnerable to fluctuations in foreign

policies and economies. It continues to import 80 per cent of

its primary energy requirements and is dependent on value￾added exports for its wealth. When restricted to its home

islands Japan is a poor, isolated, island nation. It must trade

to create wealth, and this fundamental reality has moved the

country into imperialism, war, destruction and global trade at

various times over the last century. At the same time, given

Japan’s massive foreign investments and level of trade, other

Introduction

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countries are dependent on its goodwill for economic growth.

In this sense economic globalisation serves to protect Japanese

interests.

There is a curious tension in Japan’s foreign relations.

Many in the region still remember Japan’s wartime aggression;

as a result, while investment is welcomed, the investor is

watched with some wariness. In the history of the region the

Pacific War did not end so long ago, certainly not long enough

for fundamental cultural change to take place. Foreign trade,

regardless, does not take place for altruistic reasons and Japan,

like other countries, tries to maximise its benefits. Japanese

companies also tend to recreate their structures overseas. They

claim to need the quality products that only Japanese firms

can provide. In other countries, though, Japanese companies

are often seen as supporting each other while freezing out local

suppliers. Hence, the extent to which Japanese investment

produces long-term local benefits (particularly ones that are

spread around rather than going mostly to local elites) is hotly

debated.

For most people in the region the effects of Japanese trade

and investment are highly visible. Whether it is downtown

Bangkok, Sydney, Ho Chi Minh City, Shenzen or the Klang

Valley outside Kuala Lumpur, the names of famous Japanese

companies are everywhere. Automobiles bear Japanese brands,

as do stereos, televisions, computers and a vast range of other

types of consumer electronics. Goods that carry Japanese

names, too, are often made (or at least assembled) in the

low-wage countries of Asia. There are few countries in which

Japanese companies are not playing a substantial role and in

which their goods are not readily accessible.

While Japanese goods are moving around the world, so

too are Japanese people. Tourist departures rose dramatically

in the 1970s and 1980s, and even in the 1990s they continued

at record levels. More than 17 million Japanese travelled

abroad in 2000, more than 80 per cent of them as tourists.

While there are increasing numbers of independent, especially

budget, travellers, most still prefer package tours. Indeed,

Japanese are renowned for their failure to blend into local

A Short History of Japan

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