CONTENTS CHAPTER 1THE JAPANESE ECONOMY TODAY 1.Land Use and Development1 2.The Labor Force and the Aging Society 2 3.Resources and Energy5 4.Companies and Corporate Groups7 5.GNP and Commodity Prices9 6.Trade and the International Balance of Payments CHAPTER 2SPECIAL FEATURES OF JAPANESE ECONOMIC BODIES 1. The Role of Government17 2. Industrialists and Entrepreneurs19 3. The Power that Drives the Japanese Economy20 CHAPTER 3 JAPAN AND THE INTERNATIONAL ECONOMY 1. The International Position of the Japanese Economy 23 2. The Emergence of Three Major Economic Blocs, and the Questions of Coexistence and Mutual Prosperity 24 3. Japan-US Economic Relations 25 4. Japan-EC Economic Relations26 5. Economic Relations with the Rest of Asia 27 6. Economic Cooperation and AOTS28 CHAPTER 4 JAPAN'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 1. The Meiji Restoration, and the Start of Modernization and Industrialization31 a) The Meiji Restoration -industrialization as a means to an end b) People who promoted industrialization 2. From the Age of Take-Off to the Second World War 34 3. Recovery and Development After the Second World War34 a) Recovery (1945-1950) b) Independence -the boom based on special demand and the ensuring slump (1950-1954) c) The period of high economic growth (1955-1973) d) The period of stable growth e) The 1980s: A time of upheaval 4. Summary42