At the beginning of the 20th century, Japan was a relatively small economy and far behind the world's richest countries. However, the policies implemented in the Meiji period pushed its economy onto the path of growth and openness to the rest of the world. But after its participation in World War II in 1945, Japan was destroyed. Not only did it lose the war to the two nuclear bombs dropped by the United States, but it also lost more than a quarter of its industrial capacity. As a result, there was little hope for a quick economic recovery. However, the measures implemented by the Japanese government and the help of a very important ally enabled it to become an industrial power. After the war, Japan was the world's factory along with the United States. Even most economists expected Japan to overtake the United States as the world's leading economic power. So the questions are: How did Japan rise from poverty to prosperity? Why was Japan's economic miracle not possible without the help of the United States? And why was it finally unable to overtake the United States as the world's largest economy?

Some sources of interest:

- Beckley M, Horiuchi Y, Miller JM. (2018). AMERICA’S ROLE IN THE MAKING OF JAPAN’S ECONOMIC MIRACLE. Journal of East Asian Studies.
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journa...

- Berkeley Economic Review (2023). The Japanese Economic Miracle
https://econreview.berkeley.edu/the-j...

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