DBWI: Can Japan Ever Develop?

I just got back from my Development Economics class, and it appears that if there is a hopeless country in this world, it is Japan. The only abundant resources seem to be natural disasters and cheap labor, the country is perilously overpopulated and always on the brink of famine, overfishing and deforestation have severely damaged the ecosystem, and the violent political culture seems to preclude any type of development.

So my question is this: is there hope for Japan? If so, what steps do you think Japan should take to develop.
 
I know a way those Japs could jumpstart their country.

Were there is a will there is.....
 
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That was a little poor taste, Hawkeye. Do you know how many people are starving on the streets of Tokyo, Saigon and Nanking? The three poorest cities in the world are all in Japan. Think about that before you make jokes next time.
 
Japan actually had a very advanced feudal system until the arrival of European influences. Christianity divided the population, and lead to wars that the followers of the native Japanese religions were unable to win, as the Catholic Church provided an almost endless supply of arms and later soldiers to conquer Japan. Coupled with European diseases and mismanagement by the Portuguese, Dutch and then English I think it was inevitable that Japan be cursed as a third world nation.

The Japanese are a very hard-working, and often quite religious people too, I think that the large number Japanese people overseas will help the economy, and after a while maybe return home to help build up a strong economy. Already in Nagasaki there is a modest middle-class population. The country is also relatively peaceful, since the military removed the last president (who got in through corruption anyway, and ruined by the economy) things have been looking better.

Then again- AIDs might wreck it all again.... :(
 
According to the latest FSB (Foreign Security Bureau) World Factbook Japan has a GDP per capita of roughly $1700 which means it's just behind China ($2400 per capita) but ahead of India's $1000 per capita. They are doing OK I suppose, but seriously are there any East Asian countries that are doing well?

(Don't talk to me about the Philippines either. They don't count as they were an American colony for such a long time, and now as a Commonwealth of the US, they enjoy a large aid subsidy each year.)
 
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According to the latest FSB (Foreign Security Bureau) World Factbook Japan has a GDP of roughly $1700 which means it's just behind China ($2400) but ahead of India $1000. They are doing OK I suppose, but seriously are there any East Asian countries that are doing well?

OOC: Good Efsiging God! :eek:

(I can only assume you meant GDP per capita, since otherwise Asia is a basket case of unprecedented proportions... ;))
 

Krall

Banned
Japan might be able to get on its feet and start developing, but only if we could cancel all of their debt, Britain and Russia have worked hard to do so, but the Commonwealth of South Africa is still holding out, I don't know why, it's not like they need the money.

Although Japan doesn't actually have the three poorest cities in the world if you look at the population of the cities as well as the amount of money they make. Tokyo is still no. 1 but Amritsar, capital of Punjab, is no. 2.

OoC/ That's right, South Africa is a developed 1st/2nd world nation and India isn't all of OTL India. Ha. /OoC
 
That was a little poor taste, Hawkeye. Do you know how many people are starving on the streets of Tokyo, Saigon and Nanking? The three poorest cities in the world are all in Japan. Think about that before you make jokes next time.

Um... Saigon is in French Indochina, and Nanking is a Portuguese protectorate in China. Yes, they're very poor... but they're not in Japan. I think you're referring to Nagasaki and Okinawa that are three of the poorest cities in the world along with Tokyo?
 
Um... Saigon is in French Indochina, and Nanking is a Portuguese protectorate in China. Yes, they're very poor... but they're not in Japan. I think you're referring to Nagasaki and Okinawa that are three of the poorest cities in the world along with Tokyo?

Why didn't I spot that? Yep, Nagasaki and Osaka (Okinawa the island is very poor) are among the poorest in the world.
 
This is near ASB. We are talking about an overpopulated country with little raw materials and seems to have civil wars every decade or two. You might as well speculate on a German pope! :rolleyes:
 

ninebucks

Banned
It seems to me the last time Japan ever really seemed to be on the up was during the Korean Occupation. Sure, the Koreans weren't very popular, they forced their own script and language on the Japanese and had some very brutal religious policies, but at least they developed the country somewhat.

And then there was the War of Independence, which pretty much destroyed all of that infrastructure, and then, without the Koreans to be united against, the country quickly started attacking itself.

I know it sounds horrible, but what if the Koreans had been more brutal. Crushing any resistance.
 
you would probably need to go back to the invasion by the Chinese in the 12 hundreds which lead to 3 centuries of corrupt chinese governors. This was followed by the Portugese in the 15 hundreds on one of the islands. The Dutch took control of another and the British attempted to make a colony on another. None of the european powers made a profit or could use their bases to break into the chinese market where the money was. I guess thats why when Korea decide to join the colonial club they throw in their hands and let them have the lot. Of cause that only got them started and then it all ended badly with the great Pacific war.
 
Japan used to have emperors in ancient times. Maybe if the institution somewhat hold, then the country would have not espiraled into the constant division and wars that opened the door to foreign invaders.
 
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