日本現代化成功的因素

依據日本政府今(2004)年7月發表的最新經濟財政白書指出：日本經濟從2003年下半年起，隨著世界經濟復甦基調所帶動的出口與設備投資增加，經濟復甦的腳步趨於踏實。此次日本景氣的復甦，主要特徵為：(1)公共建設等政府部門支出雖見抑制，但以設備投資為主的民間需求則明顯擴張，扮演復甦牽引角色；(2)不良債權（銀行逾放所致之呆帳）的處理加速，金融體系不穩定性減低，整體企業部門的龐大債務縮小；(3)數位家電等具高度技術開發力的產業，將競爭力發揮得淋漓盡致。

Ever since the Meiji Restoration launched Japan on the road to modernization and it defeated China in the Sino-Japanese War of 1895 and Russia in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904, Japan has been one of the leading nations on the world stage. Following its disastrous defeat in the Pacific War of 1941-45, Japan succeeded in rebuilding its war-ravaged economy and industrial infrastructure.
Viewed from an international perspective, the success of Japan’s modernization, through its postwar recovery and high-growth phase as well as its more-recent moderate growth phase encompassing the economic bubble, can be largely attributed to the following distinctive advantages: (1) the educational reforms of the Meiji Restoration, which laid the foundation for a century of successful economic development; (2) the educational philosophy of Chinese scholar Wang Yang-ming, which Japan embraced 250 years before the Meiji Restoration; (3) a strong team spirit, which emerged from Japan’s group-oriented way of life; (4) a high regard for study, persistence, precision, and professionalism; and (5) a deep respect for history, along with an ability to learn from the mistakes of the past and to forge wise and practical policy solutions to national problems.