Rebuilding Japan’s Economy and Relationships

I loved Professor Katada’s presentation on how Japan became this successful economic model post world war II, and some of the main factors that enabled this transformation. This presentation reinforced some of my presumptions I had on Gender in Japan, on how women are held back socio-economically in this patriarchal society. Also, I was very interested in how the relationship between Japan and the United States became forcefully positive during the Cold War. It was very interesting to learn that since the 1860s, Japan has been trying to westernize its economy and culture. Learning about some of the impacts that WWII had on the Japanese economy, it seems that this process of reconstruction enabled the Japanese people to work collectively and understanding their place in society to lift Japan from famine and chaos. I think that Japan is a role model for many developing countries around the world, and it was really a learning experience to be exposed to some of the fundamental changes that Japan went through to get to this point. I also found interesting this attempt or competition that is taking place with China to bring infrastructure to Southeast Asian and African countries. I don’t think that there are many countries in the world that can do this.