The Japanese Iron and Steel Industry, 1850-1990: Continuity and Discontinuity

How did Japan, despite its lack of natural resources, become the world's leading iron- and steel-producing country? It is not enough to put an emphasis merely on the role of government. When Japan entered the modern industrial world in the middle of the nineteenth century, the country lacked not only technology but also technologists, engineers, a capital pool, managers, experienced workers, and a steady level of demand for new industrial outputs. To industrialise Japan needed not only to transfer physical equipment from the Western world but also to build up economic, social and organisational capabilities internally.This book examines the history of Japan's iron and steel industry and scrutinises how the collaboration between government, industry and individual entrepreneurs created this economic miracle.