Sometimes considered the miracle economy, Japan in the 1980s was a time of expansion. Coming out of World War 2 which ended in 1945, the Japanese economy was at a stand still for a number of years, going into several recessions leading up to the 1980s. Japan shifted its focus from war to business, health, and opportunity, this change generated growth. Similar to the United States with the Great Recession starting in 2007, Japan by the end of the 1980s went into an economic decline again.
After WW2 with the aid of the United States Japan went into reconstruction. Japan started exporting more and more manufactured goods taking advantage of the slightly mended relations with the U.S. In Japan the desire for higher living and new technology was widespread and the government's shift in mindset and funds allowed those advancements. The economy thrived and businesses expanded tremendous amounts. Japan and America were dominant forces in the world's economy in the mid-1980s. By the late 1980s industrial growth was at an all time high. Property started becoming more expensive and banks gave loans out very freely because of the influence of the bank of Japan. People were getting multigenerational loans to afford housing. The Great Recession is sometimes looked at as a bubble, same with the Japanese economy crashing around 1993. It built up to mass proportions and popped. Even a miracle economy has faults and can fail like any other. |
According to Richard Gross, "In 1994, one square yard of Tokyo housing land cost $5,096, Hong Kong was $3,250 and Osaka, Japan's second largest city was $3,175. In London housing land was $300 per square yard, and in Paris $290. In New York, some of the most expensive land in the United States, residential real estate was $91 per square yard."
Sources
http://www.thebubblebubble.com/japan-bubble/
https://www.upi.com/Archives/1995/05/30/Tokyo-land-prices-worlds-highest/6856801806400/
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/19/weekinreview/19impoco.html
https://www.upi.com/Archives/1995/05/30/Tokyo-land-prices-worlds-highest/6856801806400/
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/19/weekinreview/19impoco.html