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Pt. 6: The Bubble Boom and Bust of the Japanese Countryside

Population in 1980: 118 million people As Japan became “No. 1”, popular media idolized the city life. The consistent success of economic powerhouses located in Japan’s major city centers gave people living in rural areas an increasing…
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Pt. 5: From American Occupation to Economic Juggernaut

Population in 1950: 82 million people From the ashes of war-wrecked Japan came an economic juggernaut. While the American occupation was originally given instructions from U.S. President Truman to decisively weaken the Japanese state, General…
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Pt. 4: A self-proclaimed Fascist with a Story Stranger than Fiction

One of the weirdest characters in this period is Ryoichi Sasakawa, whose life story is stranger than fiction. Born in Minoh, Osaka in 1899, Sasakawa rose to prominence in the 1930s during the Sino-Japanese War by amassing wealth through rice…
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Pt. 3: From Budding Democracy to War-hungry Axis Power

Population in 1940: 73 million people The Great Depression had a ripple effect on the Japanese economy, leading to an economic downturn that led to a political shift towards militarism and colonization of neighboring Asian countries as a way…

Pt. 2: Taisho Democracy and the Seeds of Capitalist Democracy

Population in 1926: est. 60 million people After the Meiji era came the Taisho era, which heralded a decade of peace and increased representation, similar to the Gilded Age in the West. As Japan’s economy became enriched from the trade and…
Parthenon Japan
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Pt. 1: From Samurai to Steam Locomotives

Population in 1850: 32 million people Population in 1900: 44 million people Japan went from samurai, feudal warlords, and a largely agrarian society under the Tokugawa shogunate in the Edo period to men wearing western suits, Japan’s industrial…
Benjamin Boas signing a copy of his new bookParthenon Japan

Senior Advisor Benjamin Boas Celebrates Release of From Cool Japan to Your Japan

From Cool Japan to Your Japan Benjamin Boas' New Book Explores Japan's Cultural Assets Benjamin Boas, Parthenon Japan's Global Communications Advisor and Cool Japan Producer, is a man of many talents. Mahjong, Aikido, communications consulting,…
Parthenon in Athens, GreeceDario Crisafulli
Junichiro Koizumi givning an election speech