Political Economy & Development—Japan

Question 1

Whenever a Japanese government agency provides guidance and direction to private organizations, there is a firm level of transparency. True or False

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The relationships among keiretsu member firms have been regarded as collusive and harmful to free trade by some of Japan’s principal trading partners. True or False

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The growth of the Japanese economy in the late 1950s through the early 1970s was an economic miracle. True or False

Answer 3

True

Question 4

In spite of the worldwide economic depression of the 1930s, the Japanese economy recovered quickly and by 1941 was one of the world’s fastest-growing and most competitive economies. True or False

Answer 4

True

Question 5

The Korean War of the 1950s and the Vietnam War of the 1960s were highly beneficial for the Japanese economy. True or False

Answer 5

True

Question 6

Although the United States assisted Japan’s political and economic recovery after WWII, when it came to admission to international bodies, like the UN, the GATT, and IMF, America opposed it for strategic reasons. True or False

Answer 6

False

Question 7

During the Meiji Restoration Japan applied laissez faire policies to develop the modern Japanese economy limiting the government’s role. True or False

Answer 7

False

Question 8

Once the occupation ended, under its refined and expanded industrial policy, the Japanese government provided investment funds, tax breaks, foreign exchange, and foreign technologies to targeted strategic industries. True or False

Answer 8

True

Question 9

One area where the Japanese government promotes a non-protectionist policy is agriculture, especially rice production. True or False

Answer 9

False

Question 10

The Japanese government set up a Financial Services Agency in 2001 to help banks and securities firms rid themselves of bad loans and mediated a series of bank mergers that have successfully lifted Japan out of the recession. True or False

Answer 10

True

Question 11

In the U.S., American women earn about 70 cents to every dollar that men earn whereas in Japan it is nearly equal. True or False

Answer 11

False

Question 12

Until recently, thanks to a relatively egalitarian pattern of income distribution most Japanese regarded themselves as members of the “middle class,” that is, economically as well off as most other Japanese. True or False

Answer 12

True

Question 13

Japan’s rate of relative poverty has risen to one of the highest levels among OECD member states since the mid-2000s. True or False

Answer 13

True

Question 14

Japan’s social welfare system is relatively highly developed compared to its counterparts in most Western nations. True or False

Answer 14

False

Question 15

Similar to the U.S. Constitution, the 1947 Japanese Constitution has avoided any language mandating a national social welfare system. True or False

Answer 15

False

Question 16

Since the 1960s, the export-led development strategy that Japan followed has also been applied by the newly industrialized countries (NICs) in East Asia. True or False

Answer 16

True

Question 17

In response to criticism from the West of Japan establishing unfair trade policies, the latter has removed or significantly reduced the tariff and nontariff import barriers and abandoned most of the alleged predatory trade practices. True or False

Answer 17

True

Question 18

Japan’s income from foreign direct investment (FDI) has been larger than its trade account surplus since 2004. True or False

Answer 18

True

Question 19

Informal prescription, usually not based on statute or formal regulation, that is given by a government agency, such as a ministry and its subdivisions, to a private organization, such as a firm or a lower-level government: a) public policy directives, b) government initiatives, c) administrative guidance, d) social obligation.

Answer 19

c) administrative guidance

Question 20

A group of closely allied Japanese firms that have preferential trading relationships and often interlocking directorates and stock-sharing arrangements: a) unichiro, b) keiretsu, c) fukushito, d) taishebo.

Answer 20

b) keiretsu

Question 21

The following are considered to be “newly industrialized countries (NICs): a) Ghana, Israel, Pakistan, b) Argentina, Morocco, Haiti, c) Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, d) Brazil, Malaysia, South Korea.

Answer 21

d) Brazil, Malaysia, South Korea

Question 22

Which of the following is NOT a “nontariff barrier” (NTB)? a) slapping a tax on imported foreign cars, b) establishing quotas for imported liquor, c) establishing health and safety standards for foreign-made food imports, d) creating complicated and cumbersome labeling practices.

Answer 22

a) slapping a tax on imported foreign cars

Question 23

Unlike most other industrial nations of the period, Japan recovered remarkably quickly from the worst effects of the Great Depression during the 1930s because of: a) vast government expenditures, primarily for the military, b) shifting its economic strategy to focus on a domestic market, c) providing subsidies to its agrarian sector to stave off serious socio-economic ills, d) diversifying its economy to assure greater independence from external forces.

Answer 23

a) vast government expenditures, primarily for the military

Question 24

The Sino-Japanese War (1894-1905) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) contributed most significantly to the growth of: a) a consumer’s industry, b) heavy industry, c) agriculture, d) the banking industry.

Answer 24

b) heavy industry

Question 25

In the early 1930s, how much of Japan’s government budget was devoted to its military? A) 10%, b) 16%, c) 33%, d) 55%

Answer 25

c) 33%

Question 26

Due to the emerging Cold War after 1948, what were the primary objectives of the occupation of both Japan and Germany by the U.S.? a) total demilitarization & democratization, b) minimal demilitarization & slow, but gradual economic recovery, c) swift economic recovery & incorporation into a U.S.-led anticommunist alliance, d) war reparations & total demilitarization.

Answer 26

c) swift economic recovery & incorporation into a U.S.-led anticommunist alliance

Question 27

Who spearheaded the rapid expansion of the Japanese economy during the latter part of the nineteenth century and the first forty years of the twentieth century? a) the state bureaucracy, b) zaibatsu conglomerates, c) the banking industry, d) the military

Answer 27

b) zaibatsu conglomerates

Question 28

In response to the dollar’s depreciation as a result of the Plaza Accord, what was the initial reaction in Japan? a) tariff and non-tariff barriers were reinforced, b) flooded the international markets with exports, c) the policy of subsidizing favored industries was stopped, d) the Bank of Japan drastically cut interest rates, generating a hyperinflation.

Answer 28

d) the Bank of Japan drastically cut interest rates, generating a hyperinflation.

Question 29

The private industrial sector of the Japanese economy is characterized by interdependence and networking among a small number of giant firms, on the one hand, and a vast number of small firms, on the other known as: a) hatishu, b) taishito, c) keiretsu, d) moshibo.

Answer 29

c) keiretsu

Question 30

What percent of the Japanese labor force is represented by women? a) 29% b) 36%, c) 41%, d) 50%

Answer 30

d) 50%

Question 31

According to the International Labor Organization, Japanese women made up what percent of Japanese legislators, senior government officials, and company managers in 2008? a) 9%, b) 16%, c) 21% , d) 32%

Answer 31

a) 9%

Question 32

What conditions existed that prevented Japan from fully developing its economic capabilities prior to its defeat in World War II, according to Kesselman, et.al.? a) The prewar Japanese economy had been hobbled with a ____________ problem that impeded _______ and development. b) There was grossly _______ distribution of _______ and _______, resulting in widespread poverty, generating social tensions. c) Such conditions prevented the formation of a sufficiently large _________ market for Japanese manufacturers.

Answer 32

a) structural, growth b) uneven, income, wealth c) domestic

Question 33

After World War II, what occupational reforms prepared Japan for vast expansion of its middle class and its domestic consumer markets? a) the ____________ of zaibatsu conglomerates, b) the _____________ of well over _____ of Japan’s urban workers, c) and extensive _____________ _____ reforms.

Answer 33

a) Dissolution b) unionization, half c) agricultural land

Question 34

How did the United States help Japan rebuild its economy? a) by providing aid, including _____, worth about $1.8 billion. b) by helping the Japanese government overcome postwar economic chaos, especially rampant _________, c) by balancing the government budget, raising taxes, imposing ______ and _____ freezes, d) and resuming limited ________ ______.

Answer 34

a) food b) inflation c) price, wage d) foreign trade

Question 35

Each keiretsu is: a) composed of a major _____ b) and several large ______________, trading, shipping, construction, and insurance companies that are of comparable size and _____________ linked with one another. c) There are also more than a dozen similar but vertically linked keiretsu, that provide a company with most of what is needed to produce its _____ products.

Answer 35

a) Bank b) manufacturing, horizontally c) final

Question 36

Following the 1868 Meiji Restoration Japan pursued rapid industrialization, a) initially by exporting relatively ______ products of ______-intensive industries, such as textiles, b) and then increasingly _______-______-added products of more ________-intensive industries, including iron and steel, _____________, and machinery.

Answer 36

a) cheap, labor | b) higher, value, capital, shipbuilding