Asian Industry

After World War II, Asia made a spectacular economic recovery. Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan all became ‘tiger economies’, with rising living standards and modern factories. These produce goods that are sold all over the world.

Japan, whose factories had been bombed during World War II by the Allies, was aided by the US throughout the 1940s and 1950s. new factories, with the latest machinery, began turning out cars, radios, office equipment and gadgets for the home. In the 1980s, the factories began using automated robots to make electronic and other goods, including televisions and computers, and Japan became the world’s biggest maker of cars and trucks.

Japan was reluctant to play a big part in world affairs, other than in trade. It had given up its large military forces at the end of World War II, and no Japanese troops took part in any of the post-war conflicts, such as the Korean and Vietnam wars.

South Korea emerged from its war with its Communist neighbor, North Korea, to undergo an economic transformation similar to Japan’s. it too had a well-trained and organized work force, and invested money in new machinery and computers. North Korea, under Communist rule, lagged far behind the South in terms of wealth.

Singapore and Hong Kong both small, grew rich on trade and banking. Hong Kong was under British rule until 1997, when it was returned to China by agreement. It retained its special status as a trading area for China, which in the 1990s relaxed its restrictions on private businesses. Vietnam has also turned to a ‘free market’ economy. India, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines have prospered from industries employing many people who are paid low wages to make shoes and clothes, or to assemble electronic equipment for export. India, still mainly an agricultural country, has expanded its industrial production by over six times since 1950. The biggest employers are the clothing and textile industries.