Overview of Japanese industrial technology development

This paper provides an overview of the experience of industrial technology development in Japan since World War II. It does not attempt to conduct new empirical work, partly due to the sizable existing literature. The main contribution of the paper is a broader and more systematic approach to understanding the process of industrial technology development in Japan. The auther does this by: (i) presenting a brief history of industrial technology development in Japan before World War II in order to place the subsequent development in perspective, (ii) reviewing the interaction between economic growth and technology development in the post-war era, (iii) discussing the general environment, which has supported rapid industrial technology development, human resource development, domestic competition and an active industrial policy, (iv) reviewing the experience of the regulatory and incentive policy for the importation of foreign technology, (v) discussing the experince of technology diffusion, and (vi) discussing research and development policies. The conclusion presents major potential lessons for developing countries and outlines an agenda for future research.