Japan’s absorption and inspiration of foreign technology and culture during the period of economic transformation
Source: Science and Technology Development Center of the Ministry of Education
Text/Wang Chengyun and Du Debin East China Normal University
p>Li Yan Shanghai Normal University
The early postwar period: the economic development strategy of a trade-based nation and overall "Americanization"
Japan is an island country with a small territory and poor resources. Large population. After World War II, the Japanese aggressors not only brought serious disasters to the people of Asia, but also brought serious consequences to their own people, including economic decline, material shortages, and international balance of payments deficits. The Japanese government must make important choices about the path and goals of future economic development. At that time, the trade establishment faction represented by Ichiro Nakayama believed that Japan was a small country with overpopulation and severe shortage of resources. To develop its economy, it must find a way out through trade, industrialization and capital accumulation. Economist Tonjiro Takagaki was more specific. He pointed out: "For Japan, the most unique resource is its population, that is, advanced technology and labor force. For such national conditions, it can only import raw materials and grains that our country lacks from abroad. , vigorously develop industry and export industrial products abroad to obtain funds, that is, relying on national trade is the shortcut to ensuring the national economy and people's livelihood... Trade is the foundation of a country... and processing trade is the most important way. ”
After World War II, the US military occupied Japan. While announcing the abolition of Japan’s wartime laws and regulations, it also implemented a series of democratic policies. Politically, the semi-feudal remnants were completely abolished, political democratization was implemented, the modern emperor and the "national Shinto" concept were eliminated, and the emperor's sovereignty was transformed into national sovereignty; the status system and the family system were abolished, the House of Nobles was abolished, and the Diet was stipulated as the highest authority of the country. The legislative body protects citizens’ freedom of thought, religion, speech, and association and implements universal suffrage; economically, it implements rural land reform, eliminates the contradiction between developed capitalist industry and backward semi-feudal parasitic landlords, and promotes the development of agricultural capitalism. development; the dissolution of monopoly capitalist chaebols created good conditions for equal competition for the development of Japanese capitalism, introduced foreign capital, machinery and equipment, advanced science and technology, and the management experience of modern American enterprises; implemented educational reforms and eliminated the militaristic education tradition, Implementing educational freedom and decentralization, the school system imitates the United States in adopting the six, three, three, and four systems, implements democratic reforms in textbooks, and implements co-educational systems; in terms of cultural thought, American pragmatist philosophy, culture, art, film and music, Fashion and jeans, American food and fast food are all popular in Japan. After the war, Japan's first upsurge in absorbing foreign culture was a multi-level, all-round introduction, transformation and integration from the economic base to the superstructure, from material culture to spiritual culture, which promoted the Japanese economy in the 1960s. The rapid development of the times has enabled Japan to rise rapidly from the devastated ruins of war and become a modern country second only to the United States.
The development stage of technological nation-building: selective absorption of foreign technology and culture
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the international economic order and trade pattern underwent tremendous changes. First, resource-owning countries have adopted trade protectionist policies, and raw material prices have soared, especially due to the Middle East war and the Iran-Iraq war, which have led to a world oil crisis; secondly, due to the continuous expansion of Japan's trade, trade frictions with the United States and Western Europe have become increasingly serious. . The country's two pillar industries, which rely on trade in imported raw materials and fuels and exported industrial products, have been shaken. Under the new historical conditions, only by developing technology-intensive industries as quickly as possible and greatly increasing the technology and product added value of industrial products can we win in the fierce competition in the international market. Therefore, the importance of science and technology development exceeds the importance of trade development. sex. As early as 1975, Yumi Saito, a professor at Japan's Chuo University, proposed the theory of "transferring from a nation based on processing trade to a nation based on technology." This theory won the approval of the government, financial circles and academic circles. Finally, in 1980, Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry In the "Industrial Policy Vision of the 1980s", the strategic slogan of "building a nation through technology" was formally put forward, announcing that Japan had ended the "era of catching up with modernization" and was rapidly entering the "era of a world-class nation."
First of all, the absorption, transformation, and innovation of foreign culture are most obvious in the field of science and technology, and have the greatest impact on Japan's economic development. For example, the "Technical White Paper" published by the Japan Science and Technology Agency in December 1949 estimated that Japan's industrial technology level was 20 to 30 years behind the world's advanced countries at that time, and some scholars believed that it was 30 to 40 years behind. Therefore, in order to catch up, Japan bypassed the detours taken by advanced countries and caught up with and surpassed them at a faster speed and at a lower cost. First of all, according to the focus of Japan's economic construction, the world's most advanced machinery and equipment and science and technology will be introduced. For example, in the 1950s, it mainly focused on heavy industry and chemical sectors such as electric power, steel, shipbuilding, synthetic fibers, petrochemicals, and household appliances; after the mid-1960s, it shifted to knowledge-intensive industries, such as communication equipment, aerospace, automobile manufacturing, electronic machinery, etc.; 70 ~The 1980s focused on the introduction of cutting-edge technologies such as space development, electronic computers, semiconductors, and bioengineering. In the 15 years from 1955 to 1970, Japan mastered almost all the technologies invented in the world in half a century, at a cost of less than 6 billion US dollars and gained about 20 years. By the 1970s, Japan's production technology in steel, automobiles, home appliances and other industrial sectors had led the world. Such benefits were rare in the world.
Secondly, the policy of localization of introduced science and technology should be combined with Japan’s actual conditions. Through the decomposition and development of introduced technologies and products, individual improvements should be made, comprehensive transformation and innovation can be achieved, and products with Japanese characteristics can be created. New technologies and products. And make new products high-quality, cheap and durable, so as to gain advantages in competition in the international market. In the 1950s, Japan mostly imported original complete sets of equipment, such as atomic power generation equipment, cold and hot strip mills, large-capacity generators, etc. After the 1960s, the focus was on the introduction of technology patents, technical information and basic scientific research results. Japan's expenditure on purchasing foreign patents accounted for 80% of the entire technology introduction fee. Then analyze and study the introduced new technologies, exploit their strengths and avoid weaknesses, and carry out innovative development. For example, Japan's automobile industry was in its infancy after the war, lagging far behind the United States, Germany, Britain, France and other countries. In 1961, Toyo Corporation of Japan introduced Injection rotary engine technology from West Germany, organized scientific and technical personnel to conduct research and development for 6 years, and finally trial-produced an aluminum alloy-impregnated carbon material, which overcame the vibration marks in the engine body known as "devil's claw marks". Then the non-destructive inspection method (N.D.I method) was invented. In 1968, a car was produced that surpassed West Germany in terms of quality and output. Later, in response to the needs of the world market, we produced small, cost-effective, and high-quality cars, thus gaining an advantage in the world market.
Finally, Japan often starts by imitating and copying foreign technologies, so some people say that the Japanese are a nation good at "borrowing". Among the total amount of Japanese culture and technology, a considerable amount is directly imitated and copied from foreign culture. For example, in the early days, Chinese culture was copied, and the Chinese calendar (Tang calendar) and festivals such as New Year's Day, Chinese Valentine's Day, and Double Ninth Festival were transformed into the Japanese calendar and "mid-year events" (holidays); Chinese food utensils, musical instruments, music and dance, Buddhist utensils, Most of the weapons and some of their clothing were adopted intact. During the Meiji Restoration, some European political systems, military systems and educational systems were copied, and foreign mechanical equipment, ships, railways, etc. were imitated. European-style Western-style buildings, suits and shoes, Western food and Western music, and dance were also popular throughout the country. Mechanical imitation is a low-level cultural absorption, but without the "low-level stage" of cultural absorption, it is impossible to successfully achieve the "high-level stage" of cultural absorption.
Japan’s absorption of foreign technology and culture did not stop at simple imitation, but followed a path of introduction-digestion-integration-transformation and innovation, so as to achieve the goal of catching up with the advanced and catching up from behind. Japan has its own historical tradition of being good at learning and transforming foreign cultures. For example, in the 16th century AD, foreign guns were first introduced to Japan. 40 years later, Japanese gun manufacturing technology has reached the highest level in the world. There was no writing in ancient Japan. After the introduction of Chinese culture, Japanese official documents initially used Chinese characters, which was very inconvenient. Later, Japanese hiragana was created based on Chinese cursive script, and katakana was created based on kanji regular script. Kana is a phonetic character that is completely different from Chinese ideograms and is superior to the latter.
The creation of Japanese language promoted the exchange of Japanese thought and culture and the prosperity of culture.
Research and development and industrial innovation stage: combining with traditional culture to achieve Japaneseization
In the 1990s, compared with the United States, Japan’s economic growth rate dropped significantly, while the United States’ economy rapidly Development, the main reason for this contrast is that Japan's research capabilities and development capabilities are not as good as those of the United States. Japan has now realized this and is catching up. In 1996, Japan's R&D expenditure as a share of GDP was 2.8, higher than the United States' 2.64 and Germany's 2.41. In terms of basic research and invention capabilities, although Japan is not as good as the United States, it also has its own strengths, that is, strong practical technology development capabilities and finishing capabilities, and rich experience in commercializing technology. For example, the principle of liquid crystal displays came from the American RCA companies, but it was Japan that first commercialized the technology and put it into mass production. For another example, ancient ceramic technology is not mysterious, but ceramic sealed connectors and ceramic filters produced in Japan dominate the world market almost 100%. Another example is that the rotary engine was invented by the Germans, but it was a Japanese company that turned this invention into a product.
These are closely related to the Japanese government’s tradition of attaching importance to education and being good at absorbing and learning from foreign cultures. The development of education is an important experience in Japan's rapid economic growth. Education provides a large number of useful talents for economic development, and high-quality human capital is one of the sources of economic growth. Investment in education is the investment with the highest return rate. Absorbing and improving foreign advanced technologies based on practicality is also an important reason for Japan's rapid economic development. What is particularly worth mentioning is the cultural and technical training system of Japanese companies for on-the-job employees. Japanese entrepreneurs fully realize that the human factor comes first and must constantly update the knowledge system of employees in order to keep up with the pace of modern technology and scientific management. Therefore, the updating of production equipment and advanced scientific management methods must be carried out simultaneously with the education and training of employees. In 1957, the government formulated the "Expansion Plan for Training of Scientific and Technical Personnel" and established a Vocational Education Committee in the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The training methods for on-the-job employees are constantly reformed, and individual education is emphasized. Small and medium-sized enterprises provide cultural education or technical training according to different targets. Through a series of measures, the modern scientific and technological level and production management capabilities of the workforce have been significantly improved. In the 1970s, among ordinary workers, 70% were high school graduates, and among business managers and middle-level cadres or above, 85% had college education or above.
In addition, when Japan absorbs foreign culture, it can correctly handle the relationship between its own traditional culture and foreign culture. It neither simply denies nor simply affirms its inherent traditional culture, nor blindly treats foreign culture. It does not exclude, nor does it absorb completely, but combines it with traditional culture according to the needs of Japanese society, and continuously enriches and develops its own culture. Therefore, the uniqueness of Japanese culture lies in that it is neither a spiritual wealth created independently by the Yamato people in the development of Japanese history and culture, nor is it a completely "Chinese", "Westernized" and "beautified" culture, but is closely related to the traditional Japanese indigenous culture. The combination creates a new quality culture. Even if foreign culture is "Japanized". In this sense, the Japanese nation has both its open and absorbing side and its conservative and exclusive side. Japan has always adhered to the subjectivity of traditional culture. It not only takes "harmony" as its basis, but also selectively and restrictively absorbs foreign spiritual culture, thus forming "harmonious Chinese talents", "harmonious foreign talents" and "harmonious beauty". "Talent" cultural development model.
Enlightenment to our country
After World War II, especially between the 1960s and 1990s, the Japanese economy has made world-renowned achievements, from a ruin to the world's second largest economic power. Although Japan's economy began to decline after the 1990s, its 40-year economic prosperity cannot be ignored by anyone, and its experience is worth learning from. After China's reform and opening up, its economy has developed by leaps and bounds, creating another world miracle. In recent years, the world economy has experienced an overall decline, but China has stood out and maintained a relatively high growth rate. In a period of rapid economic growth, Japan's experience may give us some inspiration on how to absorb and learn from foreign cultures.
In terms of culture, Japan has absorbed many elements of Chinese Confucianism. The main reason involves Japan's natural characteristics. Japan is an island country with limited resources, a small area, and frequent natural disasters. Such natural conditions have made the Japanese develop a mindset of being prepared for danger in times of peace, and gradually formed a strong sense of survival and prevention deep in their hearts. This sense of survival requires that people must belong to a certain group in order to survive. If a group exists, it must be maintained. Therefore, harmony within the group and loyalty from the bottom to the top are particularly important. The concepts of collectivism, thrift, and importance Intellectual consciousness and so on also came into being. Many companies in Japan are family-run, and it was a common belief from managers to employees to be devoted to the company. Especially during the economic recovery period just after World War II, all citizens worked together for economic development and worked the longest hours for very little wages. They were once called "workaholics" by the world.
The concept of frugality is also the traditional virtue of diligence and frugality among Japanese people. This is one of the characteristics of agricultural society and is also related to the Japanese people’s consciousness of survival. The harsh natural conditions, dilapidated social and economic conditions, and the baptism of war have made the Japanese often aware of the crisis of survival. Therefore, Japanese people tend to use a large part of their income in savings to prevent unexpected events, which can give them a sense of security. sense, so a high savings rate has become a necessity. Among developed countries, Japan's national savings rate has always been the highest. Calculated according to the formula "average consumption propensity average saving propensity = 100", in 2000, the average saving propensity of Japanese households was 27.9. Large amounts of national savings provide ample funds for economic development. The economic development of many countries is often restricted by insufficient funds, and they bear heavy foreign debts to raise funds. Japan does not have such worries.
Paying attention to education is an important experience in Japan’s rapid economic growth. Education provides a large number of useful talents for economic development, and high-quality labor resources are one of the sources of economic growth. Investment in education is the investment with the highest return rate. Absorbing and improving foreign advanced technologies based on practicality is also an important reason for Japan's rapid economic development. Taking advantage of the so-called "latecomer advantage", introducing advanced foreign technologies, improving them, and applying them to domestic production can both expand the production potential curve and promote industrial upgrading. This is also an important experience for developing countries to rapidly develop and catch up with developed countries.