Economic Activities Under the Japanese Colonial Empire

The main
focus of this edited
volume is an examination of dynamic relationships among Japan, Taiwan, Korea, and the northeastern region of China, and the economic development of each area in East Asia from the 1910s to the end of World
War II. The development of foreign trade in East Asia, the
relations between industrialization and consumption in Korea, the transactions in
fertilizers and the development of small-scale industries in Taiwan are precisely
examined. At
present, East Asia is a major economic center of the world. It is necessary to look
closely not only at both sides of the “exploitation or development under
colonization” paradigm but also at the prewar factors that spurred East Asian economic
growth in the postwar decades. A noteworthy characteristic of the Japanese colonial empire
was the close economic and geographic relations among Japan, Taiwan, Korea, and the northeastern region of China. Economic integration within the empire strengthened
considerably in the interwar years and remained high even during the war as
compared to that in European countries and their colonies. What was the
irreversible change in each colonial economy by means of forced incorporation
into the Japanese empire? What was the impact on economic subjects such as
merchants, manufacturers, managers, and workers through the colonial regime? This
book provides readers with broad perspectives that are indispensable given that
the factors discussed herein are the historical origins of current issues.