The Asian economic core area : East Asia

1. The Asian economic core area: EastAsia dr. László Jeney associate professor jeney@elte.hu Economic and Human Geography Bachelor study programmes (BA) Spring term 2017/2018. CUB Centre of Economic Geography and Futures Studies

2. The area of the East Asia and Far East Far East < East Asia Northeast Asia (Siberia, Russian Far East) East Asia (Japan, Korea, China, Mongolia) Southeast Asia (Mainland SEA, Insular SEA) Itsborders DebatabletowardsNorth and InnerAsia (Siberia, Mongolia, NW China, Tibet) Large World region: EastAsia Territory: 12mn km2 (8% of the World) Population: 1,6bn (23% of the World) WR1. 2

3. East Asian miracle Parts of East Asia Largest part China (≈ Europe, 9.6 km2, WR3.)  East + Inner Asia (Tibet, Uygur region) Tajvan, Hongkong (NIC1) Korea South (NIC1) and North: middle size Asian country, 222 th km2, 75 mn residents (N–S: 1127 km, W–E 645 km) Japan Mongolia Late 20th century: reemergence of East Asia Political, economic and cultural impacts Refocuses the global economic growth and political power on the Pacific Region Interactas to the globalization trends 3

4. The Japanese way to the economic miracle dr. László Jeney associate professor jeney@elte.hu Economic and Human Geography Bachelor study programmes (BA) Spring term 2017/2018. CUB Centre of Economic Geography and Futures Studies

5. Japan: more than 2000 years old historical past Till the early 17th cent.: empires (tenno) Cultural and trading relations to other East Asian areas (mainly China, but Korea as well) Capital: Kyoto Power of army (leader shogun)  totally isolation (dynasty of Tokugawa shogun) Centralized, on feudal basis Capital: Edo (today: Tokyo) Late 18th century: unsuccessful economic contacts by Europeans Mid-19th century: successful contacts by the USA Followed by the English, Dutch, French, Russian traders 1868–1912: restoration of the power of empire (Mutsuhito tenno) Meiji period 5

6. Japan: more than 2000 years old historical past • Till the early 18th cent. XVII.: empires (tenno) • Cultural and trading relations to other East Asian areas (mainly China, but Korea as well) • Capital: Kyoto • Power of army (leader shogun)  totally isolation (dynasty of Tokugawa shogun) • Centralized, on feudal basis • Capital: Edo (today: Tokyo) • Late 18th century: unsuccessful economic contacts by Europeans • Mid-19th century: successful contacts by the USA • Followed by the English, Dutch, French, Russian traders • 1868–1912: restoration of the power of empire (Mutsuhito tenno) • Meiji period

7. Reforms of education • Till that time the majority of society was analphabetic • Introduction of compulsory elementary education (earlier than more developed countries) • 1880s: 6–13 years old boys 54%, girls 19% attended school • 1900: 95% alphabet • More skilled manpower  adoption of Western technologies

8. Meiji reforms: civil change, rapid catch-up • Instead of feudal system  former peasantry  cheap manpower for the modernizing economy • First manufactures • Initially capital concentration in the richest feudal families  monopole organisations • Important role of state • Stabilization of the capitalist order • Central Bank: development of heavy industry, transport • Cancellation of the feudal social hierarchy • New administrative system (46 prefectures) • Permission of free movement of citizens • Cancellation of inner tolls  single market of the country

9. The East Asian economic Miracle • The only one world region in the focuses of the world economy starting not on the basis of the Western civilization • Maintenance of its own culture and traditions • Japan: the way to the economic power • Under a historically uneven short period • An outstanding rapidly growing economy for decades • Korea, Taiwan and Southeast Asia: follow the Japanese sample • China: political-military, cultural, and increasingly economic power

10. The Japanese economy changed massively after WWII Post-war period: present government, economy and constitution were put in place 1960–1990: contribution to total world GDP grew from 3.5 to 14 % 1960–2002: Primary sector declined from 33 to 1 percent Service sector rose from 38 to 68 percent From 1990s: Japanese economy slowed China’s GDP 1.5 times higher But per capita GDP remained much higher in Japan ($35.000) than in China ($6.000) 10

11. After reconstruction Reconstruction WWII: Japanese industry destroyed After war: US poured money to rebuild the industries and infrastructure Cold War, Communist takeover in China, Korean war  US became opened to Japanese products Advantageous environment for Japan Cheap raw material on world markets Transportation innovation: building large oil tankers and carriers (oil from SW-Asia, iron ore from Australia) Own low-cost, young labour force 1960s: 10 % economic growth Firms indorsed profits back into new developments Better wages  Japanese consumers could buy a range of home-made products 11

12. 1970s: increasing costs and „just in time” 1970s: increased oil prices Japan depended on imported oil for 70 % energy needs reduced costs of hydroelectricity and nuclear power Older industries (steelmaking, shipbuilding, petrochemicals, cement making) suffered from overcapacity on world markets Factory closures  social problems, unemployment (e.g. Osaka) Investments to light industries (producing cameras, household appliances) Firstly copied others’ technologies and designs, later initiator By 2000 half of the world’s industrial robots (4x installed than in the US) „Just-in-time” deliveries cut warehousing costs Toyota: employed more human skills instead of indiscriminate use of robotics (  too expensive) 1980s huge export income  caused the yen to double in value compared to other currencies Japanese export became more costly for other countries Imports became cheaper Turned country of producers to one of consumers 12

13. From 1980s: global investments Large yen trading surpluses  Japanese corporations invested more Firstly: bought out foreign mineral suppliers Later: established Japanese factories abroad Answer to quotas on import of home-made cars First major investments in US and GB, from late 1980s then in Southeast Asia  economic growth of NIC countries Mid-1990s investments in cheap-labour assembly-line factories by moving design and research facilities to SEA Early 2000s: increasing investments in China (mainly to Dalian) – huge trade deficit to China 13

14. Renewed economic challenges Early 2000s: J faced a need to change Investments resulted huge debts  banking system under pressure Western countries imitated Japanese production processes (Toyotism) Japan looked more closely at Western ways in relation to financial control Trade surplus  rapid growth of financial and business services 1986: Tokyo became the second financial centre  further population increases Increase in service occupation  widened range of employment Diversified economy  not so dependent on fluctuations of world markets 14

15. The developing East Asian giant: China 15

16. 1949–1976: Attempted Geographic Shifts Initial attempts of the Communist Government (Mao Zedong): Great Leap Forward + Cultural Revolution Expand output rapidly Distribute economic activities Equality within China Enhance national defence 1949: NE + Shanghai + Tianjin: 70% of output Move the production of military goods inland Factory locations close to the raw material sources (coal, hydroelectricity, oil) Poor transportation linkages Central and W China developed slowly Manufacturing production remained in NE 1978: economic output of China < S Korea or Taiwan 16

17. Changing directions after 1976 Deng Xiaoping: 1977 overall economic reforms „4 modernizations”: agriculture, industry, science, defence new approach to rural life Encouraged investment from foreign corporations Increasing manufactured exports Economy multiplied six fold within 20 years After 2000: further revolution based on telecommunication systems (use of internet and mobile phones) 1990–2000: telephone lines 10  125 mn 1995–2010: mobile phone users 5  800 mn (WR1) Sensitivity of state control of website content China does not follow the Asian sample Asian NIC countries: 1. raw materials and food export, 2. simple manufactured than 3. more sophisticated goods, 4. service industries China: all typed of goods from rice to microchips 17

18. Farming and rural living in the 2000s • Agriculture: prominent in the rural economy • Through Mao Zedong years: farming • Low govermental priority • Separated from other aspects of the economy • Low levels of mechanization  high labour inputs • 1980: agriculture still employed the entire – growing – rural workforce • Early 1980s: relaxed commune controls  individuals and groups plan their own programs • Personal involvement  higher output • 2000: half of the rural workers in farming

19. Rural industrial expansion • Township and village enterprises (TVEs) • New rural sources of income • Took underused rural labour • Higher wages • 130mn employees (30% of rural workforce) • Driving forces • Initially: collectively owned enterprises (by late 1980s: from 22 to 36 % of Chinese industrial output) • Later: individual and private enterprises • Millions of people remained in industrializing rural areas • BUT: many millions more moved out of the rural areas to the cities

20. Manufacturing • 22% of labour force, half of GDP • Standing on two legs: ancient-moderns, small-large • Huge development during the last four decades • Regional locations: • Before the revolution • Textile and food industry, ports • Steelmaking (Japanese): Northeast • First three decades of socialist industrialization • Inner parts of the country, regional equalization • From 1979: opening policy • High-tech industries, ports again, increases regional differences