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Podcast: New Books in Economic and Business History
Episode: Simon Avenell, "A History of Postwar Japan: Recovery, Prosperity, and Transformation" (U Hawaii Press, 2025)
Description: This sweeping history tells the story of contemporary Japan from its defeat in the Asia-Pacific War in 1945 until the early decades of the new millennium. How did the Japanese people deal with the collapse of its empire and the American-led occupation? What factors played into Japan's remarkable economic recovery and stunning affluence? How did democracy develop under the new pacifist constitution and long-term conservative rule? And how did Japanese society and culture reflect the extraordinary demographic transformations of the era? After a concise recap of events prior to 1945, historian Simon Avenell traces the country's early postwar recovery, its striking...