Japan Crisis

First a devastating earthquake, then a killer tsunami, and from what I hear a volcano is erupting in Japan. Rumors of a possible nuclear disaster are circulating. Murphy's Law at its very best. Japan has been dealt great injustice. Japanese are perhaps the most warm and kind people of all and certainly did not deserve this sad fate.

This tragedy reminds me of one single event that shook the very foundations of humanity. The nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Japan was crippled by the twin blow causing severe damage, not just physical but psychological too. However there was a silver lining.

With single minded determination and exceptional tenacity, Japan recorded extraordinary growth to become the second largest economy of the world by 1978, overtaking Soviet Union. This rise from ashes, phoenix-esque act is termed as the Japanese post-war economic miracle.

However the golden days soon got over. Even though Japanese are the most sincere and hardworking people, Japan faced numerous problems like contracting economy, extended deflation, ageing population and political instability. China overtook it to become the second largest economy of the world. Japanese exports were taking a hit in the new economic order where it could not compete with cheap substitutes. Japan as a nation was past its peak, it was declining.

The recent tragedy may have two outcomes. The more likely being that the catastrophe will kill off any hopes of a Japanese resurgence. The other possibility is that this tragedy may spur Japan to prove us all wrong. A time to be a phoenix, rising from the ashes, stronger than ever.

Every dark cloud has a silver lining. Perhaps the recent events will cue towards a second economic miracle, a miracle the world desperately needs.