JAPAN'S MIRACULOUS RISE | GEOPOLITICS OF INDO-PACIFIC
Global Affairs Session 39 19 May 2026 JAPAN’S MIRACULOUS RISE From feudal isolation to economic miracle, and the long road back Japan’s modern story runs from ancient Jōmon and Yayoi societies through Chinese-influenced classical courts and centuries of samurai feudalism, into the Meiji Restoration’s breakneck modernization, a stunning post-war economic miracle, and a painful asset-bubble collapse. Today Japan remains one of the world’s largest economies and a central Indo-Pacific power, deepening its U.S. alliance and regional partnerships even as it manages the legacy of its Lost Decades.