Background: While retaining its time-honored culture, Japan rapidly absorbed Western technology during the late 19th and early
20th centuries. After its devastating defeat in
World War II, Japan recovered to become the second most powerful economy in the
world and a staunch ally of the
US. While the emperor retains his throne as a symbol of national unity, actual power rests in networks
of powerful politicians, bureaucrats, and business executives. The economy experienced a major slowdown in the 1990s following
three decades of unprecedented growth.