Iii

In 1949 the SCAP authorized the Japanese automobile industry to reopen its full-scale operation. The outbreak of the Korean War in 1950 was an unexpected boon that catapulted the industry into a growth orbit. In 1951, when the war came to a truce, production of four-wheel automobiles had reached 100,000 a year — nearly twice as much as the prewar peak record. Since then, thanks to the government's protection, production has kept on expanding to 1 million in 1963, 2 million in 1966, 3 million in 1967, and 5 million in 1970. During the twenty-two years from 1949 to 1971, Japanese automobile production registered a spectacular increase - as much as 200 times for all cars and 3,475 times for passenger cars (see Figure 1). In 1971 Japan was the second largest automobile producer in the world - the third in passenger cars next to the United States and West Germany and the first in bus and truck production.