Today’s Issues in East Asia

The Ring of Fire Many Japanese cities are threatened by earthquakes because Japan is located in the “Ring of Fire”. The Pacific oceanic plate is forced under the Eurasian continental plate. As it crumples it adds to mountain ranges and volcanoes.

Stress Builds At the same time the Pacific plate is forced beneath the Eurasian plate, stresses build up and eventually the plates move suddenly and violently causing an earthquake.

The Geology of Japan The Japanese islands resulted from subduction. The islands were formed by volcanoes as the Pacific plate slid under the Eurasian Plate. The same forces that created them can also destroy them.

Volcanoes There are 60 active volcanoes in the Japanese Islands. Mt. Fuji is the best known volcanoes in the islands.

Earthquakes and Tsunamis An average of 1,000 earthquakes occur each year in Japan. Many are small but there have been some catastrophic quakes that have leveled entire cities. When the earthquake occurs under the ocean floor, the tectonic shift can cause a tsunami. Some tsunami waves have been recorded to as high as 100 ft.

Preparing for Disasters Problems: Many of the older buildings in Japan are not as likely to withstand earthquakes as newer buildings Also, many newer building have been constructed on landfill and the ground is not very stable

Solutions Japan has established strict building codes to make sure that new building are safer than the older ones. School children participate in earthquake drills with local fire fighters.

Trade and Prosperity Child labor in China is huge problem. In 1995, UNICEF reported over 500,000 children were working in factories or begging on the street.

Opening Doors In the 1800s, the nations of Europe signed treaties that gave them distinct spheres of influence in the east. In 1853, Commodore Perry sailed from the United States to persuade the Japanese to open trade with the United States.

Intimidation The U.S. naval warships that accompanied Perry intimidated Japan into opening its doors to the United States and the West.

Industrialization and Globalization After WWII, the nations of East Asia began to industrialize by using their large populations as cheap labor. Regional economies began to evolve into national economies, and soon a global economy developed in which the nations became dependent on each other for goods and services.

Powerful Economies of East Asia In the 1980s and early 1990s, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea enjoyed prosperity. Unfortunately by the mid 1990s they were all experiencing economic problems. These three countries are a part of the Jakota Triangle. Ja (japan), ko (korea), ta (Taiwan).

Economic Problems Arise The economies of East Asia were burdened by debt and mismanagement. Much of their initial economic success was built on cheap labor. The workers began to demand higher wages.

Recession By the 1990, a series of banks and other companies went bankrupt. This sparked panic among foreign investors who began selling their Asian stocks and currency

Economic Indicators

A Global Ripple Effect The economies all over the world began to feel the effects of the economic downturn in Japan. The World Bank and International Monetary Fund stepped in and offered loans to East Asia to quiet the economic freefall.

A Promise of Reform Japan and other East Asian countries had to agree to stop the use of sweatshops in exchange for help from the IMF and World Bank.

The Slow Crawl Toward Capitalism and Democracy On May 4 approximately 100,000 students and workers peacefully marched in Beijing demanding democratic reforms. On May 20 the government declared martial law. However, the demonstrations continued. After deliberation among the Communist leaders, a hard- line approach was chosen and the government ordered troops and tanks into Tiananmen Square.

Human Toll of Freedom On June 3 and 4, the People's Liberation Army brutally crushed the pro- democracy supporters. Estimates of civilian deaths vary: Injuries are generally held to have numbered from 7,000 to 10,000.

International Response Following the violence, the government conducted widespread arrests to suppress the remaining supporters of the movement, banned the foreign press and strictly controlled coverage of the events in the Chinese press. The violent suppression of the Tiananmen Square protest caused widespread international condemnation of the Chinese government.

Hong Kong Hong Kong was under control of Great Britain until During the time it had been under British control, Hong Kong had become an “Economic Tiger”. In 1997, Hong Kong was returned to China with the promise that Hong Kong would be allowed to continue operating under its capitalistic system.

Slow, Slow Progress For more than 40 years, China has known authoritarianism of both brutal and benevolent leaders. In the mid-1980s, China began to allow the consumers and demand market participate in economic decisions. Slowly China is adopting democratic and capitalistic ideals.

Why Should This Matter to Us? China’s population: 1.3 Billion This huge population means very cheap labor. Cheap labor means that they can produce marketable goods at a much lower cost than U.S. factories. Shift from agricultural to industrial economy. This means that they will require more industrial resources such as steel and petroleum products Slow evolution to capitalistic economy and emergence into global marketplace. This means that they will become a direct competitor with the U.S. in global trade. Demand economy means that China will become a consumption nation which will put them in direct competition with the United States for resources.