This fully revised and updated third edition of Japanese Economic Development looks at Japan's economic history from the nineteenth century through to World War II, reassessing Japan's economic past in the light of fresh theoretical perspectives in economic history and development. Francks draws out the background of Japan's post-war economic miracle and provides a comparative framework within which Japan's case can be related to development worldwide. Taking a thematic approach, this textbook shows that studying the first example of Asian industrialisation can provide an alternative, non-western narrative of development. It is an important resource for courses on the Japanese economy, and comparative economic development and economic history more generally.