Education, innovativeness, willingness to absorb others' innovations, love of science. When I read "Made in Japan" -- I saw all of these as contributors to the

Education, innovativeness, willingness to absorb others' innovations, love of science. When I read "Made in Japan" -- I saw all of these as contributors to the Japanese miracle. It wasn't so much (to me anyway) that the Japanese economy had protection, but that the Japanese people were so darn innovative that they couldn't be stopped. The other East Asian countries share many of the Japanese traits (even if not all).