Certainly the Japanese were very fortunate that we occupied Japan after the war and not the Russians , and that the USA had open markets in which they could sell all their automobiles , electronics , etc.
The Japanese deserve some credit , too , though . In a lot of cases from the 70’s on they made superior products for the same price or less than a similar US-made product . And we lapped them up bigtime ( Sony ; Toyota ; Yamaha ; Mitsubishi ; etc...) . To my knowledge nobody forced us to purchase their stuff and make them rich in the process . They are a hard working people who are so meticulous , and it paid off for them . Sure , the government subsidized a lot of companies , which helped them gain control of some markets , but the fact remains they manufactured superior products overall , and the prices were great . That’s why we bought them . Now China - our communist enemy is Asia - is getting rich thanks to America and Walmart , and Americans’ almost fanatical penchant for getting stuff as cheaply as possible and not giving a tinker’s cuss ( Brit. slang for not giving a sh*t ) from whence it came . At least the Japanese are our ally now , and have been a loyal one since 1945 . Can’t be said for China now can it ?
Oh , Americans are big . I was back two years ago and was astonished at the % of obese people . Shocking .