Has the Ship Sailed? The Changing Roles after World War II of Domestic Water Transport in the Island Nations of Britain and Japan
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Britain and Japan, fellow island nations, share many geographical similarities, and accordingly both societies have long taken advantage of water transport domestically. In modern times the two nations’ governments have diverged in terms of philosophies toward economy and industrialization. Britain is known as today’s consummate private-industry advocate within western Europe, while Japan is noted for the strong level of government “guidance” in its post-WWII economy. Using the abovementioned similarities as a baseline, this thesis examines how the supposedly different relationships between government and economy in Britain and Japan have affected the ongoing use of water in their domestic transport sectors since World War II. Some forms of water transport have continued to thrive commercially in both nations, due primarily to those forms’ inherent economic and technical advantages, while other water transport modes are maintained through government support because of other, less commercial benefits they offer to the two societies.