CIRJE-J-128. Takeda, Haruhito, "Industrial structure in the era of Japan's Industrial Revolution", April 2005.

In this paper I set out my reasons for opposing Professor Takafusa Nakamura's view of "the era of balanced growth from the Meiji Restoration to World War I". For this purpose, this paper explores the change of Japan's industrial structure in 1890-1910, using the growth rate of individual industry. It is well known that cotton spinning industry was the leading-sector. However the growth rate of cotton industry apparently showed slow-down in the 1900's. In contrast, heavy industry such as machine tool, shipbuilding and iron & steel showed high speed growth. It follows from that the leading-sector among industries changed in the 1900's. Moreover, the slow-down of growth rate of cotton spinning, cotton weaving and other traditional goods manufacturings, which are most important part of Nakamura's argument suggests 'the imbalanced growth' is the characteristic of the era before WWI.