Top > About METI > History of METI
The post-war reconstruction period ... the years of high economic growth ... the present. The history of METI reflects the history of Japan itself. From the time when you were born to the future which you will create, METI will be steadily working beside you.
| Events in History | Year | METI-related Events |
|---|---|---|
| End of WWII | 1945 | |
| Promulgation of Japanese Constitution Electric rice-cookers emerge on the market | 1946 | Revival of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry |
| Single currency rate of 360 yen/$1 Dr. Hideki Yukawa awarded the Nobel Prize | 1949 | Adoption of priority production system |
| Signature of Treaty of Peace with Japan and the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty | 1951 | Establishment of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry |
| Start of television program "Sazae-san" | 1955 | |
| Japan joins United Nations "End of the post-war period" becomes a catchphrase | 1956 | Japan joins GATT |
| Tokyo Tower completed 10,000 yen bill issued | 1958 | |
| Marriage of the Crown Prince | 1959 | Establishment of JETRO |
| Public demonstrations over the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty | 1960 | |
| Assassination of President Kennedy |
1963 | Plan to liberalize trade and currency |
| Tokyo Olympic Games First color TVs sold | 1964 | Establishment of the Basic Law on Small and Medium Enterprises |
| Prime Minister Eisaku Sato visits U.S. Agreement on the return of Ogasawara | 1967 | Industrial Structure Council launched |
| 300 million yen incident Auto sales pass the 10 million mark Kasumigaseki Bldg. completed | 1968 | Formulation of Public Nuisance Countermeasures Basic Law First stage of capital liberalization (second in 1970s,etc) |
| Japan's GNP becomes second in the world | 1969 | Formulation of Basic Law on Consumer Protection |
| Japan Expo | 1970 | |
| Dollar shock | 1971 | |
| Return of Okinawa Japan-China diplomatic relations restored | 1972 | Creation of 1970s Vision |
| Oil shock | 1973 | Signature of Japan-U.S. Textile Agreement Establishment of Agency of Natural Resources and Energy Major organizational reform of MITI |
| Former Prime Minister Sato awarded Nobel Prize Novel "Nippon Chinbotsu (The Collapse of Japan)" becomes a best-seller | 1974 | Measures to combat the oil crisis and escalating prices |
| Okinawa International Ocean Expo | 1975 | Petroleum Supply and Demand Optimization Law |
| Lockheed scandal | 1976 | Emergency Law for Stabilization of National Life |
| Narita Airport opened |
1978 | GATT Tokyo Round (up to 1979) |
| 1979 | ||
| Tokyo Summit | 1980 | |
| Record-lending stores emerge |
1981 | Formulation of 1980s Vision |
| Tokyo Disneyland Opens | 1983 | Voluntary regulation of auto exports to U.S. begins |
| Tsukuba '85 (Science Expo) opens Hanshin Tigers top baseball rankings for the first time | 1985 | Formulation of Technopolis Law |
| Skyrocketing yen; strong yen recession | 1986 | Import expansion measures, creation of an action program |
| National rail company split up and privatized Satellite broadcasts begin Space-shuttle Challenger blows up Equal Opportunity Promotion Law launched Stock prices skyrocket | 1987 | GATT Uruguay Round Japan-U.S. Semiconductor Agreement concluded Maekawa Report Measures to combat yen appreciation and structural adjustment following Plaza Accord |
| Tokyo Dome completed Seto-Ohashi Bridge opened | 1988 | Emergency economic measures taken for domestic expansion (fiscal measures worth 6 trillion yen) |
| Collapse of the Berlin Wall Consumption tax launched | 1989 | Measures taken to address global environment issues |
| Unification of East and West Germany | 1990 | Launching of APEC, Japan-U.S. Structural Impediments Initiative |
| Collapse of the Soviet Union Gulf War Birth rate falls to 1.57 | 1991 | Gulf crisis countermeasures Creation of 1990s vision |
| Completion of EC market integration Barcelona Olympics Collapse of the bubble | 1992 | Law for Promotion of Utilization of Recyclable Resources (Recycling Law) formulated (amended to the Law Concerning the Promotion of Effective Utilization of Resources) Formulation and amendment of distribution-related laws such as the Large Stores Law |
| Marriage of the Crown Prince | 1993 | Rio Earth Summit Publication of the Report of the WTO consistency of Trade Policies by Major Trading Partners |
| Rice shortage Formulation of political reform bill | 1994 | Tokyo Summit Largest-ever package of comprehensive economic measures (project scale of 13.2 trillion yen) |
| Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake | 1995 | Uruguay Round negotiations concluded Seventh APEC Ministerial Meeting held in Osaka |
| Atlanta Olympics First Asia-Europe Meeting held | 1996 | Formulation of the Law on Temporary Measures to Facilitate Business Innovation and the Temporary Law Concerning Measures for the Promotion of the Creative Business Activities of Small and Medium Enterprises |
| The First Meeting of the WTO Cabinet Conferences (Singapore) COP3 in Kyoto | 1997 | |
| Nagano Winter Olympics | 1998 | |
| G8 Kyushu-Okinawa Summit Meeting | 2000 | |
| U.S. Terrorist Attacks | 2001 | MITI was reorganized to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) |
