Book excerpt: The origins of Japan's 'miraculous' economic growth in the 1960s has been a topic that continues to interest academic inquiry. The initial focus upon internal factors has been supplemented by greater emphasis on the role played by the United States and the western allies in promoting Japan's economic welfare. This book provides the British perspective on Japan's post-war economic recovery. It refutes the accepted view that Britain's policy towards Japan was driven by fears that the latter's economic recovery through greater trade relations with Southeast Asia would encroach upon Britain's sphere of influence. Through a close examination of Britain's sterling and trade policies towards Japan, the book illustrates the complex, often contradictory, yet daring British vision of Asia as a whole in the immediate post-war world.