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Economic experiences of the South Manchuria Railway employees in postwar Japan: Kanagawa, Osaka and Hiroshima prefectures

Research Project

Project/Area Number 17H07250
Research Category

Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up

Allocation TypeSingle-year Grants
Research Field Economic history
Research InstitutionRitsumeikan University

Principal Investigator

Sumiyo Nishizaki  立命館大学, 国際関係学部, 助教 (30802110)

Research Collaborator Learmouth Thomas Paul  
Project Period (FY) 2017-08-25 – 2019-03-31
Project Status Completed (Fiscal Year 2018)
Budget Amount *help
¥2,730,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥630,000)
Fiscal Year 2018: ¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥300,000)
Fiscal Year 2017: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000)
Keywords引揚げ / 南満州鉄道 / 日本帝国 / 戦後復興 / 労働市場 / 労働移動 / 技能移転 / 社内教育 / 経済史 / 南満洲鉄道株式会社(満鉄) / 移民 / 技術移転 / 日本史 / 経済政策
Outline of Final Research Achievements

One of the important questions in history is how technology and knowledge have spread and allowed participants in an economy to increase their human capital. This research goes back to the 1930s and the 1940s to analyse one possible channel of human capital development: the in-house vocational training of employees by the South Manchuria Railway Company (SMR), the largest Japanese wartime public corporation. After the war, most of the Japanese staff members were repatriated to Japan. This research hypothesises that the SMR offered training opportunities to under-educated young individuals that had unanticipated benefits. These individuals benefited from their training at the SMR and entered the post-war Japanese labour market armed with the skills and knowledge acquired during the war. This research concludes that the Japanese economy was able to benefit from new skilled entrants to the labour force as one of the key sources of human capital.

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は、人的資本の育成と技術知識の普及に関して、注目されることが少なかった企業内教育に焦点を当てて考察した。歴史を遡って、1) 南満州鉄道(満鉄)における社内教育と、2) 終戦と社員の引揚げによる技術知識の拡散という視点から、戦後日本の経済発展への貢献についても検討した。満鉄社員には、戦前期及び戦時中に日本で高等小学校を卒業した後、外地に渡って南満洲鉄道(満鉄)などの国策企業に就職し、現場または社内の養成所で技術訓練を受けた人々も多かった。戦後は、日本国有鉄道(国鉄)、造船会社、メーカーなどに就職したり、技術を活かして起業したりと、技術の普及に貢献した人々も多かったことが明らかになった。

Report

(3 results)
  • 2018 Annual Research Report   Final Research Report ( PDF )
  • 2017 Annual Research Report
  • Research Products

    (10 results)

All 2019 2018 2017

All Journal Article (3 results) (of which Open Access: 1 results) Presentation (6 results) (of which Int'l Joint Research: 4 results,  Invited: 4 results) Funded Workshop (1 results)

  • [Journal Article] Review of Dear China: emigrant letters and remittances, 1820-19802019

    • Author(s)
      Sumiyo Nishizaki
    • Journal Title

      The Economic History Review

      Volume: 72-2 Issue: 2 Pages: 782-783

    • DOI

      10.1111/ehr.12860

    • Related Report
      2018 Annual Research Report
  • [Journal Article] Human capital development via in-house training: A case of the South Manchuria Railway Company (SMR) in the Japanese empire2017

    • Author(s)
      Sumiyo Nishizaki
    • Journal Title

      The European Historical Economics Society Conference Booklet

      Volume: ‐ Pages: 1-13

    • Related Report
      2017 Annual Research Report
    • Open Access
  • [Journal Article] 書評『今泉裕美子・柳沢遊・木村健二編著 『日本帝国崩壊期「引揚げ」の比較研究-国際関係と地域の視点から-』』2017

    • Author(s)
      西崎純代
    • Journal Title

      歴史と経済

      Volume: LIX-4/ 236 Pages: 69-71

    • Related Report
      2017 Annual Research Report
  • [Presentation] 第二次世界大戦後における引揚者の職業体験:茨城県、神奈川県、広島県の引揚者在外事実調査票分析2019

    • Author(s)
      西崎純代
    • Organizer
      第53回例会 サハリン樺太史研究会
    • Related Report
      2018 Annual Research Report
    • Invited
  • [Presentation] Economic experiences of South Manchuria Railway employees in postwar Japan, 1945-19562018

    • Author(s)
      Sumiyo Nishizaki
    • Organizer
      Institute of Comparative Culture Lecture Series 2018, Sophia University
    • Related Report
      2018 Annual Research Report
    • Int'l Joint Research / Invited
  • [Presentation] A case of a transition economy: Hiroshima, from a wartime-planned Economy to A Postwar Economy, 1945-19522018

    • Author(s)
      Sumiyo Nishizaki
    • Organizer
      The Sixth Asian Historical Economics Conference
    • Related Report
      2018 Annual Research Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] A case of a transition economy: Hiroshima, from a wartime-planned economy to a postwar economy, 1945-19522018

    • Author(s)
      Sumiyo Nishizaki
    • Organizer
      North Korea Behavior and Northeast Asian Situation Conference
    • Related Report
      2018 Annual Research Report
    • Int'l Joint Research / Invited
  • [Presentation] Knowledge dissemination via an in-house training: A case of Japanese employees in the South Manchuria Railway Company2017

    • Author(s)
      Sumiyo Nishizaki
    • Organizer
      Ritsumeikan University College of International Relations Research Seminar
    • Related Report
      2017 Annual Research Report
    • Int'l Joint Research / Invited
  • [Presentation] Human capital development via in-house training: A case of the South Manchuria Railway Company (SMR) in the Japanese empire2017

    • Author(s)
      Sumiyo Nishizaki
    • Organizer
      The European Historical Economics Society Conference
    • Related Report
      2017 Annual Research Report
  • [Funded Workshop] ハーバード・ロンドン大学・立命館大学 満洲国史研究会2019

    • Related Report
      2018 Annual Research Report

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Published: 2017-08-25   Modified: 2020-03-30  

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