Japan is notable for internal stability that persists through major shifts in economic and political policy. Following its initial encounter with the West and the realization that industrial powers could squash countries like Japan, it began industrializing at a dizzying pace. After World War II, Japan reversed a deeply embedded militaristic tradition and suddenly became one of the most pacifist nations in the world. It then grew at an extraordinary rate until 1990, when its economic expansion halted due to financial failures, at which time the Japanese accepted their reversal of fortune with equanimity.