The so-called Asian Tigers—Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea—have achieved economic miracle status, thanks to their conscious decision to shift to export promotion in order to advance economic growth. Japan has served as the model emulated by Taiwan and South Korea. Japan’s role in the development of the two countries has a long history, and involves a period of ‘preparation’ before World War II. Given the interrelationships among the three countries, they have been referred to as a ‘Northeast Asian political economy’. This chapter examines the economic performance of Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. It explains how ‘the developmental state’ contributed to Japan’s remarkable economic growth, the link between authoritarianism and the developmental state in Japan, geopolitics and the Japanese model, import substitution and aid dependence in Taiwan and South Korea, and the correlation between exports and economic growth.