Japan doesn't have many natural resources to use and profit off of. However they do export lots of rice from an extremely protected sector charged with agriculture. Also because they are an island nation they catch a lot of fish and it is one of their biggest exports. After World War II they banded together and started to rebuild their country. They were able to grow their economy almost exponentially with a small defense budget and a hard working mindset with a  high understanding of tecnology.  They remain highly dependant on outside fossil fuels, because they have none of their own and need to power thier factories/ other technologies previously mentioned.