Japanese Business and Economic System

During the 1980s, academics and business and government decision-makers in the West devoted massive effort to studying Japanese practices and adopting those which appeared to improve economic performance. Those days are long gone. The current prolonged recession in Japan has forced both Westerners and the Japanese to reconsider the 'Japanese' way of doing things. Many best selling books in Japan tell the Japanese that the United States of America and England currently set the global standard. They encourage Japanese corporations and workers to adopt 'Anglo-Saxon' practices in industrial relations and employment behaviour, work practices, corporate control and other business management areas. But is this the way forward for Japan? It is by no means clear what has caused Japan's current crisis. Suspected causes include macro-economic policy failure, problems with Japanese business practices and failed institutions, or perhaps a system failure involving all of these more specific elements. Many of these suspected causes of Japan's current economic problems are discussed in this volume. In this edited collection of papers, an international range of contributors discuss the fundamental issues faced by the Japanese business and economic system from historical, analytical and empirical perspectives. The chapters, many of which are accompanied by discussants' comments with often alternative views, are divided into five broad and non-exclusive topical areas central to an understanding of the history and future prospects for Japan's business and economic system. The contributors' conclusions in these areas combine to present a view of the path Japan should take to restore its economy to optimal growth in the 21st century, and show how this path will affect global markets. Many chapters are based on papers given at an interdisciplinary conference on Japanese Business and Economic History and Practices, held at the Centre for Japanese Research of the University of British Columbia in 1999.