After World War II, Japan reinvented itself as a shipbuilding powerhouse and began its rapid ascent in the global economy. Its expansion strategy integrated raw material procurement, the redesign of global transportation infrastructure, and domestic industrialization. In this authoritative and engaging study, Stephen G. Bunker and Paul S. Ciccantell identify the key factors in Japan’s economic growth and the effects this growth had on the reorganization of significant sectors of the global economy. Bunker and Ciccantell discuss what drove Japan’s economic expansion, how Japan globalized the work economy to support it, and why this spectacular growth came to a dramatic halt in the 1990s. Drawing on studies of ore mining, steel making, corporate sector reorganization, and port/rail development, they provide valuable insight into technical processes as well as specific patterns of corporate investment. East Asia and the Global Economy introduces a theory of “new historical materialism” that explains the success of Japan and other world industrial powers. Here, the authors assert that the pattern of Japan’s ascent is essential for understanding China’s recent path of economic growth and dominance and anticipating what the future may hold.

Hiroaki Richard Watanabe examines the ups and downs of Japan's postwar economic history to offer an up-to-date and authoritative guide to the workings of Japan's economy. He highlights the country's distinct modes of business networks and Japan's state-market relationship.

"If you're as interested in Japan as I am, I think you'll find that The Power to Compete is a smart and thought-provoking look at the future of a fascinating country." - Bill Gates, "5 Books to Read This Summer" Father and son – entrepreneur and economist – search for Japan's economic cure The Power to Compete tackles the issues central to the prosperity of Japan – and the world – in search of a cure for the "Japan Disease." As founder and CEO of Rakuten, one of the world's largest Internet companies, author Hiroshi Mikitani brings an entrepreneur's perspective to bear on the country's economic stagnation. Through a freewheeling and candid conversation with his economist father, Ryoichi Mikitani, the two examine the issues facing Japan, and explore possible roadmaps to revitalization. How can Japan overhaul its economy, education system, immigration, public infrastructure, and hold its own with China? Their ideas include applying business techniques like Key Performance Indicators to fix the economy, using information technology to cut government bureaucracy, and increasing the number of foreign firms with a head office in Japan. Readers gain rare insight into Japan's future, from both academic and practical perspectives on the inside. Mikitani argues that Japan's tendency to shun international frameworks and hide from global realities is the root of the problem, while Mikitani Sr.'s background as an international economist puts the issue in perspective for a well-rounded look at today's Japan. Examine the causes of Japan's endless economic stagnation Discover the current efforts underway to enhance Japan's competitiveness Learn how free market "Abenomics" affected Japan's economy long-term See Japan's issues from the perspective of an entrepreneur and an economist Japan's malaise is seated in a number of economic, business, political, and cultural issues, and this book doesn't shy away from hot topics. More than a discussion of economics, this book is a conversation between father and son as they work through opposing perspectives to help their country find The Power to Compete.

Analysis and policy prescriptions for Japan's sustained economic recovery from its 14-year malaise by 15 top American and Japanese experts on the subject. Japan, the world's second largest economy, has suffered from a prolonged period of stagnation and malaise since 1991. Subpar growth, failing banks, plummeting real estate and stock prices, deflation, unprecedented unemployment, and huge government liabilities have persisted, despite extraordinary fiscal and monetary policy fixes. In Reviving Japan's Economy, 16 top American and Japanese experts analyze Japan's underperforming economy, and develop and recommend policy solutions aimed at achieving Japan's growth potential, improving the quality of life for the Japanese people, and strengthening Japan's contribution to the global economy. A collaborative effort that grew out of a research project begun in 2002 and sponsored by the Center on Japanese Economy and Business at Columbia University and the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Tokyo, the book looks to the future while having as its foundation a careful analysis of Japan's recent economic history. The contributing authors examine such topics as the long-term economic, demographic, social, and political transformation now underway in Japan; the costs of the long economic malaise; lessons for the United States from Japan's post-bubble mistakes; aggregate demand and macroeconomic policy; monetary policy; financial system difficulties; issues facing the Japanese labor market; corporate restructuring and financing; and Japan's new trade policy. The feasible, optimal policy solutions offered in this book aim to prompt a revival of Japan's long-run economic vitality.

Introduction: China and Japan in the global economy / Tomoo Kikuchi and Masaya Sakuragawa -- Will the 21st century be an Asian century? : a global perspective / Masahiro Kawai -- Geopolitics in East Asia / Huang Jing -- Regional integration : is Europe special / Sahoko Kaji -- The Chinese economy and the Sino-Japanese economic relations / Yuqing Xing -- Infrastructure and development in Asia : the quality of infrastructure and the project implementation / Fukunari Kimura -- Advancing the ASEAN economic community : the role of China and Japan in supporting ASEAN's regional integration / Blake H. Berger -- Internationalisation of the yen in Asia : has regional economic integration promoted yen invoiced trade? / Kiyotaka Sato -- A cautionary tale of market power and foreign policy : beyond the geoeconomics of renminbi internationalisation / June Park -- Prospects for a multicurrency clearing system in Asia / Masaya Sakuragawa and Junichi Shukuwa -- Concluding policy proposals / Blake H. Berger, Tomoo Kikuchi and Masaya Sakuragawa

Criticism of current Japanese macroeconomic and financial policies is so wide spread that the reasons for it are assumed to be self-evident. In this volume, Adam Posen explains in depth why a shift in Japanese fiscal and monetary policies, as well as financial reform, would be in Japan's self-interest. He demonstrates that Japanese economic stagnation in the 1990s is the result of mistaken fiscal austerity and financial laissez-faire rather than a structural decline of the "Japan Model." The author outlines a program for putting the country back on the path to solid economic growth - primarily through permanent tax cuts and monetary stabilization - and draws broader lessons from the recent Japanese policy actions that led to the country's continuing stagnation.

After two decades of reinvention, Japanese companies are re-emerging as major players in the new digital economy. They have responded to the rise of China and new global competition by moving upstream into critical deep-tech inputs and advanced materials and components. This new "aggregate niche strategy" has made Japan the technology anchor for many global supply chains. Although the end products do not carry a "Japan Inside" label, Japan plays a pivotal role in our everyday lives across many critical industries. This book is an in-depth exploration of current Japanese business strategies that make Japan the world's third-largest economy and an economic leader in Asia. To accomplish their reinvention, Japan's largest companies are building new processes of breakthrough innovation. Central to this book is how they are addressing the necessary changes in organizational design, internal management processes, employment, and corporate governance. Because Japan values social stability and economic equality, this reinvention is happening slowly and methodically, and has gone largely unnoticed by Western observers. Yet, Japan's more balanced model of "caring capitalism" is both competitive and transformative, and more socially responsible than the unbridled growth approach of the United States.