The study, first published in 1981, traces the history and development of Japanese business from the seventeenth century, and is the only text that systematically treats the rise of Japanese business in its full complexity and against the background of contemporary social and political conditions. Each section discusses the socio-economic conditions, the leadership and business elites, the internal and external structures and the impact of values. The emergence of new types of businessmen, their ideas and approaches, their relations to the government, their handling of labour problems are all analysed. One of the most intriguing aspects of this study is the unique importance of Japanese values, their tenacious persistence and uncanny flexibility and resilience. The strengths and weaknesses of these values are examined in detail.

First Published in 2005. This book has been written as an outline history of the development of Japanese business. A good deal of literature exists on some aspects, and some periods, but this is the first attempt to follow the entire course from the Tokugawa period to the present, and to analyse the salient features from the vantage point of modernisation. A separate section in each chapter deals exclusively with the value problem and the impact of values on business and economic development. The Glossary gives an explanation of Japanese terms that are used in the text.

This book sheds new light on Japanese management and its social consequences. Since the collapse of the Japanese bubble economy, the once acclaimed Japanese-style management has been under serious criticism both inside and outside Japan, but this is not a new phenomenon: over the last 50 years, evaluation of Japan and Japanese management has fluctuated widely between extreme affirmation and extreme negation. This study is unique because it is a longitudinal analysis that covers 35 years it uses firsthand information from managers in major Japanese corporations; and by involving several of these managers in the research process the views of actual practitioners are made available.

In this book Ryoshin Minami studies the last hundred years of Japan's remarkable economic growth from the Meiji period up to the present day. First, he reveals the factors which account for Japan's successful economic take-off during the Meiji period. Second, he explains why Japan achieved a more rapid rate of economic growth than other developed countries. This forms the major part of the book and will interest those in the developed countries who have felt the full force of Japan's export drive and whose own industries are consequently in decline. Finally, the author evaluates the results of Japan's economic growth and makes predictions for the future. The book makes a comprehensive survey of the Japanese experience in the pre- and post-war periods and points out lessons not only for developed countries but also for developing countries.