The Industries Of Japan

Monograph on industrial policy and the organization of business and industry in Japan - analyses the distinctive features of the Japanese industrial structure (e.g. Industrial monopolys, permanent employment, prevalence of small enterprises, market structure, etc.), and compares it with the industrial system in the USA, etc. References and statistical tables.

In recent years, Japan, like many other forest-dependent nations, has been facing difficult times: forest self-sufficiency is low; unplanted areas after harvesting are increasing; and forest industries and companies are losing international competitiveness in the global market. Such challenges, however, are not unique to Japan but are relevant - and all too familiar - to forest industry stakeholders around the world. This book, representing the work of distinguished Japanese scholars, is the first comprehensive English-language overview of forestry, forest management, and the forest products industry in Japan. Chapters address the biological and physical evolution of the forest, forest-dependent industries, the social impact of changes in forest utilization, current trends in the forest estate, and the relationship between urban population and rural forest land. Forestry and the Forest Industry in Japan will be welcomed by scholars, students, and policy makers in the areas of forest policy, international trade, international forestry, and forest products marketing.

First published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The international projection of Japan's corporate and technological power is transforming world manufacturing and the international political economy. Debate rages about Japan's economic success and the role of the state in nurturing it. The Japanese background to these debates is widely misunderstood and are analysed in research-based chapters by British and Japanese specialists on government-industry relations. Japanese policies for industrial promotion, regulation and decline are set in a context of comparative political economy. Sectors include pharmaceuticals, shipbuilding and telecommunications in the US and Japan.

Over the postwar period, the scope of industrial policy has expanded markedly. Governments in virtually all advanced industrial countries have extended the visible hand of the state in assisting specific industries or individual companies. Although greater government involvement in some countries has lessened the dislocations brought about by slower growth rates, industrial policy has also caused or exacerbated a number of other problems, including distortions in the allocation of capital and labor and trade conflicts that undermine the postwar system of free trade. Only Japan is widely cited as an unambiguous success story. The effectiveness of its industrial policy is revealed in the successful emergence of one government-targeted industry after another as world-class competitors: for example, steel, automobiles, and semiconductors. Foreign countries fear that a number of still-developing industries—like biotechnology, telecommunications, and information processing—will follow the same pattern. But is industrial policy the main reason for Japan's economic achievements? The author asserts that the reasons for Japan's spectacular track record go well beyond the realm of industrial policy into broad areas of the political economy as a whole. In this book, the author attempts to identify the reasons for the comparative effectiveness of Japanese industrial policy for high technology by answering the following questions: What is the attitude of Japanese leaders toward state intervention in the marketplace? What is the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) doing to promote the development of high technology? How has the organization of the private sector contributed to MITI's capacity to intervene effectively? What elements in Japan's political system help insulate industrial policymaking from the demands of interest-group politics?

This volume analyzes Japan’s industrial organization both from a historical perspective and by looking in details at specific industries such as iron, steel and the automotive industry. Big business, business groups and industrial policy are also discussed. The volume also provides a survey of the literature in Japanese which will help the reader in search of original sources.