Japan Inc.• A Miracle

• A Model: The East Asian Strategy

• From: http://benmuse.typepad.com/ben_muse/2005/11/changes_in_inco.html

Economic Philosophy• Nationalism/Protectionism

• Exports

Rich Nation, Poor People

“Salaryman” Capsule Hotels

What is Japan Inc.?

1. Business-Government relations

2. Industry-Industry relations

3. Labor-Management relations

Business-Government relations

• Partnership• Yoshida Doctrine• “GNPism”

• Yoshida Shigeru• PM 1946-7, 1948-54

Administrative Guidance

Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industryformerly Ministry of

International Trade

and Industry

(MITI)

•The Visible Hand?

2. Industry-Industry relations

Pre-war Zaibatsu

• Mitsui

• Mitsubishi

• Sumitomo (Mazda, NEC)

• Yasuda (dismantled post-WW II)

Post-War Keiretsu

From: http://www.wtec.org/loyola/polymers/c7_s7.htm

3. Labor-Management Relations

• 1950s: the end of independent unions

• Company Unions

• Lifetime Employment

Dilemmas

• Inflexibility

• Protectionism and competition

• Innovation?

Collapse of Bubble Economy, 1990

Pay back loans

Build factories

Loans Hire people Buy land

Build offices

Pay back Loans

Banks

Government

Companies

GDP Growth in Japan1956-2008

Japanese GDP

From Sian Fenner, The Japanese economy and future growth prospects, Department of the Treasury, Australia, http://www.treasury.gov.au/documents/817/HTML/docshell.asp?URL=05_article_4.asp

Another Look

From: http://japanjapan.blogspot.com/2008/02/japan-q4-2007-gdp.html

GDP Growth 1980-2013