Global Japaniziation? Brings together research from North America, Japan, Europe and Latin America to analyse the influence of Japanese manufacturing investment and Japanese working practices across the global economy. The editors present original case studies of work reorganization and workers’ experiences within both Japanese companies and those of their competitors in diverse sectors and national settings. These studies provide a wide-ranging critique of conventional accounts of Japanese models of management and production, and their implications for employees. They offer new evidence and fresh perspectives on the role of "transplants" in disseminating manufacturing innovations, and on the responses of non-Japanese firm in reorganizing production operations and industrial relations.

Global Japaniziation? Brings together research from North America, Japan, Europe and Latin America to analyse the influence of Japanese manufacturing investment and Japanese working practices across the global economy. The editors present original case studies of work reorganization and workers’ experiences within both Japanese companies and those of their competitors in diverse sectors and national settings. These studies provide a wide-ranging critique of conventional accounts of Japanese models of management and production, and their implications for employees. They offer new evidence and fresh perspectives on the role of "transplants" in disseminating manufacturing innovations, and on the responses of non-Japanese firm in reorganizing production operations and industrial relations.

An in-depth look at Japan's economic malaise and the steps it must take to compete globally In Japanization, Bloomberg columnist William Pesek—based in Tokyo—presents a detailed look at Japan's continuing twenty-year economic slow-down, the political and economic reasons behind it, and the policies it could and should undertake to return to growth and influence. Despite new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's promise of economic revitalization, investor optimism about the future, and plenty of potential, Japanization reveals why things are unlikely to change any time soon. Pesek argues that "Abenomics," as the new policies are popularly referred to, is nothing more than a dressed-up version of the same old fiscal and monetary policies that have left Japan with crippling debt, interest rates at zero, and constant deflation. He explores the ten forces that are stunting Japan's growth and offers prescriptions for fixing each one. Offers a skeptical counterpoint to the popular rosy narrative on the economic outlook for Japan Gives investors practical and detailed insight on the real condition of Japan's economy Reveals ten factors stunting Japan's growth and why they are unlikely to be solved any time soon Explains why most of what readers believe they know about Japan's economy is wrong Includes case studies of some of the biggest Japanese companies, including Olympus, Japan Airlines, Sony, and Toyota, among others For many investors, businesspeople, and economists, Japan's long economic struggle is difficult to comprehend, particularly given the economic advantages it appears to have over its neighbors. Japanization offers a ground-level look at why its problems continue and what it can do to change course.

Have Japan's relative economic decline and China's rapid ascent altered the dynamics of Asian regionalism? Peter Katzenstein and Takashi Shiraishi, the editors of Network Power, one of the most comprehensive volumes on East Asian regionalism in the 1990s, present here an impressive new collection that brings the reader up to date. This book argues that East Asia's regional dynamics are no longer the result of a simple extension of any one national model. While Japanese institutional structures and political practices remain critically important, the new East Asia now under construction is more than, and different from, the sum of its various national parts. At the outset of a new century, the interplay of Japanese factors with Chinese, American, and other national influences is producing a distinctively new East Asian region.

Globalization is usually thought of as the worldwide spread of Western—particularly American—popular culture. Yet if one nation stands out in the dissemination of pop culture in East and Southeast Asia, it is Japan. Pokémon, anime, pop music, television dramas such as Tokyo Love Story and Long Vacation—the export of Japanese media and culture is big business. In Recentering Globalization, Koichi Iwabuchi explores how Japanese popular culture circulates in Asia. He situates the rise of Japan’s cultural power in light of decentering globalization processes and demonstrates how Japan’s extensive cultural interactions with the other parts of Asia complicate its sense of being "in but above" or "similar but superior to" the region. Iwabuchi has conducted extensive interviews with producers, promoters, and consumers of popular culture in Japan and East Asia. Drawing upon this research, he analyzes Japan’s "localizing" strategy of repackaging Western pop culture for Asian consumption and the ways Japanese popular culture arouses regional cultural resonances. He considers how transnational cultural flows are experienced differently in various geographic areas by looking at bilateral cultural flows in East Asia. He shows how Japanese popular music and television dramas are promoted and understood in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, and how "Asian" popular culture (especially Hong Kong’s) is received in Japan. Rich in empirical detail and theoretical insight, Recentering Globalization is a significant contribution to thinking about cultural globalization and transnationalism, particularly in the context of East Asian cultural studies.

An in-depth look at Japan's economic malaise and the steps itmust take to compete globally In Japanization, Bloomberg columnist WilliamPesek—based in Tokyo—presents a detailed look atJapan's continuing twenty-year economic slow-down, the politicaland economic reasons behind it, and the policies it could andshould undertake to return to growth and influence. Despite newPrime Minister Shinzo Abe's promise of economic revitalization,investor optimism about the future, and plenty of potential,Japanization reveals why things are unlikely to change anytime soon. Pesek argues that "Abenomics," as the new policies are popularlyreferred to, is nothing more than a dressed-up version of the sameold fiscal and monetary policies that have left Japan withcrippling debt, interest rates at zero, and constant deflation. Heexplores the ten forces that are stunting Japan's growth and offersprescriptions for fixing each one. Offers a skeptical counterpoint to the popular rosy narrativeon the economic outlook for Japan Gives investors practical and detailed insight on the realcondition of Japan's economy Reveals ten factors stunting Japan's growth and why they areunlikely to be solved any time soon Explains why most of what readers believe they know aboutJapan's economy is wrong Includes case studies of some of the biggest Japanesecompanies, including Olympus, Japan Airlines, Sony, and Toyota,among others For many investors, businesspeople, and economists, Japan's longeconomic struggle is difficult to comprehend, particularly giventhe economic advantages it appears to have over its neighbors.Japanization offers a ground-level look at why its problemscontinue and what it can do to change course.

The globalization of the world economy today means that more and more people are experiencing working in another culture. Focusing on the real experiences of workers in Japanese transnational finance companies, this book not only throws light on this specific case, but at the same time raises timely questions and insights concerning the newly emerging multicultural work experiences world-wide. The Clash of Economic Cultures: Japanese Bankers in the City of London reflects on contemporary discussions in sociology, anthropology and cultural studies of individual global movement and cultural interaction. While there are some studies on Japanese multinational companies in Europe, they have typically assumed stereotyped differences in management systems and work cultures. This book, however, breaks the mold by looking at the culture and individuals' subjective views about their working lives and also their own worldviews; this perspective illuminates the difficulties in working relationships between Japanese and Europeans. Junko Sakai reveals, through 100 transcribed interviews, the influence of power relationships on people of different groups in terms of gender, class, and ethnicity. The Clash of Economic Cultures shows uneven transformation of economic and cultural hegemony between East and West. This book gives voice to Japanese men and women whose voices are rarely heard, and to the British who have worked for non-Westerners in the West. It is also a significant and timely analysis of the increasing influence of non-Western companies in London. It will be of great interest to cultural anthropologists, business historians, sociologists and scholars in Japanese and Asian studies, as well as those involved in international finance and management.