Analyzes the potential implications of Japanese corporate activities, particularly those associated with keiretsu in selected Asian economies, from an international trade policy viewpoint, for foreign access to Asian markets and for U.S.-Japan relations. Provides an overview and historical background of recent trade and investment trends in Asia, including data on intra-firm trade. Examines the extent of keiretsu involvement in numerous sectors. Discusses the functions or activities of key keiretsu firms within host countries. Discusses the implications of keiretsu activities in Asia for the U.S., Japan and the region.
This collection explores the expansion of Japanese multinational firms into Asia, a process which paralleled the region's growth as a major economic region. The contributors discuss a wide range of topics, including the reasons for moving manufacturing to other countries, the flow of tradebetween Japan and these countries, technology transfer within firms, the impact of Japanese management practices in other Asian countries, and competition between Japanese and American firms in Asia.
Provides analyses on the politico-economic relationship between Japan and China, and a comparison of economic strengths between China and India in East Asian economic integration. Provides an overall analysis on East Asian economic integration, including some observations on the recent development and future prospects of the region.
The effect of Japan on the challenges and complexities of the modernisation process that globalisation has brought to the fore in Asia are the subject of this interdisciplinary volume by leading scholars in the field. Using fascinating examples drawn from current business and organisational practice in Asia, it focuses on the impact that Japanese modernity has made in Asia as a model to be imitated because of its apparent success in adopting western technologies while retaining its own cultural identity. At the same time, Japan itself is a dominant force in modernity in East and South East Asia, exporting its own type of modernisation, management and business practices, and models of 'traditional' social relations which do not necessarily correspond to the traditions of other Asian cultures.This adds another element to the conventional model of modernity as a dialogue between West and East; without considering Japan's special significance in the region, any critical assessment of the modernising process in Asia would not be possible. This emphasis is the special contribution of this innovative work which aims to show the extent to which the experiences of one non-Western modernity can influence others; to highlight the problems of cultural identity that must be faced by modernising societies; and, above all aims to contribute to the larger debates on intercultural communication that are vital for achieving genuine understanding between representatives of different cultures, traditions and world views.Besides Asian and Japanese Studies specialists, "Japan and Asian Modernities" is addressed to a larger audience of academics and specialists working in the areas of history of ideas, political science, the sociology and anthropology of business, comparative cultural studies and economics or other disciplines related to contemporary East and South-East Asia where the subject of alternative modernities is relevant.
The rise of the Japanese multinational company (JMNC) marked, from the 1980s onwards, an historic change in the structure and in the dynamics of the international economy. For the first time, businesses from a non-Western nation established a competitive global presence, and they did so by bringing their advanced products and management systems to the developed economies of Europe and North America. In the last 30 years, our interpretations of JMNCs have undergone a series of revisions. Korean firms followed JMNCs in the 1990s and the Chinese likewise in the 2000s. A seeming decline in JMNC competitiveness and developments in the structure of the international economy challenged a business model of parental company direction, control and capabilities. Both trends asked questions about how Japanese subsidiaries should operate in global production chains increasingly reliant on contracting out and off-shoring, and how JMNCs might engage more in strategic cooperation and empower subsidiary decision-making. The contributors to this volume consider a wide range of relevant issues: they demonstrate the long-term evolution of JMNCs; they compare the experience of JMNCs with firms from the other two major Asia Pacific economies, Korea and China; they evaluate the applicability of established foreign direct investment (FDI) theory to MNCs from Japan and the Asia Pacific; and they reflect on the internal organization of JMNCs at the global, national and subnational level. This book was originally published as a special issue of Asia Pacific Business Review.
Despite the regional currency crisis of 1997-1998, Asia-Pacific economies continue to be among the most attractive markets in the world. Japanese, American, and European firms have invested heavily in the past decades, and now are positioning themselves to take advantage of the post-Asian recovery, phenomenal Chinese growth rates, and deepening economic liberalization. This pathbreaking work focuses on understanding the market and nonmarket strategies employed by Japanese firms to boost their share of the developing Asian market and to rally the Japanese government in support of their initiatives. In addition to advancing a novel theoretical framework to analyze strategy, the book contains an overview chapter focuses on Japanese investment and trade trends in Asia and original case studies of the banking, automobile, telecommunications, chemical, software, and electronics sectors that provide insight into winning strategies in Asia.
This book examines how Japan has changed its economic relationship with East Asia since the mid 1990s by looking at its commitments to import relief, regional financial and industrial transformations, and regionalism. While the Japanese government has taken proactive initiatives to sustain the sound development of the regional economies, it has become more strategic in preserving its interests in the rapid industrial transformation. The book includes valuable information about Japan's trade remedy measures, Sino-Japan relations, and regional integration in East Asia.
Japanese foreign direct investment has played a leading role in Asian economies for more than two decades. This book, describing the changing industrial dynamics after the Asian currency crisis in 1997, focuses on corporate strategies of Japanese automobile and electronics companies in Asian nations, with detailed analysis of management issues and strategies from the viewpoint of both the home economy and the recipient host economies. Among the cases presented are the global restructuring of the Korean automobile industry and the transfer of automotive technology to China via Taiwan. Other studies, from the electronics industry, look at production sites in Malaysia, backward integration in Singapore, and forward integration in Hong Kong. The contributions of specialists from Asia, Europe, and the United States collected here envision an ongoing process of globalization and provide valuable perspective and background for business management and East Asian studies.
