Japans Industrial Technology Development

This book studies the industrial development of Japan since the mid-nineteenth century, with particular emphasis on how the various industries built technological capabilities. The Japanese were extraordinarily creative in searching out and learning to use modern technologies, and the authors investigate the emergence of entrepreneurs who began new and risky businesses, how the business organizations evolved to cope with changing technological conditions, and how the managers, engineers, and workers acquired organizational and technological skills through technology importation, learning-by-doing, and their own R & D activities. The book investigates the interaction between private entrepreneurial activities and public policy, through a general examination of economic and industrial development, a study of the evolution of management systems, and six industrial case studies: textile, iron and steel, electrical and communications equipment, automobiles, shipbuilding and aircraft, and pharmaceuticals. The authors show how the Japanese government has played an important supportive role in the continuing innovation, without being a substitute for aggressive business enterprise constantly venturing into unfamiliar terrains.

Japan's technology support system has played a crucial role in developing firms technological capability and stimulating their innovation. How has it been done, and why is it effective? The research findings presented here show that what has worked best in Japan is inter-firm cooperative learning, which requires the support of public technology institutions to promote cooperation, disseminate technology, and facilitate innovation. Among the many books published about Japanese technology policies and corporate management, this is the first to show definitively that cooperative learning is important in a wide spectrum of firms, whether or not they are keiretsu-affiliated. With a caveat on the limitations of the Japanese system from an institutional perspective, the countrys techno-governance structure is revealed to be more effective in assembly-oriented industries than in those that are basic-science oriented and employ rapidly changing technology.

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?

The perspectives of technologists, economists, and policymakers are brought together in this volume. It includes chapters dealing with approaches to assessment of technology leadership in the United States and Japan, an evaluation of future impacts of eroding U.S. technological preeminence, an analysis of the changing nature of technology-based global competition, and a discussion of policy options for the United States.

A detailed examination of the industrial development of Japan since the Meiji Restoration.

This book aims to discredit the myth that has the `unique cultural traits' of the Japanese as the key to the country's success, arguing that the more realisable foundation of long-term investment in training and research is responsible. The book looks at the development of Japan in the pre-War period. Yukiko Fukusaku sees the achievements of this period as central to the present competitiveness of the country's industrial technology. She uses the Mitsubishi Nagasaki shipyard as a case study, looking at technological innovation and training as the keys to long-term stability and economic success. The book has implications for industrial development worldwide. Japan's starting point over a century ago was similar to the present conditions of many developing countries and the book's emphasis on the acquisition of better skills as a key to development is as relevant to Europe and America as it is to the Third World.

Intro -- Preface To The Third Edition -- I The Japanese Industrial System -- Chapter 1. Japan And The New Global Economy -- 1.1 Introduction -- 1.2 Japan As Industrial Superpower -- 1.3 Paradoxes Of Asian Growth -- 1.4 Japan As Learner And Teacher -- 1.5 From Follower To Leader -- 1.6 Strategies For The 21St Century -- 1.7 Summary And Conclusions -- Chapter 2. Samurai Management: A Framework For Analysis -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 Japanese Society: Adversity Management -- 2.3 Hardware And Software As Core Concepts -- 2.4 Japanese Hardware: A Comparative Perspective -- 2.5 Organizational Software Systems -- 2.6 Summary And Conclusions -- Ii Japan'S Societal Policies -- Chapter 3. Japan Inc.: Business-Government Relations -- 3.1 Introduction -- 3.2 The Social Origins Of Business-Government -- 3.3 The Structure Of Modern Government -- 3.4 Government And Big Business -- 3.5 Summary And Conclusions -- Chapter 4. The Visible Hand: Industrial Planning -- 4.1 Introduction -- 4.2 Origins Of Industrial Planning -- 4.3 Japan'S Five Year Plan -- 4.4 Industrial Structure Goals -- 4.5 Resource Dependence Planning -- 4.6 Portfolio Approach To Sectors -- 4.7 Japan'S Export Strategy -- 4.8 Japan'S Sunset Industries -- 4.9 Summary And Conclusions -- Chapter 5. Technology And The Knowledge Economy -- 5.1 Introduction -- 5.2 Technology And The Economy -- 5.3 The Organization Of Science In Japan -- 5.4 Formulating Science Policy -- 5.5 Technological Diffusion -- 5.6 Creative Technology Policies -- 5.7 Technology Policy In Comparative Perspective -- 5.8 Summary And Conclusions -- Chapter 6. Asian Wall Street: Japanese Banking And Finance -- 6.1 Introduction -- 6.2 Financial Policy And Economic Development -- 6.3 Japan'S Banking System: An Overview -- 6.4 From Competition Within Japan -- 6.5 ... To Tomorrow, The World -- 6.6 Summary And Conclusions.