Why are Japanese companies the best in the world? What is the driving force behind their strength? This study critiques comprehensively the widely-shared theories concerning Japanese companies. While the book reconstructs theories of Japanese companies and the Japanese economy, it is merely a first, albeit necessary, step. The authors go beyond critiquing these theories by offering an alternative view of the Japanese economy and Japanese-style management.

About Editors and Authors

NOMURA Masami

NOMURA Masami is a Japanese economist, Special Invited Professor at Meiji University, Visiting Professor at the Open University of Japan and Professor Emeritus at Tohoku University. She graduated from the Faculty of Economics, Yokohama National University, and during her career held the positions of Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Professor in the Faculty of Economics, Okayama University, Professor in the Graduate School of Economics, Tohoku University, and Professor in the Faculty of Business Administration, Kokushikan University.

KAMII Yoshihiko

KAMII Yoshihiko is a Japanese economist who is Professor Emeritus at Saitama University. He graduated from the Graduate School of Economics at the University of Tokyo in 1980, and then took up a lecturing position in labor economics at Saitama University. By 1994, he had been promoted to a professorial position, and he served as the 11th President of Saitama University from 2008 to 2014.