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Is Japanese society essentially different from other modern industrialized societies, or not? This survey work with contributions from the leading scholars in this complicated field, presents a full overview of the most important aspects of Japanese society which may lead the reader to find an answer to these two often-asked questions. Japanese society, defined as those institutions shaping the life of individuals and groups, as well as being responsible for the dynamics of social development, is shown to be as modern as any other industrialized society; definitely distinct, though, are the ways in which institutions are defined and organised as a result of different social and historical roots of the process of modernization.
Collection of papers presented at international symposium, held at University of Bonn, Feb. 2-3, 2006.
Japanese family businesses are among the oldest in the world and many of them prove a history record of 200 years and more. Research on several case studies of century old firms (‘shinise’) in Japan reveal three factors as secrets of their longevity: (1) the Japanese family system (‘ie’) favours the eldest son for succession; (2) the option for adopting a capable successor; (3) the inclusion of the relationships with employees, customers, and members of the local community into the strategic decision making. The analysis deals with the succession process in Japan compared to the WIFU Model of Succession in German family firms, and rounds off with perspectives on how to deal with the challenges the Japanese family businesses face regarding the recent changes in the Japanese society.
Despite the dynamic growth of its economy over the last 20 years, China still has a long way to go to catch up with Japan. In commercial and technological terms, Japan is still the dominant economy in East Asia and is still the leading source of product, production and management innovations in the region, especially in the automotive and electronic industries. However, China is closing the gap year by year. The development of bilateral foreign trade, the increase of Japanese FDI and ODA towards China, and intensified financial and technical co-operation illustrate the considerable potential for mutually profitable business. The Chinese market is opening up and Chinese products are increasingly gaining competitiveness in world markets, threatening the incumbent Japanese firms. Japanese and Chinese companies face each other across a changing competitive environment, which is posing new challenges to corporate and business strategies. Within the context of these developments this book looks from different perspectives at how Japanese companies are reacting to the challenges and opportunities offered by China.
This is a book of psychoanalysis. However, the patient is not a human, but place and imagination of placing. The islands of Okinawa, placed on the border of Japan and Taiwan, consist of a complex of subtropical islands in the East China Sea with marine life abundantly found in the beautiful emerald ocean. However, Okinawa is a history of deterritorialization starting from colonization of the former Ryukyu kingdom by Japan in 1879, followed by the World War II and the US occupation until 1972. These tiny dots on the Pacific Ocean became subject to the collective fate of the world. However, placing oneself in these tiny dots and looking at the world from within provides a picture that is totally different from looking at them externally. There are numerous accounts by ethnographers and anthropologists who carried out research in this region of carnival masks and costumes, their belief in the oceanic paradise, worship of nature, ancestor and women's spirituality. Psychoanalysis of the anthropological research unfolds complexity of this field and deconstructs dualistic modern mind that separates nature from psyche. What appears is an ecological perspective of the psyche of the new era.
First study of the fascinating parallelism that characterizes developments in Japan and Germany by one of Germany's leading Japan specialists. With the founding of their respective national states, the Meiji Empire in 1869 and the German Reich in 1871, Japan and Germany entered world politics. Since then both countries have developed in strikingly similar ways, and it is not surprising that these two became close allies during the Second World War, although in the end this proved a "fatal attraction."