It was almost noon in the picturesque city of Yokohama on Saturday, September 1st 1923 when the first sway of one of the world's most destructive earthquakes was felt. The first great shock lasted for four minutes and in that time every building in the city was destroyed, together with 100,000 of its Japanese inhabitants and one eighth of its foreign community. Other shocks followed and then fire which swept through the ruins with hurricane speed, suffocating and burning to death thousands trapped in wreckage or trying to flee. A first-hand account of the disaster told by a survivor, this...

Direct foreign investment and the activities of multinational corporations are new dynamic elements in the international economy. This book identifies, theoretically and practically, a Japanese model of multinational business operations which has characteristics differing from the American or "anti-trade oriented" type, and casts light on important policy implications concerning direct foreign investment and multinational corporations. By developing a macroeconomic approach to direct foreign investment, instead of the prevalent explanation from the viewpoint of business administration and...

The Japanese market is an attractive and challenging one. It is essential for foreign companies wanting to establish a growing presence to build operations which are suited to the Japanese. This book focuses on three particular areas: the labour market, the workplace and the market-place. The management of human resources plays an important part in a company's image in the market. A strong corporate presence is vital to inspire confidence among consumers and the career opportunities and job stability offered by a company reflect its strength. Using case studies and covering topics such as the...

This is a detailed study of the extent to which an increased influx of foreign workers is a threat to law and order in the context of the data-generating process of police statistics and the media coverage of "crimes" committed by foreigners. It shows that a general mood in which foreign workers are viewed as potential danger to Japanese society "protects" the criminalization of foreign "illegal" migrant workers. The work begins by tracing the upsurge of "illegal" foreign workers in Japan. It builds a social profile of these "illegals" showing that because of fear of expulsion, lack of...

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...

In the 1970s and 80s Japan experienced some deep-rooted social changes which affected attitudes to health care services among both professionals and consumers alike. Health Care in Japan provides an introduction to and overview of health and medical services in Japan at that time. It describes the historical development of modern medical care; the social, political, and cultural factors which have influenced the development of the system for the provision of health and medical services. It also discusses and analyses those aspects of the health care system which are of concern to the...

A journalist on the Japan Chronicle for eleven years, the author collected in this volume the most significant current events for discussion. They include the financial crisis of 1927, hostilities with China and in particular Manchuria, Japan's booming manufacturing industry, Japanese nationalism, Japan's new empire and its place within the Far East and East Asia. Written from a Western perspective, the volume nonetheless presents a balanced view of Japan and its behaviour which only close observation and dealings with the Japanese people could make possible.

This volume concentrates on the effect of Japanese trade competition on the UK and Europe, it also provides an illuminating picture of political, social and military conditions in Japan in the early twentieth century.

In Japan information technology has been a vital part of manufacturing for decades. A central factory computer provides a production plan and shop minicomputers and microcomputers in the factory run machines that manufacture products. It has become necessary to connect computers installed at different locations to enable information exchange between different sections. This requires an intracompany network with large memory capacity and high-speed communication capability to process documents, drawings, and image data, as well as conventional code data: a local area network (LAN). This volume...

This volume collects eleven essays written by Japanese experts on various aspects of Japanese business management and is a sequel to the volume Industry and Business in Japan. It examines the mechanisms for Japan's phenomenal economic growth since the Second World War by analyzing Japanese management, business groups, production systems and business strategy.