Thursday 20 November 2008
6:00pm – 8:00pm

Why Japan Can't Reform: Inside the System

Daiwa Foundation Japan House

the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation 主催

By Susan Carpenter

Published by Palgrave Macmillan

Presentation by Susan Carpenter from 6.00pm chaired by Professor Arthur Stockwin, followed by a drinks reception.

At the start of the 1990s, Japan’s post war economic success came to an abrupt end and the country slid into a decade-long recession from which it has, on many levels, still not recovered. This book examines the institutional factors in the Japanese system of government administration that have paralyzed the decision-making process and prevented the system from accommodating the ever-changing demands on the domestic front and the global political economy. It argues that the current model defies structural reform and frustrates the implementation of economic and social policies that can resolve the problems that have challenged the Japanese for years.

Excerpts from interviews conducted with Japanese bureaucrats reveal how their government views the United States, Japan’s protector in the Pacific and its second-largest trading partner. The interviews are particularly relevant to the economic dilemma that the Japanese are facing currently due to Japan’s dependency on the United States. They also provide an invaluable insight into why Japan has yet to integrate into the international community.

‘Why Japan Can’t Reform’, published by Palgrave Macmillan, will be available on the day at the special price of £30 (normally £60).

コントリビューターについて

Dr Susan Carpenter

Susan Carpenter is a lecturer in International Business and Director of the MSc in International Business and Emerging Markets at the University of Edinburgh Business School. She has worked for Japanese businesses and government-supported organizations in Japan and the U.S.A. She published ‘Special Corporations and the Bureaucracy’ in 2003.

Professor J A A Stockwin (chair)

Professor J A A Stockwin is Emeritus Fellow of St. Antony’s College and the Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies, University of Oxford. His recent publications include: ‘Dictionary of the Modern Politics of Japan’ (2003) and ‘Collected Writings of J A A Stockwin’ (2004). Professor Stockwin is joint General Editor of the Nissan Institute/Routledge Japanese Studies series.