Despite the economic and political importance of the U.S.-Japan relationship and the extensive attention paid to automotive trade, few American scholars or policy makers are familiar with the history of Japanese government-business relations, either generally or for specific industries such as passenger cars. This book hopefully helps in a small way to fill that gap in our knowledge and, thus, to help strengthen the foundation from which we make public policy decisions about bilateral trade. [ix]

This volume is concerned with the development of business and economic relations between Britain and Japan from the early seventeenth century up to the late twentieth century. Particular attention is given to commodity trade, capital flows, the transfer of knowledge and the overall balance of economic power between the two nations. Mutual perceptions of economic strengths and weaknesses are also considered, and the economic relationship located in the broader context of political and strategic interaction.

For decades the crown jewels of Japan's postwar manufacturing industry, motorcycles remain one of Japan's top exports. Japan's Motorcycle Wars assesses the historical development and societal impact of the motorcycle industry, from the influence of motor sports on vehicle sales in the early 1900s to the postwar developments that led to the massive wave of motorization sweeping the Asia-Pacific region today. Jeffrey Alexander brings a wealth of information to light, providing English translations of transcripts, industry publications, and company histories that have until now been available only in Japanese. By exploring the industry as a whole, he reveals that Japan's motorcycle industry was characterized not by communitarian success but by misplaced loyalties, technical disasters, and brutal competition.

Was Japan's economic miracle generated primarily by the Japanese state or by the nation's dynamic private sector? In addressing this question, Kent Calder's richly detailed study offers a distinctive reinterpretation of Japanese government-business relations. Calder challenges popular opinion to demonstrate how Japanese private enterprise has complemented the state in achieving the national purpose of industrial transformation.

This book uses a wide range of original Japanese sources to trace important aspects of the history of Japanese economic ideas, in particular, the development of Japan's industrial policy. In contrast to most others who begin their story within the 1930s or after 1945, Sohn goes back to the Meiji era to trace the evolution of Japanese developmental debates, state policies and market strategies involving cartels and small enterprises, city and countryside, and approaches that variously emphasize the market and the role of the state as Japan seeks to position itself in the world and regional economies.

An in-depth look at the Chinese car industry that sheds new light on the delicate nature of China's planned economy China's unprecedented growth over the last three decades, along with the recent financial crisis in the West, has raised questions about the superiority of state-led capitalism. In Designated Drivers: How China Plans to Dominate the Global Auto Industry, G.E. Anderson, a specialist in finance and Chinese political economics, uses the auto industry to examine how China's industrial planning works, and explores whether state involvement in the economy really is a winning formula for sustainable growth. Bringing to light the strengths and weaknesses that define the Chinese economy, Anderson finds that in some ways the government has become its own worst enemy, unable to choose between industrial competitiveness and social stability. While the economy is booming now, evidence suggests that long-term success is far from assured. Tracing the evolution of the post-Mao auto industry through thirteen case studies, Designated Drivers raises the difficult questions about the future of China that few people have dared to ask. Offers a unique insight into the Chinese economy through the lens of the auto industry Explores how successful the central government has been in spurring economic growth and the long-terms costs of intervention Uses case studies to illustrate China's explosive growth over the last three decades A painstakingly researched analysis of the Chinese automobile industry, Designated Drivers explains the risks and rewards inherent in doing business in China that anyone interested in, or already working there need to understand.