The Sun Also Sets: The Limits to Japan's Economic Power (Paperback)

by Bill Emmott (Author) "FOUR DECADES AGO, Japan was written off as a contender for political and economic power; two decades ago, it was no more than a voice..." (more)
Key Phrases: protectionist instinct, yen terms, savings surplus, United States, West Germany, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Emmot, former Tokyo correspondent for the why do we ital the here but not, say, The New Yorker?gs/good point. Economist , here offers one of the most sensible books on the Japanese economy to appear in memory. He shows that Japan's economic power derives from an enormous capital surplus amassed through a high savings rate (16% compared to U.S. 3%-5%) and an excess of exports over imports. The surplus has financed Japanese industrial expansion abroad but has driven the Tokyo real estate and stock markets sky high, perhaps dangerously so. These surpluses have peaked and will disappear over the next decade, argues Emmot, because "Japan is becoming a nation of consumers, of pleasure-seekers, of importers, of investors, and of speculators." In the meantime, the fall of the dollar is helping to bring America's trade deficit down. The book provides an antidote to the Japan-bashers. Author tour.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal
Recent books have warned of American vulnerability to Japan's economic prowess, for instance, Douglas Frantz and Catherine Collins's Selling Out: How We Are Letting Japan Buy Our Land, Our Financial Institutions and Our Future ( LJ 5/1/89). Emmott, formerly the Tokyo correspondent for the London Economist , here reviews the economic and political arguments in a readable and balanced way. He concludes that present Japanese strength is short-term, and that consumerism in the rising generation, an aging population, and a speculative itch, as well as basic economic factors , soon will right the international balance. Scrutinizing Japan's position in world politics, Emmott further concludes that "Only if America fails to lead will Japan have to initiate." This is an engaging journalistic review of an important current topic.
- Charles W. Hayford, Northwestern Univ., Evanston, Ill.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone (April 15, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671735861
• ISBN-13: 978-0671735869
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,020,381 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dated, but alarmingly relevant even to modern-day Japan, April 17, 2003

By	Shashank Tripathi (Gadabout) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Sun Also Sets (Hardcover)

Seeing that this title was first published in 1989 you'd have thought it to be a victim of obsocelence (and you should perhaps consider taking a look at "Japanophobia" anyway -- essentially a newer edition of this book) but it is alarming how little has changed in modern day Japan from the days Emmott first analyzed this country as the Japan bureau-in-chief of the Economist.

As "different" as the Japanese may appear or believe themselves to be, in the end they are subject to the same market forces as anyone else as Emmott argues with this fabulous, in-depth, comprehensive analysis of the Japanese economy in the late 80s/early 90s, and concluded that Japan's trade surpluses, capital exports, and savings rate are destined to subside as demographic, cultural, and economic forces follow their natural course. Must to the dismay of Japan, these predictions have indeed come about and will most likely not be easy to alleviate.

To give you an idea of the scope you can expect from this fabulous collection of essays, Emmott talks about the "Predictable 4" ills of this country, which is still quite impressive given that these may not have been the top priorities of those Japan-crazy times...

(1) Lack of natural resources
(2) Lack of a military
(3) Low birth rate and aging population
(4) Hostility towards immigrants

...but then even more impressively goes on to discuss at length some factors that were conventionally perceived as strengths in the 80s --

(5) Japan's high rate of personal savings, though understood to reflect frugality, actually derived from the complete absence of other outlets for consumers. With no opportunity to buy a home and no need for a car, the citizenry had nothing else to do with their money but to put it into low-yield savings accounts.

(6) Extensive trade barriers, which on an artificial level seemed to protect Japanese industries, actually stifled competition and drove up prices for domestic consumers.

(7) The homogenous population and practically one-party government, which were thought to provide stability and societal cohesion, predictably leading to stasis, insularity, and corruption.

(8) The conformity and obedience which made for such a good workforce also made for a supremely unimaginative people. Japan has become an economic force by manufacturing high quality products cheaply, but the products themselves were invented elsewhere, mostly in US or Germany. This was double trouble because there were several other nations (Korea, Taiwan, etc.) with equally disciplined labor corps, capable of meeting the same quality standards, and willing to work for lower wages. But more importantly, as the world economy moved from the old heavy manufacturing model towards one based on intellectual capital, Japan found itself unable to compete.

(9) The myth of centralized planning, as is recognized by all except pseudo-intellectuals, is so inefficient that it is almost entirely unresponsive to any changing circumstances, but especially to such an enormous paradigm shift. If no one, or very few, even recognize or understand what's going on in the economy, how are a few bureaucrats supposed to intelligently direct the economy.

For any astute watcher of the Japanese economy, this should perhaps be THE de facto introduction, even before anything by Alex Kerr or Ikujiro Nonaka. Some of the statistics may obviously be dated but the thoughts and the frame of analysis are both highly relevant even today.

Also recommended: Porter's Can Japan Compete? and Emmott's Japanophobia.