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Karel Van Wolferen

The Enigma of Japanese Power: People and Politics in a Stateless Nation Paperback – June 10, 1990

by Karel Van Wolferen (Author)

37 ratings

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Few Americans have examined carefully the nation whose economy and industry is bound up with their own, whose future will inescapably shape theirs--Japan, that is. Dutch journalist Karel van Wolferen does the job, and very well indeed, depicting a Japan alternately awed and disgusted by the world beyond its shores, governed by a puppet emperor in the service of the zaikaijin, a gerontocracy of businessmen who control the national economy, just as they have done for generations. Their hierarchy is reinforced by the fear that, as in 1945, hostile powers will not only overpower the Japanese economy but denature the Japanese people, introducing foreign concepts of democracy and even the specter of an "impure race." Although Van Wolferen balances his account by highlighting what he regards as positive Japanese traits, including thrift, respect for elders, industriousness, and self-control, The Enigma of Japanese Power remains a controversial text in the nation it assays to describe with discomforting accuracy.

From Publishers Weekly

"Here at last is a first-rate book by a Westerner on the obfuscations and realities of Japanese politics," praised PW , complimenting van Wolferen's "almost stupefying thoroughness."
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Publisher : Vintage; Reprint edition (June 10, 1990)
Language : English
Paperback : 528 pages
ISBN-10 : 0679728023
ISBN-13 : 978-0679728023
Item Weight : 1.2 pounds
Dimensions : 5.2 x 1.1 x 8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,285,036 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,177 in Japanese History (Books)
- #2,342 in Political Economy
- #3,158 in Asian Politics

Customer Reviews:
37 ratings

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5 star		52%
4 star		15%
3 star		17%
2 star		9%
1 star		7%

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T. Hooper

Power Explained

Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2006

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Van Wolferen does an excellent job of exploring the basis of power in Japanese society. As you read the book, you'll learn that Japanese power is a very collective and amorphous thing. There is no one person or one group in charge of everything. There is no strong political leader, such as America has in its president. Power flows almost like water.

Another interesting thing that Van Wolferen covers in his book is that the way that Japanese people are today is not due to culture. The Japanese character has been molded by political decisions made in the past. It's interesting to see how he comes at this idea. Read the book and check it out for yourself.

6 people found this helpful

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Muhammad Uzair Husain

Politics in Japan

Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2018

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A brilliant indept analysis of Japan's geopolitical landscape

One person found this helpful

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Anonymo

Still a must read, over 20 years later

Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2010

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This is the most insightful book I have ever read on Japan, may be together with Murphy's The Weight of the Yen . Very comprehensive, thoroughly documented, and even more relevant after the change in government of August 2009, since a lot of the DPJ's goals are in line with Karel van Wolferen's comments. Ichiro Ozawa's Blueprint for a New Japan: The Rethinking of a Nation has largely borrowed from Enigma.

3 people found this helpful

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Randall Pennington

This book was banned by the Japanese Gov't when it first came out in Japanese....that is how TRUE it really is!

Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2013

First and foremost, this book is an expose of Japan Inc..

As a 27 year veteran of living in Japan, I can categorically say that if you live in Japan or plan to, then you MUST read it. It is not simply a book about politics and economy as the review says, although there is significant information on those areas.

First, James Fallows, very respected journalist and author, did a piece for Atlantic Magazine on Japan based on the information in an unpublished manuscript of this book that was floating around Washington D.C.. That issue of Atlantic was NOT sold in any bookstore in Japan, and the issue was also not put on display in any American Center in Japan. I wanted to read the Atlantic monthly, as it was previously always on display in the Center, and when I went to the American Center in Fukuoka, the librarian told me that he had a photocopy of the article under the counter and in hushed tones, said, "Here is a copy of the article. Please return it when you are done."

The magazine itself was never released for public sale in Japan, ANYWHERE !

Secondly, this book, when finally translated into Japanese, was banned from sale by the Japanese gov't for the first week or so after it's release. Only by a very vocal protest by the foreign community about the blatant censorship of the Japanese gov't was the book put back on the shelves.

Thirdly, in the publication process in Japanese, there was significant pressure put on the publisher by "outside sources" to make the book into TWO volumes, as it was deemed "too long to put into one book for Japanese readers." This, naturally doubled the price of the book. Another example of the obfuscation of the information contained in this book.

Someone once said, "only banned books are worth reading." Well, perhaps that is not true in all cases, but I would definitely say it is true in this case. Wolferen is lucid, not apologetic and spot-on truthful in his expose' of one of the most misunderstood countries on earth.

Buy it.
Believe it.

It is true.

9 people found this helpful

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Colin R. Glassey

Best book on Japanese political culture ever written

Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2000

If you are interested in Japan (and given its history and place in the world today, you should be) this book is essential reading. When this book was published it was attacked by the Japanese "power structure" as "Japan bashing". 5 years later what he wrote in this book was accepted as "true" and he was a best selling writer IN JAPAN.
To summarize the key point: power in Japan tends towards absolute power unfettered by laws or "western ideals" of truth and morality. As a self-defense mechanism, Japanese culture tries to surround any real power with layers of custom and protocol which prevent real power from actually being wielded. The result is that there is a huge gap between what is "said" vs. what is "done"; between what is "offically" the truth vs. what is actually happening; between who is in office vs. who actually makes the decisions.
BTW: Japan is not the only country in the world where this is true, take a look at Algeria since independence and you will find a country where power and appearance are equally seperate.
2nd point: most of the rest of the world does not understand Japan and Japanese don't tend to understand the rest of the world. In my opinion, Japan has the wierdest culture of all the major powers (Europe, U.S., China, and Japan). However, this book goes a LONG way towards solving at least one part of the equation: understanding the way Japan really works.
If you have ever wondered why the Japanese Army didn't cooporate with the Japanese Navy during World War II, this book tells you why. If you ever wondered why trade deals with Japan during the 1980s had no effect on Japanese policy, this book tells you why. If you ever wondered why Japanese prime ministers seem to have no power to get things done in Japan, this book tells you why.
This book has my highest recomendation.

11 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

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Reizo

Cheapest version but didn't regret it / Compré la versión más barata pero no me arrepiento

Reviewed in Mexico on January 22, 2021

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I bought it in Amazon Mexico. The book is yellowish because of its date (My copy was one of the first verions) but the pages are really well kept. Maybe original owner read it just once or never. I heard about this book by Kira Sensei, an spanish influencer about Japanese Lifestyle and how people have enhanced japanese culture to romantic levels. This book -he says- makes you clear your head and to think about Japanese culture as it is, or it was (Late 80's to Mid 90's) without any makeup. Costed me 100 MXN pesos in 2021 instead 530 MXN on newer versions. Maybe if it was in a public library I wouldn't buy, but it worth it. Google translate this into spanish if you're interested in this review. Thanks.

Amazon Customer

its still an excellent incite into Japanese politics and business

Reviewed in Canada on February 6, 2017

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Although somewhat dated now, its still an excellent incite into Japanese politics and business.
If you are doing business in /with Japan, definitely read this book.

pinuccia biffi

Karel von Wolferen

Reviewed in Italy on May 19, 2014

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Testo molto interessante, introvabile ad un prezzo così contenuto, e come nuovo.Gentilezza e professionalità del venditore.Lo consiglio vivamente, é eccellente.

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ギリシャ

Reviewed in Japan on October 28, 2017

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皆さん、読むべき。多様な考えを学び、より知的に、より強くなろう

2 people found this helpful

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アトニ―

日本権力構造の謎

Reviewed in Japan on October 27, 2011

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日本権力構造の謎の英語版です。
最近流行りの「日本中枢の崩壊」みたいな本です。ただ、その考察対象はもう少し広く、良くがんばって書いたなあと
思わせる本です。
外国人なのにえらい。
東京大学法学部と官僚機構をちゃんと分析した本は少ないので一読をお勧めします。

9 people found this helpful

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