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Chalmers A. Johnson

MITI and the Japanese Miracle: The Growth of Industrial Policy, 1925-1975 1st Edition

by Chalmers A. Johnson (Author)

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The focus of this book is on the Japanese economic bureaucracy, particularly on the famous Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), as the leading state actor in the economy. Although MITI was not the only important agent affecting the economy, nor was the state as a whole always predominant, I do not want to be overly modest about the importance of this subject. The particular speed, form, and consequences of Japanese economic growth are not intelligible without reference to the contributions of MITI. Collaboration between the state and big business has long been acknowledged as the defining characteristic of the Japanese economic system, but for too long the state's role in this collaboration has been either condemned as overweening or dismissed as merely supportive, without anyone's ever analyzing the matter.

The history of MITI is central to the economic and political history of modern Japan. Equally important, however, the methods and achievements of the Japanese economic bureaucracy are central to the continuing debate between advocates of the communist-type command economies and advocates of the Western-type mixed market economies. The fully bureaucratized command economies misallocate resources and stifle initiative; in order to function at all, they must lock up their populations behind iron curtains or other more or less impermeable barriers. The mixed market economies struggle to find ways to intrude politically determined priorities into their market systems without catching a bad case of the "English disease" or being frustrated by the American-type legal sprawl. The Japanese, of course, do not have all the answers. But given the fact that virtually all solutions to any of the critical problems of the late twentieth century―energy supply, environmental protection, technological innovation, and so forth―involve an expansion of official bureaucracy, the particular Japanese priorities and procedures are instructive. At the very least they should forewarn a foreign observer that the Japanese achievements were not won without a price being paid.

ISBN-10

0804712069
ISBN-13

978-0804712064
Edition

1st
Publication date

June 1, 1982
Language

English
Dimensions

6 x 1.03 x 9 inches
Print length

412 pages
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Editorial Reviews

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"There are, unfortunately, few books on Japanese politics and economics that deserve to be widely recommended to nonspecialists from either discipline, let alone to the generally informed public. Happily, Chalmers Johnson's excellent study is one of those rare gems that will demand attention from wide audiences. It is a sparkling addition to scholarship and literacy."―T. J. Pempel, Political Science Quarterly

"Johnson's penetrating institutional analysis―full of sideswipes against cultural explanations―stimulated generations of research into the variations among capitalist systems, in Asia and beyond."―Andrew J. Nathan, Foreign Affairs

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Stanford University Press; 1st edition (June 1, 1982)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 412 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0804712069
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0804712064
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1630L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.23 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.03 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #679,882 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #295 in Public Affairs & Administration (Books)
- #753 in Asian Politics
- #810 in Japanese History (Books)

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4.7 37 ratings

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Chalmers A. Johnson

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Chalmers Johnson, president of the Japan Policy Research Institute, is the author of the bestselling Blowback and The Sorrows of Empire. A frequent contributor to the Los Angeles Times, the London Review of Books, and The Nation, he appeared in the 2005 prizewinning documentary film Why We Fight. He lives near San Diego.

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AO

Well-researched, thorough history of MITI with emphasis on Japanese sources and context

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 15, 2018

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This is a well-researched, thorough book which covers the history of Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) from its roots as the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Commerce in the 1920s to the Ministry of Munitions during World War II to the Economic Stabilization Board during the US occupation and then ultimately to MITI in the postwar era up until 1975. The focus of the book is on the economic bureaucracy's institutions and policies which made high-speed growth possible rather than Japan's unique cultural and societal aspects. Johnson was partly intending to counter the zeitgeist of the early 1980s (the book was originally published in 1982, Ezra Vogel's Japan as Number [https://www.amazon.com/Japan-Number-One-Lessons-America/dp/1583484108] was published in 1979) in the West which was trying to come to terms with a seemingly superior economic model. Johnson provides a wealth of references including Japanese newspapers, MITI's own internal documents, and interviews with key individuals including Sahashi Shigeru (MITI Vice Minister from 1964-66) . Research for the book started in 1972 and took nearly 10 years (as stated in the preface). Johnson provides an intricate look into the turf wars between the various ministries (MITI vs. Finance vs. Foreign Affairs, etc) and the relationship between popularly-elected Diet politicians and career bureaucrats (including the famous Sumitomo Metal incident of 1965 involving MITI Minister Miki and Vice Minister Sahashi). Importantly, the book tries to make connections between the industrial policies of the pre- and inter-war years with the periods during and after the US occupation. Johnson also sheds light on some of the major failures of MITI's hyper quest for rapid economic growth including issues of urban overcrowding, industrial pollution, political corruption, and the shuttering of small and medium sized enterprises in favor of large corporations. Much attention is given to one of MITI's most successful and unique institutions: "administrative guidance". These are unofficial recommendations MITI makes to big business (with serious fallout consequences if disobeyed) regarding investment priorities/strategies for capital equipment, import and acquisition of foreign technological know-how, development of export markets, etc. Also described is the phenomenon of "amakudari": the transfer of retired bureaucrats from MITI to the executive committees and boards of directors of large companies. This ensures that the intimate relationship between the bureaucracy and private enterprise is maintained and operates efficiently. This book has become the standard reference in the English language for anyone seeking to understand the critical role that the economic bureaucracy played in leading Japan to its current status as an advanced, industrial nation.

3 people found this helpful

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JR

Still the Best

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 28, 2012

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This book was written 30 years and it is still the most insightful, clear, and well-written book on Japanese politics, economy, and bureaucracy. Johnson based his analysis off of a wealth of primary material and firsthand knowledge, something that is sorely lacking in much of what passes for scholarship on Japan in the Western world. Required reading.

2 people found this helpful

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Richard E. Dyck

Book was as described.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 29, 2018

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This is the definitive book on the history of Japan's industrial policy.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 8, 2013

Verified Purchase

I'm so surprise that it could be prime. It comes very quick and have fair quality. A little bit older than I expected, but consider the price, quite fair.

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Jason

Good book to understand the politic-business relationship.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 29, 2017

Verified Purchase

Good book to understand the politic-business relationship.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 25, 2015

not bad!

The Economy of Nihonjinron

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 24, 2004

MITI And The Japanese Miracle: The Growth of Industrial Policy, 1925-1975 is Chalmers Johnson's in-depth, revisionist approach to understanding Japanese culture, society and economy. As the title eludes, the text focuses on what specific societal, governmental and cultural systems allowed for Japan's bubble economy of the 1980s. Like Harumi Befu's Hegemony of Homogeneity, MITI draws its strength from analyzing and criticizing the essentialist approach to understanding Japan. At the same time, both texts suffer from a clear lack of conclusions on the nature of Japan, though this does not undermine their ultimate validity.

MITI is useful in understanding Japan's last century in that it attempts to give an unbiased, insider's view of the history of Japan's industrial boom. Johnson's central argument is that Japan owes its unprecedented and generally unexplainable (inscrutable) economic achievements to what he calls a "plan-rational system". Johnson believes that the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) combined with Japan's "iron triangle" formed from the government, bureaucrats and heavy industry were not only interconnected but completely interdependent; working together as a single whole with only one goal: economic development.

The first chapter entitled, "The Japanese `Miracle'" serves a double purpose of showing the central argument of the text while at the same time analyzes and eventually disproves/ invalidates the four main conclusions being drawn by Johnson's contemporaries about Japan's economic boom. Here, Johnson explains the first theory, "The national-character explanation argues that the economic miracle occurred because the Japanese possess a unique, culturally derived capacity to cooperate with each other, " (8). Basically this theory is an outgrowth of typical post-war American Nihonjinron literature. This essentialist, anthropological approach merely makes generalizations about Japanese culture from America's experience with Japan during WWII. This theory relies on the assumed inscrutability of Japan. This theory is entirely devoid of the very real conscious actions taken by the Japanese government to change Japan's economy which Johnson focuses on heavily in his text.

The second and fourth approach are based on the idea that no miracle occurred. These economically based theory rely on the randomness of market forces combined with Japan's ties to America. This means that the bubble occurred merely by chance with no effort put forth by Japan, and that Japan, or any nation for that matter, has little to no actual control over the market. As with the first approach, the second and fourth both undermine the intelligence of Japan's leaders in government and business by denying them credit for strengthening their own nation.

Similarly, the third approach says that it is Japan's unique business structures that give Japan its economic edge. Johnson explains that the structures glorified in English as the "three sacred treasures" are, "the `lifetime' employment system, the seniority (nenko) wage system, and enterprise unionism, " (11). Johnson points out that the main problems with this theory are that the "three sacred treasures" are only three of many systems and structures in place that could help ensure a strong business thought these others are typically ignored by American authors. More importantly, many of these "unique" business practices were in fact started in America and Japan merely borrowed them. This theory also crumble under the fact that Japan is now suffering from a ten year recession and none of these systems have seemed to help.

Johnson explains his own theory of a plan-rational system in that, "Observers coming from market-rational systems often misunderstand the plan-rational system because they fail to appreciate that it has a political and not an economic basis... The very idea of the developmental state originated in the situational nationalism of the late industrializers, and the goals of the developmental state were invariably derived from the comparisons with external reference economies," (24). Johnson's explanation is that Japan does not follow the general rules of free market economics because, as a "late industrializer", Japan as a nation was consolidated and focused on the single goal of catching up to the West. Johnson sees Japan's economic boom in the 1980s as an outgrowth of Japan's unprecedented plan-rational system.

MITI is an important text when trying to understand Japan, Nihonjinron and America's perception of Japan during the bubble economy. The text's strength lies on the in-depth analysis and recognition of generally accepted misconceptions about Japan, Japanese culture and economy. Most Nihonjinron texts are only applicable and valid when pertaining to the era and specific situation which they are attempting to analyze. Even in the post-bubble economy of present day, MITI is still a valid text and integral in understanding the political and industrial structures in Japan that in turn shaped the culture and society over the last century and that ultimately will dictate where Japan will go in the future.

20 people found this helpful

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Yudha Perdana

Insightful economic development history

Reviewed in Japan 🇯🇵 on September 15, 2021

Verified Purchase

It helped me during my university study, and still useful as reference in my work assignments.

Josephine F

Klassik

Reviewed in Germany 🇩🇪 on July 6, 2021

Verified Purchase

Es ist definitiv ein Klassiker. Mein Lehrer empfiehlt uns immer, dieses Buch zu lesen, damit wir die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung Japans besser verstehen können. Ich habe die übersetzte Version schon einmal gesehen, aber die ursprüngliche Erzählung ist genauer.

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Ko, Chen-Yu

MITI und Paternalismus

Reviewed in Germany 🇩🇪 on June 12, 2017

Verified Purchase

Johnson beschreibt und analysiert , wie sehr der Wirtschaftserfolg Japans nach dem 2. WK von dem Staat, vor allem vom bürokratischen System, abhängt. Johnsons Analyse ist zum Teil sehr ökonomisch und seine Argumente wurden oft auch durch empirischen Daten belegen. Aber gleichzeitig vergisst er nicht, in der politischen Tradition bzw. In der politischen Geschichte Japans, einleuchtenden Entstehungsgründe zu suchen. Von daher ist das Buch auch für Politologe und natürlich auch für die Japanologe interessant und bietet viele, was man daraus lernen kann. Sehr empfehlenswert!

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