Thirty years ago, the name Clyde Prestowitz stood for the top Japan-basher who was warning the US to get its act together. But the true Prestowitz also had deep respect for Japanese values, was proficient in Japanese, and adopted a Japanese boy as his son. Now, in his latest book, he is advising the Japanese how to get its act together based on his own experience advising the US. It is a worthy read.
—Richard C. Koo, Chief Economist, Nomura Research Institute
Can Japan reverse decline? We all have a stake in this. Japan, after all, might be a model for other advanced post-industrial societies. There has probably not been a prescription for revival as radical, as pertinent, and as challenging as the one that Clyde Prestowitz lays down. Yet as I read it I found myself hoping that Japan will adopt his advice and continue to make its contribution to world civilization.
—Bob Carr, former Foreign Minister of Australia
“Ever since Japan successfully challenged American industrial dominance in the 1980s, Clyde Prestowitz has been a leading voice in urging us to think differently about this remarkable and still-misunderstood nation. His newest book builds on his rich career in trade and economic policy to probe more deeply into both Japan’s persisting problems and its still-enormous potential to remain a creative force in the global economy.”
—Martin Fackler, New York Times Bureau Chief, Tokyo
Fascinating story of how a country could reinvent itself, in a world where the focus is on China and Japan is yesterday’s lunch. Clyde Prestowitz does a terrific job of creating a fictional blueprint of how Japan can become a world power and the impact it will have on our children and grandchildren. It’s hard to put down.
—Daniel M. Slane, Commissioner, Congressional US-China Economic and
Security Review Commission, Washington, DC
HOW JAPAN CAN REINVENT ITSELF
AND WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT
FOR AMERICA AND THE WORLD
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR
CLYDE PRESTOWITZ
with Hiromi Murakami and William Finan
TUTTLE Publishing
Tokyo | Rutland, Vermont | Singapore
Published by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.
Copyright © 2015 Clyde Prestowitz
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is in process
ISBN 978-4-8053-1346-6
ISBN 978-1-4629-1532-3 (ebook)
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Contents
INTRODUCTION Bookends
CHAPTER 1 Tokyo, 2050
CHAPTER 2 2016—Year of Crises
CHAPTER 3 Shifting Alliances
CHAPTER 4 Women to the Rescue
CHAPTER 5 Japan Becomes an English-speaking Country
CHAPTER 6 Innovation Nation
CHAPTER 7 Energy Independence
CHAPTER 8 From Japan, Inc. to Germany with Japanese Characteristics
CHAPTER 9 Overthrow of the Insiders
CHAPTER 10 Up with the People, Down with the Bureaucrats
CONCLUSION Why Japan Matters to America and the World
INTRODUCTION
Bookends
Ifirst saw Japan on the cold, gray morning of February 5, 1965, as SS President Cleveland steamed into Tokyo Bay toward Yokohama after a storm-tossed six-day voyage from Honolulu. Accompanied by my American-Chinese wife Carol, our four-month-old daughter Anne-Noelani, and my wife’s Chinese uncle, who ran the ship’s laundry, I looked down from an upper deck at the totally unfamiliar scene below as the tugs nudged our great vessel into its berth.
As we marched down the gangway carrying luggage and baby, and