The End of Japan Inc.: And How the New Japan Will Look

Wood's startling, plausible scenario of Japan's economic unraveling is important reading for Japan-watchers. American finance editor for the Economist as well as that periodical's former Tokyo bureau chief, he predicts massive layoffs that will doom Japan's post-1945 system of lifetime employment, as well as an upheaval in Japan's auto industry so extensive that only those carmakers who slash costs will survive. High-tech Japan is way behind the U.S. in the race to dominate tomorrow's information-driven economy, contends Wood, who believes that American electronics, computer and telecommunications firms are more competitive, dynamic and creative. After years of drift and instability, he predicts, a new economic model will emerge in Japan as long-overdue deregulation opens up areas like retailing and real estate, ultimately molding Japan into a consumerist society with as much diversity of choice as America now has. (Oct.)