Japanese Companies in East Asia: History and Prospects

Seventy years have passed since the end of World War II. Although feelings and incidents between the victorious and the defeated nations have not disappeared, new relationships have reshaped the post World War II social, economic and political landscape, such as the establishment of the European Union and the Japan-U.S. alliance. Scholars and historians are attempting to objectively reexamine World War II. The passage of time has terminated the copyrights for the relevant document. The...
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Seventy years have passed since the end of World War II. Although feelings and incidents between the victorious and the defeated nations have not disappeared, new relationships have reshaped the post World War II social, economic and political landscape, such as the establishment of the European Union and the Japan-U.S. alliance. Scholars and historians are attempting to objectively reexamine World War II. The passage of time has terminated the copyrights for the relevant document. The expectation now is more objective research on the economy and business in the inter-war period.The first edition of Japanese Companies in East Asia: History and Prospects discussed the position and role of Japanese companies in East Asia, investigating competition and alliances with Asian companies in the prewar and postwar periods. Part 1 examines Japanese investment in China in the inter-war period, and the economic competition and collaboration between Japanese and Chinese companies. Part 2 considers the current relationships between Japan and Asia, especially China and Taiwan. The success of Asian export-oriented industrialization forced Japanese companies to expand their alliances with Asian companies in leading industries.The first edition of this book was published in 2012. Since then, I have published three papers on Japanese investment and companies in the inter-war period, which are the new Part 2 of the enlarged and revised second edition. The new Part 2 illuminates the development of market-centered corporate governance and foreign direct investment based on it, and presents specific examples of collaboration between Japanese companies and host countries and regions. My recent paper, which is Chapter 9 in the new Part 3, focused on the ASEAN 100 companies and discussed the rapid economic growth and globalization of ASEAN and the remarkable expansion of relations between Japan and ASEAN. Part 3 shows that the globalization of the Japanese economy and Japanese companies are progressing on the common basis of a market economy and market-centered corporate governance in East Asia.I would appreciate readers following my research through visiting my previous and new website: http://www.hshimpo.com/en/index.php and https://sites.google.com/site/hshimpoen/.