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Maverick capitalist Boone Pickens has denounced
them as "government-sponsored cartels." Chrysler's
Lee Iacocca has suggested forming "our own little keiretsu
system" in the United States. But whether you regard
Japan's mammoth corporate alliances as a menace to trade
or a model for change, you probably don't understand how
the keiretsu really operate. Here, at last, is the book
that will open your eyes.
"Our hard-nosed business leaders look
like Dorothy wandering through Oz when it comes to dealing
with Japan," observes David Russell, an American business
journalist based in Tokyo since 1982. In these pages, he
and Japanese counterpart Kenichi Miyashita reveal the inner
workings of the keiretsu. Their unbiased, readable investigation
delivers a wealth of information about the system as a whole,
its individual members, and the intricate web of relationships
that links banks, manufacturers, suppliers, distributors,
and the Japanese government.
You'll gain insight into features that are
common to most keiretsu, such as the "main bank,"
stable shareholding, and seconded directors. You'll also
examine concepts that have no American parallel, such as
the general trading company. And you'll hear from Japanese
subcontractors themselves about their experiences serving
the keiretsu -- an eye-opening look at life inside the pyramid.
You'll learn about the types of keiretsu
and how they operate:
- Horizontal keiretsu -- the bank-centered
Big Six: the Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Sumitomo, Fuyo, Sanwa,
and Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank Groups.
- Vertical keiretsu -- the producers of
cars (Toyota, Nissan, Honda) and electronics (Matsushita,
Hitachi, Toshiba, Sony), and their "captive"
subcontractors.
- Distribution keiretsu -- a subgroup of
the vertical keiretsu that controls much of Japanese retailing,
deciding what products will appear in stores and showrooms
-- and at what price.
This is the first book to spell out not
only the rules of the keiretsu, but the position of the
many players within the interlocking pyramids. After reading
it, you'll know why our Japanese competitors -- and sometime
business partners -- act as they do. You'll also be alert
to likely changes in keiretsu that may affect business and
the economy in the years ahead. As the debate continues
about the reasons for Japan's business success, its stunning
dominance of many industries, and the possibilities for
its eventual decline, Keiretsu adds major new insights.
It is the first detailed map to the hidden world of the
Japanese conglomerates.
Kenichi Miyashita is a former senior
editor of PHP, Japan's most respected publisher of business
books and periodicals. He has written extensively on the
business, economy, and history of Japan. Mr. Miyashita is
a graduate of Tokyo University.
David Russell is an American journalist
with more than a decade of experience in Japan. He has written
and edited for both Business Tokyo
magazine and Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei), and is currently
managing editor at Tokyo Business
Today. Mr. Russell holds an M.A.
in Japanese literature from Columbia University. Both authors
live and work in Tokyo.
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