Dog and Ghost - Modern Japanese Mouth Fall

Author: (USA) Cole
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-03-01
Features: From the end of World War II to the early 1990s, Japan was regarded as a model of successful development and an exemplar of economic growth. However, this book reveals another crisis-ridden Japan: a rigid and corrupt bureaucratic system, a command-based financial system that led to its collapse, wasteful infrastructure investments, massive hidden fiscal deficits, industrial development that neglected environmental issues, urban renewal that destroyed cultural heritage, and an education system that crammed students without valuing talent development. All of these issues serve as significant cautionary lessons for China's economic and social development. Anyone interested in Japan's post-war economic recovery and persistent stagnation should read The Dog and the Ghost. Unlike other Japanese observers, Cole does not blame Japan for the "mistake of chasing the West" in terms of economy and culture. Instead, the author, with brilliant writing and unique insight, comments on why Japan struggles to move forward by failing to better adapt to the needs of the "modern world" in terms of "technology" and "society."