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Reimagining Japan: The Quest for a Future That Works
REMINGINING Contributors to this volume include some of the world’s most brilliant thinkers from fields as diverse as business, politics, academia, science and technology, journalism and art and design.
In the aftermath of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis of March 2011, Japan has become a bigger part of the world’s consciousness than it has been for years. But Japan also is grappling with other problems that, over the long run, pose a much greater challenge to its national well-being than the devastation in Tohoku.... How can the country compete with a rising China? Cope with a fast-aging society? Deal with its enormous debt? Rediscover its entrepreneurial verve? Regain its position as a leader in technology and innovation? In Reimagining Japan , McKinsey & Company, the world’s top management consulting firm, asked more than 80 global leaders and experts to consider these questions. In essays brimming with insight, affection and occasional humor, the authors offer their assessments of Japan’s past, present and --most important -- future. What sets Reimagining Japan apart is the breadth and diversity of its contributors. They range from Fortune 500 CEOs to acclaimed writers (including three Pulitzer Prize winners) to a star videogame creator, a soccer coach, a school principal and a manga artist. There has not been such a comprehensive book about Japan in the past generation - and perhaps ever.
NOTABLE CONTRIBUTORS
Bernard Arnault, Ian Buruma, Gerald Curtis, John Chambers, Steven Covey, John Dower, Bill Emmott, Victor Fung, Carlos Ghosn, Pico Iyer, Bob McDonald, Stephen Roach, Masahiro Sakane, Masayoshi Son, Howard Schultz, Klaus Schwab, Bobby Valentine, Steve Van Andel, Ezra Vogel, Robert Whiting, Tadashi Yanai and more than 50 others.
In the aftermath of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis of March 2011, Japan has become a bigger part of the world’s consciousness than it has been for years. But Japan also is grappling with other problems that, over the long run, pose a much greater challenge to its national well-being than the devastation in Tohoku.... How can the country compete with a rising China? Cope with a fast-aging society? Deal with its enormous debt? Rediscover its entrepreneurial verve? Regain its position as a leader in technology and innovation? In Reimagining Japan , McKinsey & Company, the world’s top management consulting firm, asked more than 80 global leaders and experts to consider these questions. In essays brimming with insight, affection and occasional humor, the authors offer their assessments of Japan’s past, present and --most important -- future. What sets Reimagining Japan apart is the breadth and diversity of its contributors. They range from Fortune 500 CEOs to acclaimed writers (including three Pulitzer Prize winners) to a star videogame creator, a soccer coach, a school principal and a manga artist. There has not been such a comprehensive book about Japan in the past generation - and perhaps ever.
NOTABLE CONTRIBUTORS
Bernard Arnault, Ian Buruma, Gerald Curtis, John Chambers, Steven Covey, John Dower, Bill Emmott, Victor Fung, Carlos Ghosn, Pico Iyer, Bob McDonald, Stephen Roach, Masahiro Sakane, Masayoshi Son, Howard Schultz, Klaus Schwab, Bobby Valentine, Steve Van Andel, Ezra Vogel, Robert Whiting, Tadashi Yanai and more than 50 others.
- GenresJapanNonfiction
464 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2011
14 people are currently reading
125 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 9, 2013
This collation of micro essays is not for those of us who are avid Japan observers and/or are already familiar with the writings of the authors' works or their views on Japan. If you are one of these people than reading the fulminations of Rakuten's Mikitani and Fast Retailing's Yanai demanding that Japanese change their ways will be nothing new to you. Neither will Dower's views of the non-uniqueness of Japan (and Vogels views of the uniqueness of Japan) or Kerr's disappointment in the country.
As such, I was left with the feeling that there is little "reimagining" and a lot of "rehashing" going on.
As such, I was left with the feeling that there is little "reimagining" and a lot of "rehashing" going on.
July 20, 2013
McKinsey did a good job compiling a smorgasbord of articles that lend credibility to their goal of providing solutions for the problems Japan face today and in the future. The authors include CEOs from multinationals and Japanese nationals, foreign and domestic academics, writers and politicians. There a few throwaways that provide no insight (Alex Kerr) or simply promote their own business (Amway's CEO), but the vast majority of them quickly get to the point that Japan needs to change drastically, which isn't a secret.
The main problems Japan faces are a severely declining population combined with an aging society that will soon result in a huge gap in their workforce, a 20-year stall in their economy and the highest debt-to-GDP ratio in the world (200:1), and a void of new leadership both in the political and the public sphere. Keep in mind, this onslaught is set in a country whose tradition is still strongly rooted in society, and while the Japanese have historically faced great physical change with world-beating acceptance (1923 Great Earthquake, Meiji industrialization, WWII occupation, March 2011 triple-disaster), societal and cultural change comes slower.
The authors coalesced around three general solutions with different ways of getting there.
#1: increase immigration and bring women into the workforce;
#2: reignite their economy by focusing globally rather than domestically and capitalize on new sectors like servicing and caring for the elderly, green technologies and the 'Made in Japan' quality of manufactured goods like fashion and furniture;
#3: re-think the concept of leadership by being less risk adverse, removing the need to build company consensus, becoming a meritocracy rather than rewarding based on Confucian principles of seniority, and importing new leadership models from around the world.
I agree with the solutions presented, but they all work in a top-down approach. This is my one criticism and I understand because more of the writers are the top, but support and buy-in happens on the ground. A top-down approach has traditionally worked in the past, but today is different. Japan's post-war industrial policies meant an economic miracle never seen before, but the bubble has burst and those policies no longer work in a matured, globalized economy. At that time, the people traded their civic voice for a strong social safety net, incredible growth and concepts like lifetime employment. Yet with those being severely threatened or non-existent today, society is less accepting of the top, evidenced by the revolving door of prime ministers and the end of the LDP's 60 year political support. We see a nascent protest culture stirring, be it the recent nuclear protests, the Okinawa-US base removals or even a general refusal by women to buy-in to the family structure if it means they have to pick a career or family. So as much as women need to become part of the workforce, the general populace needs to become part of the decision-making but in a way that pushes the needle forward rather than elongating action to build consensus.
The main problems Japan faces are a severely declining population combined with an aging society that will soon result in a huge gap in their workforce, a 20-year stall in their economy and the highest debt-to-GDP ratio in the world (200:1), and a void of new leadership both in the political and the public sphere. Keep in mind, this onslaught is set in a country whose tradition is still strongly rooted in society, and while the Japanese have historically faced great physical change with world-beating acceptance (1923 Great Earthquake, Meiji industrialization, WWII occupation, March 2011 triple-disaster), societal and cultural change comes slower.
The authors coalesced around three general solutions with different ways of getting there.
#1: increase immigration and bring women into the workforce;
#2: reignite their economy by focusing globally rather than domestically and capitalize on new sectors like servicing and caring for the elderly, green technologies and the 'Made in Japan' quality of manufactured goods like fashion and furniture;
#3: re-think the concept of leadership by being less risk adverse, removing the need to build company consensus, becoming a meritocracy rather than rewarding based on Confucian principles of seniority, and importing new leadership models from around the world.
I agree with the solutions presented, but they all work in a top-down approach. This is my one criticism and I understand because more of the writers are the top, but support and buy-in happens on the ground. A top-down approach has traditionally worked in the past, but today is different. Japan's post-war industrial policies meant an economic miracle never seen before, but the bubble has burst and those policies no longer work in a matured, globalized economy. At that time, the people traded their civic voice for a strong social safety net, incredible growth and concepts like lifetime employment. Yet with those being severely threatened or non-existent today, society is less accepting of the top, evidenced by the revolving door of prime ministers and the end of the LDP's 60 year political support. We see a nascent protest culture stirring, be it the recent nuclear protests, the Okinawa-US base removals or even a general refusal by women to buy-in to the family structure if it means they have to pick a career or family. So as much as women need to become part of the workforce, the general populace needs to become part of the decision-making but in a way that pushes the needle forward rather than elongating action to build consensus.
April 7, 2014
ماكينزي للاستشارات الإدارية (شركة عالمية بسمعة رفيعة) قامت بالإشراف على هذا الكتاب المهم,الفكرة فيه هي تجميع لأراء شخصيات مهمة من حول العالم في مجالات مختلفة عبر مقالات تتصور فيها ماضي وحاضر ومستقبل اليابان,لماذا عانت اليابان من جبال الديون في ازمتها المالية مطلع التسعينيات ؟ ماذا اسقط اليابان من مركزها الثاني كأكبر اقتصاد عالمي امام التنين الصيني في السنوات الأخيرة ؟ كيف تنهض اليابان بعدما جرفت الأمواج العارمة آمال وطموحات هذا الشعب وزادت من همومه وخيباته ؟
الكتاب في تصوري مثل عدسة عملاقة تنظر إلى هذا البلد المنعزل في اقاصي الشرق من جوانب مختلفة (المجتمع الياباني-الاقتصاد الياباني-التعليم في اليابان-تعزيز القيم للجيل القادم من الاطفال وغيرها )
الجيد في مثل هذا الكتاب عدم حاجتك لقرائته بتسلسل لتفهم محتواه,المقالات المختلفة تسمح لك بالتنقل بينها بكل سهولة ولما يثير اهتمامك,بعض المقالات اكثر صعوبة وتحتاج لخلفية وفهم مسبق ربما لأنها من شخصيات رفيعة في شركات او مناصب وزارية سابقة ولهذا صيغة الكتاب تسمح لك بقراءته في اوقات مختلفة والعودة له متى اردت
.......................
لاحظت بعد ما كتبت المراجعة اني وضعته بنسخة الكيندل بالخطأ,انا قرأت الكتاب الورقي بصفحاته الضخمة (النسخة الورقية مميزة وتجذبك للقراءة) ولا اعرف مدة جودة النسخة الألكترونية
الكتاب في تصوري مثل عدسة عملاقة تنظر إلى هذا البلد المنعزل في اقاصي الشرق من جوانب مختلفة (المجتمع الياباني-الاقتصاد الياباني-التعليم في اليابان-تعزيز القيم للجيل القادم من الاطفال وغيرها )
الجيد في مثل هذا الكتاب عدم حاجتك لقرائته بتسلسل لتفهم محتواه,المقالات المختلفة تسمح لك بالتنقل بينها بكل سهولة ولما يثير اهتمامك,بعض المقالات اكثر صعوبة وتحتاج لخلفية وفهم مسبق ربما لأنها من شخصيات رفيعة في شركات او مناصب وزارية سابقة ولهذا صيغة الكتاب تسمح لك بقراءته في اوقات مختلفة والعودة له متى اردت
.......................
لاحظت بعد ما كتبت المراجعة اني وضعته بنسخة الكيندل بالخطأ,انا قرأت الكتاب الورقي بصفحاته الضخمة (النسخة الورقية مميزة وتجذبك للقراءة) ولا اعرف مدة جودة النسخة الألكترونية
Currently reading
May 22, 2012Also still in the middle of this book. It is long.
It's one of those books, I can not read a lot of at once. I usually read one easy and then chew on that for a while. It's opened my eyes to a lot of the problems in Japanese society and a lot of potential solutions for them. Some of the solutions are a bit repetitious. And things move so slow bureaucratically it's hard not to become cynical about it all.
It's one of those books, I can not read a lot of at once. I usually read one easy and then chew on that for a while. It's opened my eyes to a lot of the problems in Japanese society and a lot of potential solutions for them. Some of the solutions are a bit repetitious. And things move so slow bureaucratically it's hard not to become cynical about it all.
May 6, 2012
Finally finished the book after a very long break. Not all the essays were good, but plowing through them sort of gave me a clearer picture of the various issues and challenges Japan is facing today.
January 3, 2013
It's a good book that discusses the impact of the disasters on Japan's society and economy; it's composed of essays written by experts in various fields that offer ideas on how Japan can move forward given the challenges of an aging society, slumping economy, and disaster recovery.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews