Acknowledgements vii Acronyms and Abbreviations viii Introduction 1 1. In the Beginning 7 2. The Second Time Around: 21 3. Holding Out for the Dream Job 31 4. How I Got the Dream Job 39 5. The Dream Job 45 6. The Martini Marathon 59 7. Sanraku Snares Glenfiddich 69 8. A Foreigner in the Inside 77 9. Corporate Culture 87 10. I Christen Thee Mercian Inc. 93 11. Marketing and Advertising Strategy 101 12. Made in the USA? 109 13.The Japan External Trade Organization New York (JETRO) 121 14. Inside–Inside/Outside Japan 131 15. Smack Dab in the Middle 145 16. Revelation 161 17. Fanning the Friction 173 18. Back to the Boonies but What a Ride 189 19. The Ties that Bind 203 20. Decisions, Decisions 217 21. The Last Piece in the Puzzle 225 22. Special Status Corporations 233 23. Japan Inc.: Indestructible but Destructive 243 Index 268 About the Author 276
This book’s commentary demonstrates: i) the consequences of historic protectionist trade policies and isolationism for Japan’s current economy; ii) the factors which contribute to the self-perpetuating nature of a system which frustrates reform; iii) the resurgence of a strong nationalism; iv) the enduring relationship between government and business; v) an understanding of the similarities with other non-market driven economies where government and business are intertwined; vi) the parallels between the experience of Japan following the 1990 Financial Crisis and events in the West since 2008.The book explains how the author's experiences in Japan Inc. allowed her to predict what is happening currently regarding US-Japan trade relations, to predict the expansion of Japan’s military and to predict that nothing fundamental would change in Japan's political economic system.
n 1988, at the height of the asset-inflated economic bubble in Japan, Dr Carpenter was employed as the first non-Japanese staff in a major Japanese pharmaceutical and liquor producer to launch foreign brands onto the Japanese market and to negotiate joint ventures with foreign producers. During the first Gulf War Dr Carpenter worked in a Japanese commercial television station and, during Japan's first "lost decade," she worked for Japanese government agencies, including the primary lender to SMEs and the state import-export bank that provided trade insurance to Japanese heavy industries. She holds a doctorate from the University of Edinburgh Business School where she lectured on Japanese political economy and served as the Director of the MSc in International Business and Emerging Markets. Dr Carpenter operated a small business in New York State with a former Vice President of Nippon Telephone and Telegraph (NTT). Carpenter Kano Associates consulted on regional high-tech small business development for Japanese industry. From 2009 to 2016 she was the CEO of International Markets Analysts Ltd. The company conducted political and economic country risk analyses of international financial markets and engaged in the development of Scottish start-ups.
