Who Rules Japan: The Inner Circles of Economic and Political Power

(Hardback)

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From the ashes of World War II, a group of Japanese elite rose to power, making their nation an industrial giant and economic superpower for decades to come. Now, the spirit of sacrifice and patriotism that originally drove this group has been replaced by the corruption of the present day corporate elite. The course they are charting, predict authors Kerbo and McKinstry, will send Japan spiralling toward self-destruction. This work takes readers into the complex political network of Japan today - a world filled with corporate intrigue, arranged marriages, interlocking families, and growing civic unrest. This book illustrates that Japan has reached a decisive crossroads in its history. Today's leaders must confront a moral and philosophical conflict between preserving their own power or relinquishing their privilege for the prosperity of their country. General readers and scholars with a desire to understand the forces influencing our new world order need to ask, "Who rules Japan". LC 95-7988. ._C4903_

Reviews

In nine chapters, the authors deal with topics like social structure and culture, the postwar and present-day Japanese upper class and the giant corporate conglomerates, the bureaucratic and political elites, uniting for power through intermarriage and networking, and human resource staffing through university and old-school ties. The final chapter is a fascinating account of ideas about the orchestration of culture, groups, control, education, social change, labor, and mass society. Scholars and others interested in the evolving new world order can benefit from this provocative book.-Library Journal
This bold book is recommened for scholars, advanced students, and others interested in probing and understanding Japan's inner struggle.-Journal of Asian Business
"This bold book is recommened for scholars, advanced students, and others interested in probing and understanding Japan's inner struggle."-Journal of Asian Business
"In nine chapters, the authors deal with topics like social structure and culture, the postwar and present-day Japanese upper class and the giant corporate conglomerates, the bureaucratic and political elites, uniting for power through intermarriage and networking, and human resource staffing through university and old-school ties. The final chapter is a fascinating account of ideas about the orchestration of culture, groups, control, education, social change, labor, and mass society. Scholars and others interested in the evolving new world order can benefit from this provocative book."-Library Journal

Author Bio

HAROLD R. KERBO is Professor of Sociology of the Social Sciences Department and Director of the Pacific Rim Group at California Polytechnic State University. He is the author of the widely used textbook, Social Stratification and Inequality: Class Conflict in Historical Perspective, which is now in its third edition. JOHN A. McKINSTRY is Professor of Sociology at California Polytechnic State University. He is the coauthor of Jinsei Annai: Glimpses of Japan Through a Popular Advice Column. Both Kerbo and McKinstry have lived in Japan for a number of years and have taught at several Japanese universities.