This landmark book is the first general English-language history of technology in modern Japan.

The aim of this book is to evaluate accurately economic development mechanism and to extract valuable lessons from a comparison of the economic development of Japan and that of Germany. The book covers an extensive range of economic issues: (1) macro-economic factors: capital, labor, technology; (2) macro-economic policies: financial, monetary, industrial; (3) external shocks to both economies: oil crises, exchange rate fluctuations, environmental problems; (4) development processes of major industries: steel, chemicals, and automobiles. The analyses with this systematic and comprehensive approach provide useful insights for the general reader as well as guidelines for developing countries and for Eastern European countries in transition.

This study focuses on technology transfer in the steel mini-mill industry. It identifies two central issues: how capacity is built and how demand is sustained, developing a three-dimensional perspective to bring into sharp focus the desirability and necessity of technology transfer. The three-dimensional perspective focuses on the changes in the marketplace for flat steel sheets, the responsiveness and sensitivity to these market changes, and applying the best available technology to obtain a high quality product. Prior to this study, technology transfer has been examined in a bivariate relationship, namely, how technology transfer contributed to the development process in developing countries and Newly Industrialized Countries (NICs). The framework formulated in this study showed that Japan was lagging behind all the steel-producing countries because, like the NICs, it imported the physical and organizational technologies that fostered its prosperity. Based on primary and secondary research, this study revealed that high levels of operational efficiency and sophisticated product quality were achieved through continuous improvement culminating in Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) consisting of Real Time Process Control. On the other hand, the research also revealed that China based the improvement of its steel industry on self-reliance combined with judicious selection of foreign collaboration. The theoretical underpinnings of the crucial issues in this study led to the development of an interactive model of technology transfer based upon stock and flow variables.

'...a tightly argued and excellent book.' - William D. Wray, Journal of Japanese Studies How did Japan, despite her lack of natural resources, become the world's leading iron and steel producing country? This book examines how the collaboration between government and industry created this economic miracle.

Drawing upon case studies of the steel industry in the US, Japan, South Korea, Brazil and India, this book explains how and why the steel industry has shifted from advanced capitalist countries to late industrializing countries. Anthony P. D'Costa examines the relationship between industrial change and institutional responses to technological diffu

Provides a general overview of literature relating to Japan and covers a broad range of subject matter, from art, feminism, and linguistics, to corporate culture, history, and medicine. Includes books published since 1980 that are related to the geographical area of Japan and to Japanese culture within that area.