cover image The Japanese Power Game: What It Means for America

The Japanese Power Game: What It Means for America

William J. Holstein. Scribner Book Company, $22.95 (339pp) ISBN 978-0-684-19176-8

In this insightful, cautionary, detailed analysis, Business Week staffer Holstein explains how exclusionary cultural and socio-political characteristics make Japan a society ``where economic power is paramount.'' The country's auto and electronic exports to the U.S., factories and supply networks here, as well as large-scale banking and real estate investments are only the beginning of a drive to dominate economically the Pacific Rim and the Americas, according to the author. Yet, he notes, U.S. government and industry have responded to the challenge in an uncoordinated fashion. We must marshall informational, inter-industry, academic and bureaucractic resources, urges Holstein, to counterbalance the Japanese thrust. He offers one consoling surprise: Coca Cola makes more money in Japan that it does in the U.S. (Oct.)