Japan on the Upswing: Why the Bubble Burst and Japan's Economic RenewalJapan's effervescent economy, charging ahead in the late 1980s under the stimulation of a two and a half percent prime rate, shook American confidence ... until the bubble burst in 1989, leaving banks saddled with over $200 billion in bad loans. Iwamoto shows how and why the lenders racked up all this uncollectible debt, who took advantage of whom and how actions by business and government officials contributed to the crisis. Along the way, his illustrative examples share some of the flavor of business life in Japan including the academic cliques and mobster clans, the after-hours camaraderie and the legendary "entertainment" that was used to evade inspections by the Ministry of Finance. The author then describes Prime Minister Koizumi's initiatives that halved the bad loans by March 2005 and inspired foreign investors to bring back their cash. With strong exports, increasing capital investment and decreasing unemployment, Japan is truly on the upswing. Koizumi's party reaped the benefit with a landslide victory in the September 2005 general election, and he continues to push for further restructuring. The author goes on to identify and describe the 20 most successful companies in Japan this year, and gives clues as to what makes them thrive. Many aspects of Japan's economy are highlighted in tables and statistics, from "Differences in Pay Scale by Type of Industry" to "Results at Seven Mega Banking Groups and Forecast for March 31, 2006," plus balance sheets of companies like Toyota, Shiseido and McDonald's Japan |
Contents
| 1 | |
| 5 | |
| 9 | |
| 27 | |
Lending Activities and Crises | 41 |
Chapter 4 Trade Credit | 51 |
Chapter 5 SelfInduced Recession | 63 |
Chapter 6 Financial Institutions in the Millennium | 79 |
Table of Contents | vii |
List of Tables and Figures | xi |
Preface | 1 |
Part 1 Misguidance and Miscalculations from 1990 to 2002 | 5 |
What Happened in Japanese Finance | 9 |
Chapter 2 Scandals Involving MOF Officials | 27 |
Lending Activities and Crises | 41 |
Chapter 4 Trade Credit | 51 |
Chapter 7 The Takenaka Scheme | 91 |
Chapter 8 Racketeers in Business | 105 |
Part 2 Rebuilders | 121 |
Chapter 9 A ProBusiness Environment | 123 |
Chapter 10 Upheaval on a Massive Scale | 131 |
Chapter 11 Adequate Government Action and the Stock Market | 151 |
Chapter 12 Companies Doing Well | 165 |
Part 3 Epilogue | 205 |
The Japanese Economy Continues Its Upswing | 207 |
Select Bibliography | 221 |
Acknowledgements | 227 |
Index | 229 |
Japan on the Upswing | iii |
Japan on the Upswing | v |
Chapter 5 SelfInduced Recession | 63 |
Chapter 6 Financial Institutions in the Millennium | 79 |
Chapter 7 The Takenaka Scheme | 91 |
Chapter 8 Racketeers in Business | 105 |
Part 2 Rebuilders | 121 |
Chapter 9 A ProBusiness Environment | 123 |
Chapter 10 Upheaval on a Massive Scale | 131 |
Chapter 11 Adequate Government Action and the Stock Market | 151 |
Chapter 12 Companies Doing Well | 165 |
Part 3 Epilogue | 205 |
The Japanese Economy Continues Its Upswing | 207 |
Select Bibliography | 221 |
Acknowledgements | 227 |
| 229 | |
Other editions - View all
Japan on the Upswing: Why the Bubble Burst and Japan's Economic Renewal Yoshiyuki Iwamoto Limited preview - 2006 |
Japan on the Upswing: Why the Bubble Burst and Japan's Economic Renewal Yoshiyuki Iwamoto No preview available - 2006 |
Common terms and phrases
accounts amount assets bad loans Balance Sheet Bank of Japan bankers billion BOJ Governor brokerage houses bubble buying Canon cash Chairman China commercial and trust corporations and manufacturers debt deflation Dentsu employees ended March 31 Enix Epson equity capital exports FANUC Financial Services Agency Fukui Fukushima funds game software increase industry inspectors investment investors Ito-Yokado Japanese economy Jyusen Kiichi Miyazawa Koike land prices March 31 Matsushita Electric mega banks Minister Takenaka Ministry Mitarai Miyazawa MOF officials MOF-Tan months Nihon Keizai Shimbun Nikkei Stock Average operating Panasonic payable-trade Prime Minister Koizumi prior profit promissory notes ratio real estate receivable-trade Resona Bank Seiko Seiko Epson selling Seven Eleven shareholders shares Shimbunsha Sokaiya Sony stock prices Suzuki Term ended March Tokyo Stock Exchange top management Toyota trading trillion trust banks Yomiuri Shimbun
Popular passages
Page 33 - MOF and became an external organ of the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications. In the FY2003 budget, an increase of 162 personnel was included.
Page 24 - The memorandum thus exchanged between the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is a highly important document.