Japan Works

The postwar miracle, says John Price, made Japan and its corporations the toast of the global village, with scholars across the United States pointing to Japan as the model for future enterprise. The economic bubble burst, however, in 1989, and Price...

John Price is Research Associate at the Institute of Asian Research, University of British Columbia. He is also Instructor in the Labour Studies Programme of Capilano College in Vancouver.

This book offers fresh insights into the political economy of Japanese production systems and the rise of lean production.

Important... This book's significance lies in its careful reconstruction of the roots of 'lean production.'

Japan Works is an important book for those interested in understanding contemporary Japanese industrial relations.... Japan Works has raised our awareness of the dangers in simplifying the complex interactions between management and labor and the need for a more detailed and complete understanding of Japanese industrial relations. John Price has made an important contribution to the literature on Japanese management and labor. This book is mandatory reading for all those interested in Japan and the origins of the modern industrial relations system.

Japan Works is a serious attempt to explore the social traits of Japanese industrial relations. Price starts from the lean production debate and proceeds to investigate the following paradox of Japanese factory life derived from the debate. Why should workers have to work harder if the system is more efficient? Japan Works is a valuable contribution.