Description
Book SynopsisA concise yet penetrating overview of Japan, from a historical, social, political, economic, and cultural perspective.
Trade ReviewMurphy is very persuasive in building a case for his solutions for bringing real change to Japanese politics and foreign relations ... The most fundamental of his prescriptions, though, is undeniably necessary: the Japanese government and people must, for their own sake "confront what put their country in the hands of those who destroyed its independence and made it a byword abroad for brutal, inhuman fanaticism. Trying to bury accounts of what actually happened with fables of a pure and virtuous land, as Abe seeks to do, is simply a way of making it more likely that something similar will happen again soon". * Morgan Giles, Times Literary Supplement *
Without doubt, this is the most important book on Japan by a non-Japanese writer to have appeared in the last two decades. It should be required reading for anyone professing to know Japan or wishing to teach others about it. * BCCJ Acumen, Ian de Stains OBE *
[An] insightful analysis of what ails Japan. * Economist *
Taggart Murphy knows his Japanese history. His theories about Japan's political economy shed interesting light on the country. * Financial Times, David Pilling *
Japan and the Shackles of the Past is an excellent -- and engagingly written -- introduction to Japan, and a thought-provoking work of political and economic analysis (with quite a few lessons for America and other nations, too). * Complete Review *
Murphy sheds much light on Japans current dependence upon the U.S. for maintenance of its political system and its future prospects, closing with an in-depth analysis of the current administration. * Publishers Weekly *
Taggart Murphy has crafted a precise and highly critical analysis of Japan's problems. * Satyajit Das, Naked Capitalism *
Table of ContentsTable of Contents ; Acknowledgements ; Introduction: Does Japan Still Matter? ; Part One: Past ; Chapter One: Japan Before the Edo Period. ; Chapter Two: The Incubation of the Modern Japanese State. ; Chapter Three: Restoration to Occupation ; Chapter Four: The Miracle ; Chapter Five: The Institutions of High-speed Growth ; Chapter Six: Consequences (Intended and Otherwise) ; Part Two: Present ; Chapter Seven: Economy and Finance ; Chapter Eight: Business ; Chapter Nine: Social and Cultural Change ; Chapter Ten: Politics ; Chapter Eleven: Japan and the World ; Suggestions for Further Reading ; Notes
