Japan and China

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Japan 

1945 -89

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1.1.  Dedication and determination to

      succeed- Samurai  inspired commitment and determination.

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2.   New physical infrastructure and equipment installed after 

      war devastation.

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3.  Beneficiary of American cold war politics. American 

     reconstruction aid was given to offset the spread of communism:

     SONY received funding from the Agency for International Development (AID).

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4.   Huge profits from the Korean War of 1953 and the Vietnam War in 

      the 1960s (Mazda Motors/U.S. war jeeps).

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5.   High allocation of funds to R&D.

6.   Successful industrial espionage and reverse engineering.

7.   Protectionism via the Ministry of International Trade 

      and Industry (MITI).

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8.   Close alliance of state and industry.

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9.   Shrewd export policy focused on increased market share 

      not profit making.

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10.   High labor productivity from skilled workers.

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11.   Creative management  strategies; lifetime employment 

        traded for loyalty to the company.  Seniority based pay

        was a major principle.The company was viewed as a social

       community

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12.   Huge investments followed by   losses   in Southeast 

        Asia after   1997.

13.   The fall of Yamaichi Securities

        and other banks in the 1990s

14.   Political instability.

15.    Outsourcing to South Korea and SE Asian countries.

16.    Death from overwork (karoshi) and high suicide rates

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    Problems in the 1990s

17.    •Bribery and Corruption;

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18.    •Bad loans to Southeast Asia and also locally;

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19.    •Employee Benefits scaled back with new short  

         term contracts and non-regular employment;

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20.     •Recession and bankruptcy of large corporations 

          such as Yamaichi Securities and several banks;

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21.     •Continued claims for reparations for forced labor  

          by Koreans and Southeast Asians. The so-called 

         ‘comfort women’  from  the Phillipines have 

          received  some compensation. Inadequate?

 

         Recovery: 2002 to present

 

•22.     The first commercial hybrid car, the  Toyota Prius- 

          first launched in 1997- has contributed to the present  

          upswing;Toyota innovation, efficiency and environmentally

          friendly technology an asset;

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23.     •Restructuring of companies & banking system. Changes in

          corporate law to force greater transparency; Increase in shares held 

          by foreigners to 28% 2007;

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•24.     A shift towards performance based pay/pay by merit; 

          Decline of the loyal dawn-to -midnight  employee and a shifting 

          of worker attitudes against corporate paternalism. Decline of the 

          lifetime employment  model which included automatic increases 

           and a lump sum bonus after 30 years. Introduction of portable 

           pensions which can be waived for higher salaries;

•25.      A shrinking work force;

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•26.      Low productivity in the service sector

 

CHINA

1.    Unification of China  during the Chin dynasty 221BCE; Construction of   parts of the Great Wall;

2.    Power struggles with and colonization by the Mongols (Yuan Dynasty: 1276-1368);

3.   The Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) and inauguration of Chinese- African contact

       and sea exploration-  during the era of Zheng He the  famous  Muslim Chinese navigator;

4.   Start of the The Qing (Ching or Manchu) Dynasty: 1644-1911

5.   The Opium War:  1839 – 42;

6.    The Taiping Rebellion:   1850-64;

7.     Fall of the Ching or Manchu dynasty: 1912

         The ERA OF COMMUNISM

 

  Creation of  Communist China  under  the direction of Mao Zedong 

 (Chairman Mao): 1949;

 

 Conflict   between the CCP and the Kuomintang 

  or KMT that retreated to Taiwan and  formed a parallel government;

 

 The Great Leap Forward -  with huge communes and strict 

  centralization and collectivization;

 

 A major famine: 1958-61;

 

 Cultural Revolution -   book burning  and  anti-intellectual 

campaigns: 1966-76;

 

 Death of Chairman Mao 1976;

The era  of  reform under Deng Xiaoping who encouraged study abroad,

 and repudiated some of Mao’s policies: 1981-1997;

 

 •The Tiananmen Massacre of 1989-   the call for

 democratization by Chinese  students - ignored by  most of the 

leadership,  including  Deng  Xiaoping;

 

• Reunification with Hong Kong in the context of a 

 ‘one country- two systems’ model;

 

•  2000 to present, the evolution of  mutually beneficial

 relations with Africa.

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              •Gloria Emeagwali 2008

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