Class 2: Asian Pacific Region Overview
Class 3: Brief History
Class 4/5: Asia Pacific Development Model
Class 6: Japan’s Lost Decades
Class 7: Japan’s Lost Decades (b)

Firms started using external sources, firms were using profits and reinvesting instead of borrowing
Banks lost customers within keiretsu, started giving companies that they didn’t do due diligence on, gave bad loans -> excessive credit, prices of land kept rising (used land as collateral, traded and bought land instead of doing business

Class 8/9: Japan’s Retailers and Consumers
Class 10: South Korea: Chaebol Reform
Class 11: Japan and S Korea: Future Prospects

Class 12: Social Etiquette in Confucian Societies
China:
HK:
Taiwan:
Japan:
South Korea:
Singapore:

Readings:
The Radio that Changed the World
Akio Morita partnered with Masaru Ibuka to create start up venture Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corp -> later Sony, after WWII (bomb dropped in Hiroshima)
Morita highly impacted by his experiences in the war and the technological prowess of USA -> wanted to contribute to Japan’s recovery “to reconstruct Japan and to elevate the nation’s culture through dynamic technological and manufacturing activies”
Inspired by Philips from the Netherlands: world class tech from a small agricultural nation
Morita became the most famous personality of Japan’s Miracle (spearheaded by Sony)
“a great patriot yet…knew that Japan had to excel by relating to other countries rather than separating itself from them” innate talent and curiousity for consumer behaviour, future tech and social trends, and always wanted to figure out how new tech worked
“idleness leads to sickness” always active changed the perception of Asian capabilities : from inferior knock-offs to superior quality -> Sony Walkman
The transistor: breakthrough technology that Morita and Ibuka believed could transform modern technology
Western Electric had patent on the transistor but did not see huge potential, Morita’s charm and passion convinced VP of WE but agreement required MITI to be on board (MITI controlled hard currency that Sony needed for transistor royalties)
MITI thought Sony was too small to undertake the brand new technology
Ibuka changed the bureaucrats’ minds by taking MITI officials to tour Sony’s HQ and vision
“we intend to proceed with or without you, but if you approve our deal with WE you’ll look smart” received approval from MITI after 6 months

HISTORY – 1853 how Matthew Perry’s threats to Japan propelled Japanese leadership
Japan ruled by Tokugawa shoguns, kept sealed from foreigners, when Perry arrived at the coast of Tokyo, he threatened that Japan would either accept or face “sufficient force”
Humiliation from Perry and later foreign powers mixed with dissatisfaction with Tokugawa government acted as catalyst for major change: the Meiji Restoration (restored the Meiji emperor as preeminent power)
Fukoku-kyohei: “enriching the country, strengthening the military”
Began rapidly importing foreign technology and institutional frameworks, not to copy, but to borrow and ultimately compete with the most advanced economies
Meiji leadership did not trust “laissez-faire” economics, state was heavily involved
To stimulate domestic production and increase exports
Japan’s defeat in WWII intensified its desire to catch up to the West: Obei ni oikose “overtake Europe and America” -> produced the Asian Model –state played leading role in econ dev.
Shigeru Sahasi: Mr.MITI/Monster Sahashi: made MITI command central for the Asian model
Wanted to create new comparative advantages to push economy into heavy industries that require tech expertise and larger investments to generate higher wages and top value exports
Industrial policy: method by which government ensures necessary resources are allocated to designated sectors (industries targeted for their growth potential internationally)
MITI, finance ministry, and central bank cooperated to create