How Asia Got Rich: Japan, China and the Asian Miracle: Japan, China and the Asian Miracle (Studies of the Pacific Basin Institute)

This Panaoramic Work Describes How Japan's Centuries-old Fascination With China Has Been A Platform For Its Post-war Growth Strategy As Well As A Magnet Drawing Japan Back Into A Deeper Relationship With Asia. The Author Argues That After Years Of Self-imposed Isolation Japan Is Actively Seeking New Alliances With Its Asian Neighbors That May Ultimately Supplant Its Cold War Pact With The United States. She Tracks The Enormous Recent Outpouring Of Japanese Investment And Official Assistance To Asia As Part Of Longstanding Efforts To Enhance Japanese Security. And She Suggests That The Culmination Of These Efforts Has Been The Invention Of A New Capitalist Ideology That Runs Counter To The Convergence Theories Of Free Market Capitalism And Creates A Powerful Current Against Globalization. Foreword / Chalmers Johnson -- Coming Home -- Flying Geese -- Second Invasion -- Tsunami -- Crisis? What Crisis? -- Miracle Makers -- Japan's Lost Decade -- Legacy -- Sphere Of The Sun -- Japan Adrift -- Vortex -- Paradigm Lost. Edith Terry ; Foreword By Chalmers Johnson. An East Gate Book. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 635-668) And Index. Within a few short months in 1997, Asian economies that had been considered not only healthy but "miraculous" suddenly fell off a precipice as investors withdrew massively first from Asian currencies and, in rapid order, from equity markets across the region. On October 27 1997, the turmoil in Asian markets spooked Wall Street in the largest single-day decline in history, a drop of 550 points. It was predicted that the Asian crash could drive the US trade deficit from $191 billion to $300 billion by 1998, creating huge new tensions in relations with some of the largest US trading partners. These wrenching changes, following a generation of success, raise numerous questions about the steps that led to the crisis, its likely outcome and the limits and constraints of "Asian capitalism". Edith Terry presents a blow-by-blow account of the crisis, beginning with the 1996 collapse of the Bangkok Bank of Commerce. In her overview, she links the fall of the Asian miracle with the theme of globalization, arguing that the crisis demonstrates the urgency of dismantling restraints to trade, investment, and financial services, and that the United States should take leadership in pushing for new and sweeping reform through the World Trade Organization and in bilateral negotiations with its trading partners. The final section of the book deals with the rise of the "Asian miracle" - how the myth was created, who created it, why it succeeded for so long - and is informed by analysis of the Japanese prototype. The East Asian Miracle was widely touted in the western press as being a vindication of American-style laissez-faire economics. Hong Kong based journalist Terry suggests that this triumphalism is both premature and misguided. She argues that Japan offers an alternative model to the globalization of the Washington Consensus and that Japanese promotion of that model in neighboring countries shows the possibilities of globalization with many regionalisms. She traces the process by which Japan transitioned from having a single country industrial strategy to its challenging the economic ideology of the World Bank and the U.S. government. She locates the origins of this challenge in the grand sweep of Japan's global strategy vis- á-vis China, as they envision a time when they will no longer have the United States as a military or economic protector. Annotation c. Book News, Inc.,Portland, OR A lively, in-depth examination of the 1997 crash of the Asian economy, including the history, ramifications, and predictions for the future. In her overview, the author links the fall of the Asian miracle with the theme of globalization, arguing that the crisis demonstrates the urgency of dismantling restraints to trade, investment, and financial services, and that the United States should take leadership in pushing for new and sweeping reform through the World Trade Organization and in bilateral negotiations with its trading partners. The final section of the book deals with the rise of the "Asian miracle" -- how the myth was created, who created it, why it succeeded for so long -- and is informed by thoughtful analysis of the Japanese prototype.