Reviewed by Anthony Fensom Striking with a magnitude of 6.8, the severe earthquake that struck Niigata Prefecture and its surrounds on July 16, 2007, left a trail of destruction in its wake, killing seven people, injuring over 830 and destroying 500 homes.
But for Japan's powerful auto sector, the main damage came from the brief closure of a single factory in Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture. For over a week, the entire industry was virtually shut down while piston ring maker Riken Corp. worked to resume operations at its key plant.
While they may not be household names, Japan's specialist manufacturers like Riken have come to occupy such key quasi-monopoly positions that their economic well-being is now vital to the national — and international — industry structure. Their achievement of this privileged status and growth as "leading medium-size enterprises" (LMEs) is the study of Ferguson Evans in his wide-ranging debut book, "The Rise of the Japanese Specialist Manufacturer."