Do the revisionists have any clothes? Bradley Richardson argues that the interpretations of Japan popularized by the revisionist school do not bear scrutiny and that the political economy of Japan is far more complex than is asserted by authors such as Chalmers Johnson, Karel Van Wolferen, Clyde Prestowitz and James Fallows. He also defends Japanese democracy, suggesting that it is far more robust and pluralistic than prevailing media images would suggest.
In debunking what he views as the key shibboleths about Japan, the author has set an ambitious and controversial agenda. Certainly few readers will finish this book without reassessing their opinions about Japan, Inc., the development state and the Iron Triangle (big business, the bureaucracy and the Liberal Democratic Party).
The major problem with challenging the so-called revisionist school is that the term is a convenient rubric covering a wide range of interpretations. There are considerable differences, for example, between the strong, centralized state of Johnson and the "donut" state of Van Wolferen.