I have to disagree with some of Gregory Clark's comments at the end of his Sept. 21 article, "The Japanese knack for choking in a slump," as they seem out of touch with the Japanese business community that I see.
• "Unlike America's, Japan's collapse does not harm the world economy greatly. But it has done enormous damage to Japan's prestige and confidence": With Japanese companies looking to acquire companies in the United States and Australia, I would say Japanese confidence abroad is pretty good. Japanese companies seem to be stepping up to bring diverse management practices to Japan while showcasing Japanese management practices abroad. Just ask China, Southeast Asia, India, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and half of Europe what Japan means to their economies.
• "That the government is reduced to promoting manga and anime as Japan's contributions to world civilization shows just how far the mighty have fallen": Check out Detroit. I would say the Japanese are exporting more than just manga and anime, since the U.S. auto industry is scampering to catch up with Toyota's aggressive assault on world market share.
When will the U.S. take Japan's lead in backing a company that actually retools its plants to produce better cars? Perhaps when Toyota and Nissan buy out Ford and GM. Instead of slashing jobs, why won't U.S. companies take a lesson from the Japanese and retrain workers to produce better cars?
• "When the Malaysians and others 'look east' for models, they now look to China's economy, not Japan's": If destroying the environment and suppressing human rights is a good model to follow, Asia is in for a world of hurt. Other Asian countries don't have China's land or human resources. Japanese companies invest abroad while innovating at home. I would say that most Asian nations (India aside) represent a topography and resource base similar to Japan.
Japan's business community seems to understand that it has to retool and move in a different direction to meet the challenges of an increasingly competitive marketplace.