Endorsements for My Book From Heizo Takenaka and Other Notables

Talk at Temple University Japan Campus, Feb. 8th at 18:30

On the evening of Feb. 8, I will be giving a talk at Temple University’s Tokyo campus about my new book on reviving entrepreneurship in Japan. To see the information, click Talk at Temple. Please RSVP if you wish to come, so they will know how many people are coming and, if necessary, get a bigger room.

Meanwhile, I’m honored that Heizo Takenaka and other notables have endorsed my book on reviving entrepreneurship in Japan. Takenaka is best known for resolving Japan’s bank debt crisis under Koizumi. Gerald Curtis is one of America’s most prominent experts on Japanese politics, having met every Prime Minister since Sato back in the 1960s. Bill Emmott, a former editor-in-chief of The Economist, has written several books on Japan. Zoltan Acs and David Audretsch are two of the most widely-cited global experts on entrepreneurship. Here’s what they had to say:

"Richard Katz, who knows Japan's economy and society inside and out, offers a book full of careful analysis and bold recommendations. It is a precious wake-up call to a Japan that sometimes acts like a frog that stays in boiling water." -- Heizo Takenaka, Former Japanese Minister for Financial Services and former Minister for Economic and Fiscal Policy

"For years, Japan has sorely needed to unleash the sort of creative energy that made it an economic superstar in the postwar decades. This highly original book provides evidence that digital technology, new generational attitudes, improving gender equality, and international inspirations are converging with demographic pressures and emerging government support in ways that create the possibility of a new burst of entrepreneurial vigor." -- Bill Emmott, Former Editor-in-Chief, The Economist

"Richard Katz looks beyond Japan's institutional rigidities, complacency, and aversion to risk to explore important new 'megatrends' that hold the possibility of a rebirth of the entrepreneurial spirit that fueled postwar Japan's economic miracle. Hopeful, insightful, and written with verve, The Contest for Japan's Economic Future deserves to be read by anyone concerned about Japan's future trajectory." -- Gerald Curtis, Columbia University

"Richard Katz provides a fresh, up-to-date analysis of an important topic that has bewitched two generations of scholars. While many have proposed that the solution to Japan's economic problems lies in reforming the big incumbents, Katz argues that generating a host of new companies is at least as indispensable." -- Zoltan Acs, George Mason University

"This important new book challenges the conventional thinking that Japan is doomed to suffer from a paucity of entrepreneurship. Rather, its penetrating analysis of significant contemporary developments provides a compelling case for an entrepreneurial renaissance in Japan." -- David Audretsch, Author of Creating Competitiveness: Entrepreneurship and Innovation Policies for Growth

The book is available in hardcover and e-reader formats. In e-reader format, it is being sold for $17.99 on US sites, but more in Japan and some other countries. If you do read it, find it helpful, and think others would also enjoy it, it would be great to support it by recommending it on your social media sites and/or making a comment on Amazon and other sites.