Forbes Asia, Asia Times Reviews of My New Book
I’m so gratified that Forbes Asia and the Asia Times each saw fit to write a review of my new book on reviving entrepreneurship in Japan:
From the Forbes review (click here):
“Japan has so much to gain by doing the right things, and so much to lose by failing to do so,” Katz writes. “And because of trends that no one planned—shifts in generational attitudes and technology, aging, and the political stresses caused by low growth—doing the right things would cause far less initial hardship and resentment than Japan’s leaders have feared.”
This, Katz writes, “is what makes this Japan’s greatest opportunity in a generation. What a tragedy it would be if Japan were to throw away its best shot at doing again what it used to do so well: generating tens of thousands of new, innovative companies that propel above-par growth.”
…..Katz’s deep research—much of it informed by interviews with young entrepreneurs—is brimming with ideas to resurrect the reform process. “On the surface,” Katz writes, “the economy seems intractably stagnant and politics disappointingly unresponsive. Beneath the surface, reason for hope arises from” big changes “that add up to a tectonic shift in civil society.”
From the Asia Times (click here):
Richard Katz sees light at the end of the tunnel for the perpetually low-growth Japanese economy. In his new book, “The Contest for Japan’s Economic Future: Entrepreneurs vs. Corporate Giants“, Katz declares that: “For the first time in a generation, Japan has the potential to rewrite its story. On the surface, the economy seems intractably stagnant and politics disappointingly unresponsive. Beneath the surface, reason for hope arises from six megatrends that add up to a tectonic shift in civil society. These include generational shifts in all sorts of attitudes, technological changes that alter the power balance between incumbents and newcomers, shifts in gender relations, the ramifications of the demographic crunch, the stimulative effects of globalization, and the political stresses induced by low economic growth.” Katz is an experienced economic analyst and writer well-known to those of us who follow the Japanese economy.
I’ll be speaking on the book on Jan. 23 (in US)/Jan. 24 (in Japan). To register for free, click https://bit.ly/3tQn8cc
To order the book:
I've read the book once and plan to do so again. It's an extraordinary 'labor of love' by an author who knows Japan so intimately through decades of experience. I really hope that the Japanese edition will come out soon because it's the Japanese themselves who need to be convinced of the urgent need for bold reforms and new thinking. It's ironic that such a book (with 30 pages of references) should have been written by a foreigner rather than by a native Japanese person living in Japan.
Just ordered the book and I'm so excited! After all the amazing journalism you've given us here, I can only assume that something written with even more diligence and passion will be an extraordinary read! (oh, heads up, the Forbes link also takes you to Asia times)