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Toyota Is a Symptom of Japan's Decline
By Devin T. Stewart
March 10, 2010
CREDIT: Gustavo Veríssimo (CC).
And now this. Toyota is getting lampooned all over the world in cartoons about runaway cars. Japan's reputation for manufacturing excellence, nurtured for half a century, is now in question. Shielded by the U.S. defense umbrella after World War II, Japan focused its energy and money on building up only one aspect of national power: quality manufacturing. A foreign policy commensurate with Japan's economic strength was subordinated to industrial policies aimed at creating the world's best export factories. No matter how quickly Chinese and South Korean rivals grew, Japan could argue that its key competitive advantage was the quality of its brands. "Toyota was a symbol of recovery during our long recession," says Ryo Sahashi, a public-policy expert at the University of Tokyo. Now Toyota's trouble "has damaged confidence in Japanese business models and the economy at a time when China is surpassing us."
External Link: Continue reading at Newsweek.com
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