Assembled in Japan: Electrical Goods and the Making of the Japanese Consumer

Recently I have read the following book. Its main points are as follows:

Book title: Partner, Simon. 2000. Assembled in Japan: Electrical Goods and the Making of the Japanese Consumer. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Main points:

- the goal of the book was to examine the arrival of a mass consumer society in Japan (2).

-Partner argues that one of the keys to the prosperity of the electrical goods industry was the creation of a middle-class consuming public. By end of 1950s, consensus had emerged that consumption was a key ingredient in the political economy of high growth. There was an issue about the gender role. It entered the book in two ways:  companies came to see the housewife as a decision maker and manager of household consumption. At the same time electrical goods companies depended on the female workers to work for extremely low wages (3).

- Behind the growth of postwar Japanese electronic goods industry laid a profound continuity. Everything happened in the 1950s and 60s, including technologies, consumer culture, government policies and high growth had its antecedent in the prewar and war time eras (4).

Ch. One talks about the technologies and consumer culture, government policies and high growth that had its antecedent in the prewar and war time era. Yet continuities of growth and government policy were not enough in explaining the dynamic of Japan’s electrical technology. In explaining the role in the creation and growth of mass consumer market which came to Japan with explosive suddenness in the mid-1950s and helped Japanese electrical goods to achieve international competitiveness, the single most powerful motive propelling Japans’ technology development was the nation’s urge to achieve military parity with the West (42).

Ch.two. Notably the absent from MITI’s vision of Japanese’s economic future was the consumer. The consensus that personal consumption should play an important role in Japan’s economy and social recover did not emerge until several years later as discussed in chapter 5. This chapter concluded that the occupation years represent a fascinating period in 20^th century Japanese history. There were many forces at work. Both the American and Japanese tried to develop plans to introduce essential into Japan, but in most cases the motive was for personal gains. Between them, these diverse interest developed something approach a common vision for the future of Japan. The introduction of foreign technology was one key. Another was the creation a middle-class society structure that had mass demand for consumer goods. The third factor was the emphasis on the technology of mass communication with TV in particular. Cheap labor was a recipe for prosperity. (70)

Ch. 3 - the book argues that while entrepreneurs saw immense business opportunities in the emerging new technologies of mass communication, a newspaper manager Shoriki forged alliance with politicians, bureaucrats, and investors to bring television to Japan.In the conclusion, Partner argues that a common argument had credit the rapid introduction TV to MITI’s prescient industrial targeting. This argument failed to stand on its own. If MITI did see the potential in domestic television industry, it certainly failed to envision the development of an export powerhouse. (105)

Ch. 4 argues that the feast of technology represent only part of the story. Japanese companies had developed not only new products but also marketed their products. Japanese companies imported a wide range of production, management and marketing technique.

Ch. 5 - talks about the domestic market in Japan. As early as in the 1950s Japanese business leaders saw the American-style middle-class society was crucial to Japanese prosperity. These businessman pioneered new markets for expensive electoral products.

(to be continued)