William Tsutsui - Postwar Japanese Business and Pop Culture

[Marcos Garrido]

Professor Tsutsui’s presentations were full of passion. First, we were able to learn about the pre World War II economic model that the Japanese market practiced. I was completely unaware of the Zaibatsu, and their economic influence from the Meiji period to their role in WWII. With American occupation and the forceful democratization, Japan experienced this rigorous attempt to catch up with the rest of the leading nations of the world, economically and politically. I honestly enjoyed Professor’s Tsutsui’s first presentation, and it explained the main factors that enabled Japan’s success in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, discipline and sacrifice. It seems that Japanese society, private sector and government worked collectively knowing their place in the system in order to achieve economic growth and a better quality of life. It was a bit shocking to learn about the different kinds of treatment that Japanese workers receive in Japan, and how it is more likely for a Japanese worker to work in one company for a lifetime. It is clear to me that Japan has cherry picked what they think best for them from the West, and have recreated their own culture and economy from that.