The Outnation: A Search for the Soul of Japan

In Japanese, the word for "foreign country" means literally "outnation". But to many American and Japanese, it is Japan itself that, despite its rising influence in world affairs, is the outsider - "The Outnation". In this rigourous and searching journey through Japan's islands and institutions, Richard Rauch finds that today's Japan is strikingly and often surprisingly familiar. Economically it's similar to America in the days of the great cartels and company towns, with a high-tech update. Politically, it's Mayor Daley's Chicago raised to a national scale and its values, far from being alien to the West are Plato's own.

Freelance journalist Rauch sets out to decipher the Japanese mindset in an edifying volume that analyzes Japan's contradictory aspects and swift rise to prominence in the world market. His observations on Japanese politics, education, business, hierarchies and homogeneity are loosely strung together and presented in concise segments, each less than a page long. Fallows ( More Like Us ), who differs with Rauch on matters of Japanese economics, points out in his foreword the difficulties in creating a lucid portrait of such a puzzling culture. Rauch's extravagant praise of Japanese skin and hair may cause readers to squirm, even if some Japanese are equally curious about blonds; his acceptance of Japan's notions of fairness and discrimination against women and foreigners will likely rattle liberals. Nonetheless, this provocative book invites attention from Americans attempting to comprehend the Japanese. First serial to Los Angeles Times . Photos.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.