Do we really need another book about doing business in Japan? Probably not -- and not even if this is a "new Japan" or a new era in international capitalism.
That said, buy this book. The title isn't exactly accurate anyway. There is precious little in it about "the new Japan." That isn't too surprising since this is a revised edition of "Smart Bargaining: Doing Business with the Japanese," which was first published in 1989, and the meat of the material seems to come from the original. And finally, the authors implicitly argue that essential elements of Japanese negotiating behavior are fundamental and unchanging, which is the antithesis of "a new Japan."
Still, anyone doing business in Japan would do well to pick up a copy. Even visitors should read the chapters that try to capture -- in broad strokes of course -- Japanese culture and society.
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