Description:
Jacob M. Schlesinger's Shadow Shoguns is an arresting profile of an element of modern Japanese life little understood in the West: the relationship between economic superpowerdom and political corruption. In an astute and provocative piece of political reporting, Schlesinger, formerly of the Wall Street Journal's Tokyo bureau, paints a vivid portrait of state as corporation. This "Japan Inc." is a nation that has subverted democratic ideals to Capitalist opportunities, a country ruled by "shadow shoguns"--corrupt officials who have created a political machine for their personal profit. Schlesinger begins his tale with Kakuei Tanaka, a poor country boy who clawed his way through the construction business into politics and up through the ranks to become prime minister. This rags-to-riches story illustrates two points: the personal tenacity and ruthlessness of Tanaka and the fierce divisions between "Front" Japan--the glittering, urban economic miracle the country presents to the world--and "Back" Japan, the underdeveloped rural world from which Tanaka rose. In many ways, the story of Tanaka is the story of modern Japan, a nation in which government corruption was tolerated in the interests of continuing economic growth. The past few years have seen both the bursting of Japan's economic bubble and the exposure of repeated government scandals. For anyone who has watched and wondered at the state of Japanese politics, Jacob M. Schlesinger's Shadow Shoguns offers a cogent explanation of how business, bureaucracy, and politics made such unholy bedfellows.
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