Observers often note that Japan’s industrialization occurred relatively late in the
nineteenth century. As a matter of fact, in 1867, Japan was still a feudalistic country
with an archaic governance system centered on agriculture while the nations of Western
Europe and the United States were marching towards mass production and the second
industrial revolution. In what follows, we will deal briefly with how the industrialization
and the development of a modern management system took place in Japan, and to
what extent the American management paradigms are valid in the Japanese case. We
will start with the analysis of these paradigms and then go into details of specific
corporate practices