Nonmarket Strategy in Japan: How Foreign Firms Lobby “Inside the Castle”

Abstract

This book focuses on foreign firms’ nonmarket strategies and lobbying in Japan, in which important readjustments in traditional power configuration have taken place, giving more leeway to various stakeholders. The author analyzes in-depth how firms deploy their influence in a country that used to be dubbed “the castle” due to its difficulty of access, a theme on which minimal information currently exists. As professionals acknowledge, and contrary to what is usually assumed, similarities with the United States or the European Union outweigh local differences that though must still be addressed are no longer insuperable. With globalization and the rise of economic interdependence, it is now easier for foreign players with valuable assets to be part of the game. A significant feature of the country is the weight of collective action and the reluctance towards individual or direct lobbying as reflected in the perceptions and firms’ organization. The consequence for foreign firms is that they are often compelled to circumvent with soft strategies. This book will take the reader over 20 cases that display a striking multiformity and highlight conditions for success for foreign businesses in Japan and will be of interest to scholars as well as practitioners.