Japan: Who Governs?: The Rise of the Developmental State

Chalmers Johnson can be an off putting person and author, quite full of himself and harshly critical of those who do not agree with him. Putting that aside this is clearly one of the best books about Japan and the Japanese government I have ever read. I have been in and out of Japan for the past 40 years and now live here 1/2 time. With the exception of one chapter where he missguessed the future development of Japanese foreign policy this now 14 year old book remains the best analysis of how Japan works that I have ever read. It is a collection of articles and essays written by Johnson and republished as a single book. If you want to understand how and why Japan's governement functions, and get at least a solid introduction to the developmental state this book is a must read. It is also a good way to get a solid introduction to the developmental state form of economic control and management which worked so well in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and now China.