Japanese Spirit, Western Things Essay Example for Free

Japanese Spirit, Western Things Essay a) How did Japan modernize their economy without embracing Western Culture? Japan has proven that economic modernization is possible without embracing economic culture. Rather, Japanese philosophy of decolonization (Suzuki, 1996) and isolation were imposed because the government wanted the country to become independent and sustainable without the help of other nations. Although Japan attempted to include Western science (Kasulis, 1995) and absorbed Chinese tradition and culture including technology, philosophy, and literature a couple of decades and a half, Japan decided to close its doors to external influences like the prohibition of Christianity and overseas travel or immigration, in the nineteenth century. However, Japan eventually accepted western technology when the Americans arrived in 1853 for the motive of becoming stronger in terms economic growth. b) Has this modernization been successful? Modernization in Japan was not an easy process since some, like anti-liberal Japanese leaders, wanted to preserve the Japanese culture, preventing others, called power-breakers, to reflect a true western tradition and imitate western technology. The later group used talk of local culture in order to keep them from becoming politically and economically at risk. c) What could be some unforeseen events occurring in a company’s environment that might affect further cooperation between Japan and America? Companies are likely to face the prolonged tension between Japanese culture and western technology. Japanese companies might experience the difficulty of replacing Japanese with culture with western ideas, increased competition, political structure, and the different strategies for auditing and corporate governance. On the other hand, western companies might continue to suffer from regional economic barriers. Cultural diversity would remain a significant barrier for multinational companies due to Japan’s internal colonization in the past and the preservation of Japanese culture (Suzuki, 1996). Therefore, companies must be able to deal with and overcome the challenges of globalization and competitive market by becoming aware of their responsibilities, understanding legal policies, resolving conflicts through open communication, and reassessing corporate social responsibility. References â€Å"Japanese Spirit, Western Things† (2003) The Economist Newspaper, Ltd. (July 10). The Economist. Kasulis, T. P. (1995) â€Å"Sushi, Science, and Spirituality: Modern Japanese Philosophy and Its Views of Western Science. † Philosophy East West, 45(2), 227. Suzuki, T. M. (1996) â€Å"Japan: Beyond the Lessons of Growth. † Social Justice 23(1-2), 275.