Dear SSJ Forum members,

The next meeting of Contemporary Japan Group (CJG) at the Institute of Social Science (ISS, a.k.a. Shaken), University of Tokyo, will be held on Tuesday, September 20th at 6:30 PM. Please Note: Because of a scheduling conflict, the meeting will be held not in the usual spot (Akamon General Research Building), but in the main Shaken Building’s First Conference Room, a two-minute walk from the AGRB.

The meeting is open to everyone. Hope to see you all there!

Title:
Show Me the Money:
Japan's Most Profitable Companies and the Global Supply Chain

Speaker: Ulrike Schaede (Professor of Japanese Business at the School of International Relations and Pacific Studies (IR/PS), at the University of California San
Diego)

Date/Time: September 20 (Tue), 2011 from 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Location: Number One Conference Room
Institute of Social Science, Hongo Campus, University of Tokyo
東京大学社会科学研究所第一会議室。
Map: http://web.iss.u-tokyo.ac.jp/cjg/contact/ (Note:
in September, the talk will be held in the main Shaken
building: on the map it is to the left of the Akamon General Research Building).

Language: English
RSVP: NOT required
Admission fee: Free

Abstract:
The most interesting Japanese companies are no longer those that mass-produce high-quality consumer end products. In their stead, leadership in technology and success in terms of profitability have shifted to companies that excel in input components and materials, but many of these companies are unknown. Schaede introduces comparative data on profitability between the US and Japan for the 2000s, and explores the most profitable firms in Japan. Interviews with these companies lead to an identification of their strategy and management practices. These stand in stark contrast with Old Japan management approaches. A better understanding of New Japan companies is necessary to grasp Japan's important role in the global supply chain of many high-tech products.

Biography:
Ulrike Schaede is Professor of Japanese Business at the School of International Relations and Pacific Studies (IR/PS), at the University of California San Diego.
Areas of expertise include Japan's corporate strategy, government-business relationships, antitrust and financial markets. Her current research projects concern the strategic repositioning of Japanese companies to assume leadership in 21st century technologies, corporate restructuring, changing human resource practices and entrepreneurship in Japan. Her latest book Choose and Focus: Japanese Business Strategies for the 21st Century (Cornell UP, 2008) argues that Japan's business organization has undergone a strategic inflection point so fundamental that our existing knowledge of Japanese business practices is no longer adequate for a full understanding of Japan.

The ISS Contemporary Japan Group provides English-speaking residents of the Tokyo area with an opportunity to hear cutting-edge research in social science and related policy issues, as well as a venue for researchers and professionals in or visiting Tokyo to present and receive knowledgeable feedback on their latest research projects. Admission is free and advance registration is not required. Everyone is welcome!

For more information, please visit our website; http://web.iss.u-tokyo.ac.jp/cjg/ or contact Gregory W. Noble noble@iss.u-tokyo.ac.jp