Japan and the Shackles of the Past

“Murphy is very persuasive in building a case for his solutions for bringing real change to Japanese politics and foreign relations … The most fundamental of his prescriptions, though, is undeniably necessary: the Japanese government and people must, for their own sake “confront what put their country in the hands of those who destroyed its independence and made it a byword abroad for brutal, inhuman fanaticism. Trying to bury accounts of what actuallyhappened with fables of a pure and virtuous land, as Abe seeks to do, is simply a way of making it more likely that something similar will happen again soon”.“– Morgan Giles, Times Literary Supplement”Without doubt, this is the most important book on Japan by a non-Japanese writer to have appeared in the last two decades. It should be required reading for anyone professing to know Japan or wishing to teach others about it.“– BCCJ Acumen, Ian de Stains OBE”[An] insightful analysis of what ails Japan.“- Economist”Taggart Murphy knows his Japanese history. His theories about Japan’s political economy shed interesting light on the country.“– David Pilling, Financial Times”Japan and the Shackles of the Past is an excellent – and engagingly written – introduction to Japan, and a thought-provoking work of political and economic analysis (with quite a few lessons for America and other nations, too).“– Complete Review”Murphy sheds much light on Japans current dependence upon the U.S. for maintenance of its political system and its future prospects, closing with an in-depth analysis of the current administration.“– Publishers Weekly”Taggart Murphy has crafted a precise and highly critical analysis of Japan’s problems.“– Satyajit Das, Naked Capitalism

R. Taggart Murphy is Professor, Graduate School of Business Sciences at University of Tsukuba (Tokyo)