Proceedings of the International Association for Business and Society

Volume 4, 1993

Proceedings of the Fourth Annual Meeting

Japan and Social Control
New Perspectives on Trade with a Mediator-Centered Society

This paper provides a theoretical foundation on which American policy-makers can address critical trade issues with Japan. This foundation is grounded in a vision of social control and is presented in terms of concentric circles and social hierarchies. We explore an approach that takes advantage of the mediator-centered character of Japan, and avoids threatening extant social controls.