Global Business Ethics and Japanese Economic Morality

Abstract

Japan is an important player in global markets, yet in many ways, it remains an enigma to non-Japanese. Those who deal with Japanese firms and markets need to understand its hidden economic culture, work ethic, and common sense views of business thinking. Japanese culture is the result of an integration of historical factors, including Shintoism, Buddhism, Confucianism and modern Western science and technology. This book goes beyond stereotypical approaches in applying a philosophical analysis to the Japanese economic mind. It also uses the methodologies of social contract and traditional applied business ethics as a theoretical framework for discussing cross-cultural issues in global economic transactions. A new Japanese approach of moral science, called “Moralogy”, is explained.