In this ground-breaking volume, one of Japan's most insightful contemporary labour analysts assesses the light and shadow" of Japanese-style management, explaining why Japanese employees have stood apart from workers in other industrialized countries. Kumazawa brings to life the intense combination of competition and community within Japanese workplaces. He highlights dilemmas facing Japanese labour on the shop floor and in the labour movement. His discussion ranges from the role of women to issues of quality control and self-management. Highly critical of the hierarchical and undemocratic nature of Japanese industry, he offers a sympathetic view from the inside of the difficulties of surviving in the workplaces of contemporary Japan.