Michael Crichton’s novel Rising Sun is an attack on the ways and methods in which the Japanese do business both in the United States and in their own country with American businesses.
The novel is set around the murder of a young woman who is found dead in the board room of the new Nakamoto building in Los Angeles. It is later disclosed to us that Nakamoto is just one of a number of Japanese companies who fall under multinational umbrella groups called keiretsu. Keiretsu, we learn, can have as many as seven hundred separate companies which either work together, have interrelated financing or agreements of sorts. These groups operating as powerful units are criticised by Crichton as being unethical in the manner in which they conduct their businesses in America. They are shown to have undue influence over US Congress, the police force and the media as well as over the associated businesses under their umbrella. Crichton’s argument suggests that this power, the result of a coordinated effort between Japanese multinationals and Japanese political culture, is not only unique to Japan but is unjust in its application. In his assessment however, he chooses to ignore the activities of American businesses who have used international financial institutions, such as the World Bank and the IMF to achieve similar ends.
you should also note that a movie was released on the same title , sean connery and wesley snipes acted in it . please comment
This book is not just a view on the economic influences the Japanese have had on American business but also the social and ethical repercussions of such actions. In many circumstances we discover that Japanese companies have acted in a way that is illegal for American firms but not so for foreign firms. Here Crichton spares no expense at elaborating on the injustices of such actions while simply palming off American responsibilities into the hands of the politicians who are essentially shown as serving their own interests. The American public on the other hand, with its civil rights and freedoms, seems to squander these in the light of filling its mind with gossip and entertainment while choosing to ignore the hard facts.Crichton’s novel shows Japanese activities in America as highly innovative in their attack on American business. Japanese multinationals working with Japanese political support and American apathy, have been shown as successfully waging an economic assault on American businesses. Crichton in his work resents the organisational prowess of the Japanese and likens their actions to acts of war. ’’All’s fair in love and war, and the Japanese see business as war’’. However an understanding of capitalist mechanisms suggests that the Japanese attitude to business is no different to any other company operating within a capitalist system. The innovator uses any means at their disposal to increase market share and eventually eliminate their competition. At this point the question must be asked as to whether American companies would act any differently had they the same opportunities as the Japanese? The answer is undeniably no, as American multinational imperialist activities in the third world have been just as ruthless as Japanese activities in America. Crichton’s resentment of Japanese activities can only be interpreted as resulting from his frustration at America’s inability to focus its business energies in a such way as to dominate industry in other powerful nations.