While other industrialized and developing countries look towards Japan as an economic model, the political, cultural, and social arrangements that have so far allowed Japan to succeed are eroding. In particular, Japan faces a system of industrial relations that places great strain on all of Japanese society.

In The Postwar Japanese System William Tabb distinguishes between those aspects of Japanese success that can and cannot be transferred successfully to help in the revitalization of the American economy.

The author discusses Japanese economic history from before the Meiji Restoration to the present, and looks at Japanese politics, state-corporate relations, the labor relations system in Japan and the nature of work as experienced by Japanese employees. He examines the organization of the Japanese corporation versus the American corporation, industrial policy, education, urban and regional reorganization, and Japan's role in the world today (and tomorrow).

And, Tabb thoughtfully explores the fundamental social, political, and economic transitions the Japanese are currently experiencing.