This new perspective on Japanese economic history explores the struggles of entrepreneurs and civic-minded local leaders in fostering innovative activity. Ibata-Arens analyzes the strategies of firms, local governments and communities in Japan via case studies of 50 high technology manufacturers in Kyoto, Osaka and Tokyo, with reference to bio tech clusters in the United States. She argues that important effects on innovation and competition arise from the interplay between national institutions and the ways in which firms are embedded within local and regional institutions.

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