Japan in the Bluegrass

by Karan, Pradyumna P.

• ISBN13: 9780813121970
• ISBN10: 0813121973
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-09-01
• Publisher: Univ Pr of Kentucky

Summary

"Fifteen years after Toyota announced it would build a manufacturing plant in the heart of the Bluegrass, Kentucky crafts are being used to help sell Camrys at car dealerships in Japan and sushi and Japanese condiments are widely stocked on grocery shelves in a number of cities across Kentucky. In early 2000, the state boasted more than 100 Japanese companies representing a total investment of more than seven billion dollars, employing more than 33,000 Kentuckians. Japan in the Bluegrass is the first book to focus on the regional and local impact of the globalization of Japanese businesses, particularly Toyota, in the United States. Fourteen American and Japanese contributors include geographers, political scientists, sociologists, and an economist, urban planner, and environmental scientist, and their essays go beyond the traditional exploration of politics and economics to examine the social, cultural, and environmental effects of Japanese investment in Kentucky. The authors examine the factors that brought these companies to this part of the United States, which range from a well-developed system of highways to cooperation from state and local governments to hefty incentive packages. They discuss the significant influence of Toyota and its suppliers on local communities in Kentucky as well as in Toyota City, Japan. Essays also cover the social and cultural shifts that have resulted from Japanese investment, including educational activities in public schools, the relationship between business and local media, and the integration of Japanese managers and their families into Kentucky communities.

Author Biography

P.P. Karan, professor of geography and Japan studies at the University of Kentucky

Table of Contents

List of Figures	vii
List of Tables	ix
Preface	xi
A Note on Terms	xiii
Japan and Kentucky	1	(14)
P.P. Karan
Part I Japan in the Cultural and Economic Landscape of Kentucky
Japanese Investment in Kentucky	15	(30)
P.P. Karan
W.A. Bladen
Part II Toyota in Kentucky and Japan
State and Local Government Negotiation with Japanese Multinational Corporations	45	(16)
David M. Potter
The Geography of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Corporation	61	(37)
Unryu Suganuma
Yesterday and Today: Changes in Workers' Lives in Toyota City, Japan	98	(25)
Yuichiro Nishimura
Kohei Okamoto
Dynamics of Growth and Change in Georgetown, Kentucky	123	(32)
Janet W. Patton
H. Milton Patton
Part III Economic, Social, and Environmental Impacts of Japan in Kentucky
Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, and the Kentucky Economy	155	(12)
Charles F. Haywood
Social Impacts of Japanese Businesses in Small Communities of Kentucky	167	(34)
Yukio Yotsumoto
Japanese Corporate Environmental Practices in Kentucky	201	(21)
Miranda Schreurs
Assessing Environmental Performance of Japanese Industrial Facilities in Kentucky	222	(41)
Gary A. O'Dell
Part IV Attitudes and Public Perception of Japanese Investments in Kentucky
Attitudes toward Japanese Investments in Kentucky	263	(12)
Stanley D. Brunn
Public Perception of Toyota Motor Corporation in Kentucky	275	(36)
James G. Hougland, Jr.
Part V Prospects for the Future
Japan and Kentucky in Perspective	311	(18)
P.P. Karan
Contributors	329	(4)
Index	333