Book dossier

Japanese auto transplants in the heartland

by Robert Perrucci

During the 1980s six Japanese automobile assembly plants were built in six midwestern states which put up over a billion dollars in incentives to attract the transplants. In turn, the Japanese corporate firms involved in these arrangements invested seven billion dollars to build the plants. Hundreds of automobile supplier firms have come to the region thereby creating a formidable Japanese auto industry that promises jobs and economic growth for many communities. This book examines the promise of a new form of government-business partnership, which is called corporatism. It also examines the tensions and conflicts between the corporatist project and the host communities in which the transplants reside. The interplay of economy and society is revealed through Perrucci's study of the actions of Japanese corporations, American politicians, local business elites, labor unions, newspapers, and numerous community groups that support or oppose transplants. Among the questions that Perrucci examines in his new book are: How did states compete for the transplants? What was the role of local newspapers in selling the idea of providing incentives for the transplants? How were workers selected to become part of the new team in the transplants? How did the Japanese and local elites get the corporatist project integrated into the local culture?