Anybody who is a dedicated Toyota driver and admirer of the Toyota
Production System would be shocked to read of Ryoji Ihara's experience
as a casual worker in a Toyota factory in Japan. As the Toyota Motor
Company continues on its inexorable march to become the world's biggest
and most profitable carmaker, workers on the factory floor are still
making sacrifices under the appalling conditions so graphically
described in Satoshi Kamata's 1973 account, Japan in the Passing Lane:
An Insider's Account of Life in a Japanese Auto Factory. Ihara's book is
both a fearless exposÃ?Â?Ã?Â(c) and a meticulous academic study firmly
situated within the context of the sociology of labor. Drawing on recent
theoretical debates in Japan as well as internationally, the author
challenges widely held views on the respective roles of skill,
supervision, and quality control in the car industry. Specialists in car
industry research unable to access Japanese language sources should
welcome this English translation of Ryoji Ihara's book, now with an
additional chapter update. Yet, belying its academic intent, the work is
written in a relaxed, entertaining style that should appeal to any
reader with an interest in car making, the sociology of work, or
Japanese society in general.