Recent Trends in Business History in Japan

One of the characteristics of business history in Japan, as well as in other countries, is its interdisciplinary nature both in studies and scholars. In fact, when the Business History Society of Japan was organized in 1964, main sources of recruitment of members were the four existing academic disciplines dealing with the subject -socioeconomic history, general history, business administration, and sociology. Corresponding to the variety of its members, the society's activities have been largely those promoting interdisciplinary studies and research as reflected in the topics of the papers presented in the meetings of the society and in the monographs in its journal, Japan Business History Review. The number of business historians, computed from the membership list of the society, is about 540, of which 66 percent are dolnE work in Japanese stu4ies and 34 percent are in foreiEn studies. In both cateEories there are included a few members who are coverin E more than two countries in an attempt to explore a new field of international comparison or are workin E with theories and methodologies. Perhaps we have more business historians doin E foreiEn studies than other countries; but this is a peculiar phenomenon of our social sciences inherited from the days when Western civilization was introduced a century aEo. However, as to the trends of preference of business historians, there is appearin E a new trend. That is to say, just as the foreiEn specialists are Eradually becomin E interested in domestic affairs, so the Japanese specialists are more and more interested in foreiEn affairs; and indeed, in the annual meetinEs , it is becomin E necessary to reconsider our traditional way of doin E thinEs , in which we have two sessions, that is, a Japanese session and a foreiEn session, at the same time in different locations. Presumably, the more deeply we di E into specific subjects of study, the more specialization will increase, on one hand but, on the other, the increasin E tendency to be interested