Saudi Arabia: Getting the House in Order(HBS Case 9-702-031)

"Saudi resembles Japan"


Because of huge public debt(exceeding its GDP), Saudi Arabia has been force to change their economy from oil-dependent to non-oil-economy. However, this reform wanted a lot of changes in not only economic system but also social system such as custom of Islam. This is a essay of such “Changing Saudi Arabia”.

This article, because it is HBS Case, characterizes Crown Prince Abdullah―leadership of the reform―is good person, and traditional Muslim―opposite of the reform―are bad. However, this is a view of economics or “Westernize culture”, so in Muslim’s view, the situation may be reverse.

I am Japanese, and Japan sometimes said as“mysterious country” because of its closeness, got same feeling by this case to economic reform of Japan. In Japan, it is easy to design good reform or reasonable system, and there are a lot of wonderful ideas, but it is quite difficult to realize them. Why? No one knows. But I think Japan has original sense of value alike Saudi Arabia, and this disturbs some reforms or changes, and makes “mysterious country”.

(URL:http://www.aii-t.org/j/saudi/files/saudi_japan.gif)

David B.Yoffie(2007)Cola Wars Continue:Coke and Pepsi in 2006

"Opponent is good frend"

This is one of Cases of HBS. This article represents "cola war" from the industry of soft drinks to grobalization. Industry of soft drinks is very special because advatising is much more important than production itself. So, suprisingly, Coke and Pepsi have been battling for more than one century in only one product,cola! This article shows the importance of marketing strategy and rivaly, and indicates evolution is caused by competition.

In Japan, such situation can be seen in green tea market, Ito-en, Kirin and Suntory. They produce new procucts―but they are kind of green tea―every season and this makes market more attractively for customers and even farmers that produce leaves of tea because of their branding.


I hope the war continues forever because I want to drink more delicious green tea and someday, such energy makes Japanese farmer more competitive with branding.

Only rice is cheaper !

Price of commodities in Stockholm is about twice as much as that in Tokyo.
However, there is a opposite example; rice.

In Stockholm, price of rice is about half that in Tokyo.
Considering about PPP, price of Japanese rice is around 4 times as much as that of Sweden. This is because Japan protects their rice market from international trade.

"Rice is soul of Japan!", Japanese farmers say sometimes.
This is partly true because historically, rice had been used as money in Japan, and now, preserving sceneries or communities in rural area.

Thinking about that, Japanese government has kept price of rice higher, and this deprived farmers from ingenuity or insentive for making money. In other words, soil was protected but soul was lost.

I do'nt think Japan should completely stop protection of rice, but I believe should change the policy now.

Can Japan buy foreign fields ?

How can food-import-countries secure their food ?

As you know, Japan has large population in small country; people 12times more than that in sweden live in land smaller than sweden. Besides, land reform that was enforced in 1947 divided farmland much smaller. Moreover, wages in Japan has became very high because of rapidly developing after WWⅡ. Such factors has made Japan depended their food on other countries.

Now, because of increasing price of grain, Japan is worrying about their food self-sufficiency raito that is the lowest rank of OECD nations. But strangely, Japanese concern is only domestic matters such as changing eating habit or joining their small farmland for improving productivity.

This article introduced us the measures of other food-import-country, and show the solution that buying fields in foreign country to secure foods. That is very reasonable. I think Japanese should think such solution because it is too late when food crisis happens or other country keeps their land for foods.