Japan as Number One: Lessons for America is a book by Ezra F. Vogel published in 1979 by Harvard University Press arguing that Americans should understand the Japanese experience and be willing to learn from it.
The Japanese translation sold nearly half a million copies in the year after it was published, making it the all-time best-seller in Japan of non-fiction by a Western author.
[3] Part One, "The Japanese Challenge," outlines the argument developed in the nine chapters of Part Two: "Japanese Successes," that explains "Knowledge: Pursuit and Consensus," "The State: Meritocratic Guidance and Private Initiative," "Politics: Higher Interests and Fair Shares," "The Large Company: Identification and Performance," "Basic Education: Quality and Equality," "Welfare: Security without Entitlement," and "Crime Control: Enforcement and Public Support."
Japan as Number One, Dower continued, although criticized by specialists, "essentially overturned the tables of popular discourse by suggesting what had previously been heresy: that 'the West' might learn from 'the East' -- and not merely about values, but about practical ways of organizing a modern society".
Much of the information that forms the basis of his enthusiastic approach is now outdated, but his discussion is not as one-sided as later critics have suggested, and the book remains readable."