Nakamura has been on the executive committee of the journal since our ยฎrst issue. Long term readers will have seen his inยฏuence in the articles by Japanese authors which we have carried over the years. Less obvious are the connections he has made for a number of articles by authors from other countries. He is also one of the driving forces behind the JSMS.
The JSMS itself is now in its 23rd year. I was honoured when several years ago I was invited to become a director of the society. It is always a privilege to serve in a dynamic professional organization, but there is a difference between the Japanese based directors, and those few of us who are directors but who are not resident in Japan. Our Japanese colleagues work very hard to direct and manage the society, whereas distance means that those of us who are in other parts of the world can do little more than try to be good friends of the society. This is why I saw my appointment as an honour. I know how hard my Japanese colleagues do work, both from the materials which the JSMS sends me, and my own experiences at the 20th annual conference and one of the periodic forums which followed it. Unlike many strategic management societies around the world, the JSMS uses its forums to wrestle with new ideas, and to formulate processes and approaches which can be used more widely.
Japanese management methods have had a fascination for many of us over a long period, and in the context of the continued economic crisis in Japan, South East Asia, and many other parts of the world, the way in which Japanese organizations are now thinking adds to our interest. But it goes deeper than this, because in the world economy of today, an economic ailment in a major country can no longer be thought of as something that is of little concern to the rest of us. An outbreak in one place heralds a potential epidemic everywhere else. So the concepts of strategic management that Japanese companies are developing, the way in which new concepts which originated mainly from the USA are examined, and the management thinking that develops from the situation are all of interest to us.
When Professor Nakamura and I discussed the idea of a special issue to celebrate the contribution of the JSMS, he responded with his usual enthusiasm. Within days he had gained the commitment of his fellow directors on the JSMS, and together they had identiยฎed themes and authors. Like all good strategies, there were changes in