'The Essence of Failure' Nonaka Ikujiro Passes Away... 'Peter Drucker of Asia'

On the 27th, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported that Ikuzir? Nonaka, a distinguished management scholar representing Japan and an emeritus professor at Hitotsubashi University, passed away from pneumonia on the 25th. He was 90 years old.

Professor Nonaka Ikujiro. Hitotsubashi University website

He was known as the "Peter Drucker of Asia" and a pioneer who developed the field of knowledge management. He received praise from Peter Drucker, the founder of modern management, as one of the few management scholars who truly understood the field. The Wall Street Journal selected him as one of the world's most influential business gurus. He graduated from Waseda University’s School of Political Science and Economics and earned his Ph.D. from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. He held professorships at the National Defense Academy, Hitotsubashi University, the Graduate School of Advanced Science and Technology at Hokuriku University, and the Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy at Hitotsubashi University. His works include , , and , and he received the highest literary award in the United States.

In 2009, he was one of the authors of , which was introduced in Korea as . This book analyzes the Japanese military during the Pacific War, which was regarded as the most efficient bureaucratic organization in Japanese society at the time. However, the Japanese military, once considered a model of efficiency, collapsed helplessly in the Pacific War.

In a press release, the publisher stated, "The Japanese military had no clear strategy to lead the war to victory, nor did it have the capability to achieve victory. Without a clear strategy, it relied on improvisation and was repeatedly defeated by the U.S. military. All components of the organization?structure, behavior, and culture?were flawed or incompatible. Because these components did not align, the organization could not develop the necessary capabilities. Without capabilities, it could not evolve to adapt to new environments. Ultimately, the Japanese military repeatedly made the same mistakes and was defeated helplessly."

They continued, "The authors point to the lack of self-innovation ability as a defect of the Japanese military organization. The Japanese military had many opportunities to innovate itself in battles against the U.S. military. Nevertheless, it failed to do so. Obsessed with past successes, it could not adapt to new environments."

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