I have read the novel Rising Sun by Michael Crichton. The story is about the inauguration of the Nakamoto Tower in Los Angeles, the new American headquarters of a Japanese company. On the night of the opening, a young girl was killed on the forty-sixth floor, one floor above the party. The Japanese liaison, Lieutenant Peter James Smith, was called in to help begin the investigation, while Japanese businessmen attempted to block the police. Although the story concerns a murder investigation, the underlying theme is that of business, both corrupt and correct. Throughout the book the reader is taken through the Japanese way of doing business and quickly learns the differences between American and Japanese companies even today. Rising Sun shows examples of the Japanese persuasion in almost every aspect of typical American life. The Japanese motto "Business is War" comes into effect throughout the story and is shown in their maneuvers to outsmart the police. The businessmen at Nakamoto Tower know that the murder was recorded on their surveillance cameras, so they exchange the tapes before the police have the opportunity to look at them personally. Then, with technology years ahead of the Americans, they alter the video to transform the killer's identity. They do not care that the truth is found and only work to hide the murder from the public. The fear of a scandal that could bring down the Nakamoto Corporation is enough to push the Japanese to do everything they can to prevent the public from knowing about the murder. The book also discusses the loss of basic industries to Japan. The decline of American business also became evident to Congress, which moved to stop the sale of business to the Japanese. The American approach to business is completely different from the Japanese one. American companies are forced to show profits every few months, while the Japanese don't care about short-term business at all. They often create their own products and sell them below cost, a practice known as "dumping." Although dumping is illegal under American and international law, the Japanese continue to practice it, but only in America. They may lose money at first, but after a few years they can refine their products and actually make them at a lower cost. At that point, Japanese companies took control of the market, without fear of American retaliation for their illegal tactics.