The Superhero As Bank Auditor
American executives seeking insight into Japanese business culture should pick up a comic book. The thick volumes of cartoons called manga are highly popular among the office-worker class known as salarymen. While manga have long dealt with crime and romance, one of the best-selling topics now is business.
The Salaryman Kintaro series features a former gang leader who takes a desk job, pummels evil rivals, talks trash to his elders and scores with the ladies. Another popular series, Division Chief Kosaku Shima, is more realistic. It follows the evolution of a junior manager into a savvy...