Japan's Advantage Over US in 1980s

choi

Thomas L Friedman, Average Is Over, Part II; Why don't Americans take our education challenge seriously? New York Times, Aug 8, 2012 (op-ed)
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/0 ... -over-part-ii-.html
("Yes, I know, that’s what they said about the Japanese 'threat' in the 1980s. But Japan, alas, challenged just two American industries — cars and consumer electronics — and just one American town, Detroit")

My comment:
(a) Well, at least Japan was also beating US in semiconductor, forcing Intel in early 1980s to switch from money-losing RAM to microprofessor (a crisis which turns out to be a blessing in disguise). See Intel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel
(section 1.2 Early history)
(b) But the quotation is akin to saying British Empire overpowered (with difficulty) Qing Dynasty in the First Opium War, with superiority in textile industry and the building of
Nemesis (1839)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemesis_(1839)
(the first British ocean-going iron warship; Launched in 1839 for the East India Company; first saw action in the Second Battle of Chuenpee on 7 January 1841 against the Chinese fleet near the forts at the Bocca Tigris 虎门)

, which could navigate shallow waters INSIDE China's rivers (the previous British warships could not, so Qing's naval (sampan 舢舨) fleets refused to engage Britons at sea).
(c) There is no need to read the rest.
(d) The article says, "With help from several foundations in the US, [OECD's PISA director Andreas] Schleicher has just finished a pilot study of 100 American schools * * * Schleicher’s team is assessing all their test results — and socioeconomic profiles of each school — to make sure they have a proper data set for making global comparisons. They hope to have the comparison platform available early next year."

Judging from the context, the pilot study is not published yet--in any event, I can not find it in the Web.
(e) To the left of the text (online) is a link to
Average Is Over (Part 1). Ny Times, Jan 25, 2012

, which cited
Adam Davidson, Making It in America. In the past decade, the flow of goods emerging from U.S. factories has risen by about a third. Factory employment has fallen by roughly the same fraction. The story of Standard Motor Products, a 92-year-old, family-run manufacturer based in Queens, sheds light on both phenomena. It’s a story of hustle, ingenuity, competitive success, and promise for America’s economy. It also illuminates why the jobs crisis will be so difficult to solve. The Atlantic, January/February 2012.
http://www.theatlantic.com/magaz ... it-in-america/8844/