MAKOTO ITOH is Professor of Economics at the University of Tokyo. He has taught widely at many universities abroad, including the New School for Social Research, New York University, Thammasat University at Bangkok, Cambridge University, London University, the University of Manitoba and York University, Canada. His books include Value and Crisis, The Basic Theory of Capitalism, The World Economic Crisis and Japanese Capitalism, and, in Japanese, The Theory of Value and Capital, Contemporary Socialism and Contemporary Capitalism. COSTAS LAPAVITSAS is Lecturer in Economics at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. His area of specialisation is Japan, in particular Japanese finance. He has also taught at the University of Tokyo, the University of Westminster, and the University of Brighton. His published works include several academic articles in English, Japanese, and Greek.