RANDOLF S DAVID MAMORU TSUDA The Politics of Japanese-Filipino Joint Ventures: A Sociological View THERE is a resurgence of direct participation by foreign corporations in the economies of Third World countries. Along with the establishment of authoritarian governments in these countries, a growing number of transnational corporations (or TNCs) have moved in, usually encouraged by lavish tax incentives and various other guarantees. Something new and different however has been added. This is the increasing popularity of the joint-venture arrangement as the vehicle for TNG participation. The joint-venture enterprise features combined equity participation by foreign and local capitalists, instead of the usual 100 percent foreign control and ownership. In the Philippines, "joint venturing" is primarily a Japanese pastime, and essentially a post-Martial Law phenomenon. (To be sure, the termination of the Laurel-Langley Agreement in 1974 also multiplied the number of American-Filipino joint ventures, some of which had been hitherto wholly American-owned corporations. This development in itself deserves serious attention). No study of the present Philippine policy on foreign investments can afford to ignore the behaviour and socio-economic impact of the so-called joint ventures. The study of joint ventures in the Philippines is also essentially a study of the pattern of Japanese capital