Why Japan Can₂t Reform: inside the system -- PART I: THE SYSTEM -- Introduction -- The Development of the System -- The Elite Bureaucracy: the image of reform -- Amakudari: the ties that binds the bureaucracy with the private and public -- sectors and politics -- Interpersonal Networks in the ₁Ruling Triad₂ -- PART II INSIDE THE SYSTEM -- The Elite Bureaucracy: prisoners of the system -- The Interviews
Summary
At the start of the 1990s Japan's post war economic success came to an abrupt end, and the country slid into a decade long recession from which it has, on many levels, still not recovered. This book examines the institutional factors in the Japanese system of government administration that have paralyzed the decision-making process and prevented the system from accommodating the ever changing demands on the domestic front and the global political economy. It argues that the current model defies structural reform and frustrates the implementation of economic and social policies that can resolve the problems that have challenged the Japanese for years. Excerpts from interviews conducted with Japanese bureaucrats reveal how their government views the United States, Japan's protector in the Pacific and its second-largest trading partner. The interviews are particularly relevant to the economic dilemma that the Japanese are facing currently due to Japan's dependency on the United States. They also provide an invaluable insight into why Japan has yet to integrate into the international community
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 150-162) and index
