Why Japan Can’’t Reform: Inside the System

An examination of the elements explicit to the Japanese post war governing system that enable the national ministries to extend their administrative authority over the political economy. It argues that the insular model defies structural reform and prevents the implementation of economic and social policies that can resolve socio-economic problems.

SUSAN CARPENTER is a lecturer in International Business and Director of MSc in International Business and Emerging Markets at the University of Edinburgh Business School. She has worked for Japanese businesses and government-supported organizations in Japan and the U.S.A. She published Special Corporations and the Bureaucracy in 2003.