The Industrial Revitalization Policy in the 2000s

This paper analyzes the policy formation process of the Industrial Revitalization Policy implemented by the METI, which aimed to help companies promote restructuring and eventually to improve the international competitiveness of Japanese industries. The main features revealed by the analysis are as follows. (1) In the process from the enactment of the law in 1999 to its revision in 2003, the "integrated revitalization of finance and industry" became an issue for the Japanese economy. It reflected the thought of policymakers from METI and business leaders, who had a sense of crisis that there were few countermeasures for industries and companies, while measures to deal with the financialsector had proceeded. This sense of crisis and awareness of the problem were also shared by the policy makers of the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Japan. As a result, the government took a unified approach. (2) When the issue of non-performing loans was settled in the mid-2000s, the priority of the Industrial Revitalization Policy shifted toward institutional design for the formation of the Japanese business revitalization markets and innovation systems. Emphasis was placed on expanding the systems related to voluntary liquidations and bankruptcy legislation, and to new business creation measures. The method of increasing productivity through moving and revitalizing management resources is one of the sources of economic growth. The revision of the law in 2007 and 2009 can be interpreted from the above perspective.