Study on the History of Making Industrial Competitiveness Policies

From Industrial Revitalization to Enhancement of Industrial Competitiveness

I would like to introduce the research project which we are working on titled "The Policy-Making Process of the Industrial Competitiveness Policies in Japan." The project mainly covers the Heisei era (1989-2019) but has a taste of the “Showa era” (1926-1989) as explained below.

As a part of the growth strategy under Abenomics, the government of Japan (the second Shinzo Abe administration) enacted the Act on Strengthening Industrial Competitiveness in December 2013. The Act aims to bring Japanese industry out of its prolonged stagnation and put it back on the track of sustainable growth through promoting deregulation, vitalization of capital investment, industrial and corporate reorganization, and industrial metabolism.

Not limited to the second Abe administration, industrial competitiveness policies have been maintained for the long term and continue until the present.

Before the Abe administration, industrial competitiveness policy originated from the Act on Special Measures for Industrial Revitalization, which was enacted in October 1999. At the time of its enactment, the Japanese economy was in a long period of stagnation after the bubble economy collapsed and bad loans had grown into a serious problem triggered by the instability in the financial system which occurred from 1997 to 1998, bankruptcies of Sanyo Securities and the Hokkaido Takushoku Bank, voluntary closure of Yamaichi Securities, and temporary nationalization of the Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan and the Nippon Credit Bank. Bankruptcies of many companies were expected in the bad-loan disposal process, but, in addition to financial revitalization, corporate rehabilitation and industrial revitalization through the organization of useful corporate resources and facilitating business-unit M&As were prioritized in order to prevent further deterioration of Japan's industrial competitiveness. The Act on Special Measures for Industrial Revitalization aims to support and promote such moves for industrial revitalization from the institutional framework, including taxation.

To read the full text:
https://www.rieti.go.jp/en/columns/a01_0723.html

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OKAZAKI Tetsuji (Faculty Fellow, RIETI)
https://www.rieti.go.jp/en/papers/contribution/okazaki/05.html

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https://www.rieti.go.jp/en/papers/contribution/okazaki/06.html

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Related book

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Written by Committee on the History of Japan's Trade and Industry Policy, RIETI
https://www.rieti.go.jp/en/publications/summary/20040009.html

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“How Institutional Arrangements in the National Innovation System Affect Industrial Competitiveness: A study of Japan and the United States with multiagent simulation”
KWON Seokbeom (Georgia Institute of Technology) / MOTOHASHI Kazuyuki (Faculty Fellow, RIETI)
https://www.rieti.go.jp/en/publications/summary/15050022.html

Our latest discussion papers

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“Servicification of Japanese Manufacturing Firms and Its Impact on Corporate Performance in the Export Market”
MATSUURA Toshiyuki (Keio University)
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“Evaluating the Robustness of Off-Policy Evaluation”
SAITO Yuta (Cornell University) / UDAGAWA Takuma (Sony Group Corporation) / KIYOHARA Haruka (Tokyo Institute of Technology) / MOGI Kazuki (Stanford University) / NARITA Yusuke (Visiting Fellow, RIETI) / TATENO Kei (Sony Group Corporation)
https://www.rieti.go.jp/en/publications/summary/23060006.html

“Price Setting of Firms under Cost Uncertainty”
MORIKAWA Masayuki (President and CRO, RIETI)
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[List of discussion papers]
https://www.rieti.go.jp/en/publications/act_dp.html
[List of upcoming and past symposiums]
https://www.rieti.go.jp/en/events/symposium.html
[List of upcoming and past BBL seminars]
https://www.rieti.go.jp/en/events/bbl/

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