Download or read book Financial Reform in Japan written by Maximilian Hall and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 1998 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This text provides a detailed analysis of the post-war evolution of financial markets and financial regulation in Japan, paying special attention to the period since 1975.
Download or read book Financial Stabilization in Meiji Japan written by Steven J. Ericson and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2020-02-15 with total page 141 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With a new look at the 1880s financial reforms in Japan, Steven J. Ericson's Financial Stabilization in Meiji Japan overturns widely held views of the program carried out by Finance Minister Matsukata Masayoshi. As Ericson shows, rather than constituting an orthodox financial-stabilization program—a sort of precursor of the "neoliberal" reforms promoted by the IMF in the 1980s and 1990s—Matsukata's policies differed in significant ways from both classical economic liberalism and neoliberal orthodoxy. The Matsukata financial reform has become famous largely for the wrong reasons, and Ericson sets the record straight. He shows that Matsukata intended to pursue fiscal retrenchment and budget-balancing when he became finance minister in late 1881. Various exigencies, including foreign military crises and a worsening domestic depression, compelled him instead to increase spending by running deficits and floating public bonds. Though he drastically reduced the money supply, he combined the positive and contractionary policies of his immediate predecessors to pull off a program of "expansionary austerity" paralleling state responses to financial crisis elsewhere in the world both then and now. Through a new and much-needed recalibration of this pivotal financial reform, Financial Stabilization in Meiji Japan demonstrates that, in several ways, ranging from state-led export promotion to the creation of a government-controlled central bank, Matsukata advanced policies that were more in line with a nationalist, developmentalist approach than with a liberal economic one. Ericson shows that Matsukata Masayoshi was far from a rigid adherent of classical economic liberalism.
Download or read book The Transition of Finance in Japan and the United States A Comparative Perspective written by Thomas F. Cargill and published by Hoover Press. This book was released on 1988 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Japan s Financial Crisis written by Jennifer Ann Amyx and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2004 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At the beginning of the 1990s, a massive speculative asset bubble burst in Japan, leaving the nation's banks with an enormous burden of nonperforming loans. Banking crises have become increasingly common across the globe, but what was distinctive about the Japanese case was the unusually long delay before the government intervened to aggressively address the bad debt problem. The postponed response by Japanese authorities to the nation's banking crisis has had enormous political and economic consequences for Japan as well as for the rest of the world. This book helps us understand the nature of the Japanese government's response while also providing important insights into why Japan seems unable to get its financial system back on track 13 years later. The book focuses on the role of policy networks in Japanese finance, showing with nuance and detail how Japan's Finance Ministry was embedded within the political and financial worlds, how that structure was similar to and different from that of its counterparts in other countries, and how the distinctive nature of Japan's institutional arrangements affected the capacity of the government to manage change. The book focuses in particular on two intervening variables that bring about a functional shift in the Finance Ministry's policy networks: domestic political change under coalition government and a dramatic rise in information requirements for effective regulation. As a result of change in these variables, networks that once enhanced policymaking capacity in Japanese finance became "paralyzing networks"--with disastrous results.
Download or read book Structural Reform in Japan written by Eisuke Sakakibara and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2003-12-22 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this unusually candid book, Japan's former top financial diplomat asserts the urgent need for wholesale structural reform to revitalize the long-stagnant Japanese economy. Eisuke Sakakibara, whose influence over global currency markets earned him the nickname of "Mr. Yen," envisions a social and economic revolution that encompasses all sectors of Japanese society. Whereas previous analyses of Japanese policies of the past decade focus narrowly on such issues as nonperforming assets and deregulation, Sakakibara provides a new perspective. Japan's economic problems are structural, rather than cyclical, according to Sakakibara. Profitable investment opportunities are hard to find in the dysfunctional corporate sector, where costs are high and income continues to decline. The country's entrenched power elite—the Liberal Democratic Party, the bureaucracy, and vested interest groups—are threatened by reform efforts. It will be difficult to restore economic health to Japan until its political leaders are able to break the grip of this "iron triangle" and implement aggressive, widespread reforms. This book furthers the understanding that structural reform or new institution building in Japan needs an all-encompassing approach that includes the various sectors of Japanese society and the economy. Only with this kind of understanding can pragmatic and meaningful structural reform in Japan be implemented.
Download or read book Banking Policy in Japan written by William Tsutsui and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2010-11-01 with total page 319 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The unique Japanese banking system has contributed greatly to Japan’s post-war economic advance by investing aggressively in industry and by supporting close government-business relations. The banking sector might not have come to assume such a significant role, however, had American efforts to reform Japanese finance during the Occupation (1945-52) been successful. How Japan’s banking system maintained continuity of development and avoided the occupiers’ attempts at "democratisation" and "Americanisation" is the subject of this book. It explores why the Americans were committed to reform, the reasons they failed and how important the maintenance of the financial status quo was to the subsequent development of Japan’s "miracle" economy.
Download or read book Japan s Financial Reform written by and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Policy based Finance Financial Regulation and Financial Sector Development in Japan written by Dimitri Vittas and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1999 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: April 1995 Is Japan a good model for developing countries? Certainly macroeconomic stability, good information systems, effective monitoring, and financial discipline are essential for smooth-functioning, efficient financial systems. But is there scope for state intervention in organizing the financial system and using well-designed, narrowly focused directed credit programs in the transition from malfunctioning financial systems to modern, efficient ones? The Japanese government's role in creating a macroeconomic and financial environment conducive to rapid industrialization and economic growth went beyond maintaining price stability, say Vittas and Kawaura. The government created a stable but segmented and tightly regulated financial system that favored the financing of industry over other sectors of economic activity. Lending practices, the direction of policy-based finance, and the structure of Japan's financial system changed over time, but one thing stayed constant: the authorities' vision. Some observers maintain that Japanese policies -- emphasizing the development of internationally competitive industries -- retarded economic growth. And government policies were not the only or even the most important factor in Japan's success. One key to success was government agencies' close cooperation with the private sector, and the government's reliance on privately owned and managed corporations to achieve government-favored industrial goals. Japan's financial system was quite different from Anglo-American and continental European financial systems. Vittas and Kawaura discuss some characteristics of the Japanese system in the high growth era: * The preponderant role of indirect finance. * The overloan position of large commercial banks. * The overborrowing of industrial companies. * Artificially low interest rates. * The segmentation and fragmentation of the financial system. * The underdevelopment of securities markets and institutional investors. * The key role played by the main bank system. * The close relations between banks and industry. * The different roles debt and equity played in the Japanese system. * The role large conglomerate groups, especially general trading companies, played in channeling funds to small firms at the industrial periphery. * The role of policy-based financial institutions. These features evolved in the context of high savings rates and an accumulation of assets, mobilized mostly through deposit institutions, including the postal savings system, and transformed into short- and long-term and risky loans through commercial and long-term credit banks as well as specialized government financial institutions. Are hard work and good management the secrets of Japan's success? Hard work may be as much a symptom as a cause of economic success, say Vittas and Kawaura. But good management has unquestionably been a key to Japan's economic success. Whether Japan's approach is better than others is more difficult to answer. Japan may have overtaken several European countries but was still lagging behind the United States and a few European countries in per capita income expressed in purchasing power parity terms. And although the Japanese approach played a significant part in promoting industrialization and accelerating economic growth during the period of reconstruction and high growth, it also entailed significant long-term costs -- in terms of poor-quality housing and other urban infrastructure, for example. And the excesses of the 1980s and Japan's current economic recession undermine claims about its ability to continuously outperform other countries. This paper -- a product of the Financial Sector Development Department -- is part of a project to study the effectiveness of credit policies in East Asia. Dimitri Vittas may be contacted at [email protected].
Download or read book Economic Reform in Japan written by Craig Freedman and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2001-01-01 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While many Western economists forcefully urge the Japanese to become more like the US, there are other academics who have registered strong reservations to such a simplistic solution. In this volume, noted scholars take opposing positions on key issues including financial reform, corporate change and international trade. The editor contributes a thought-provoking introduction which also presents an overview of the topic. The papers gathered here present an opportunity for readers to consider the underlying conflicts in Japan's economy and society that makes choosing a new direction such a difficult proposition.
Download or read book Tumultuous Times written by Masaaki Shirakawa and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2021 with total page 534 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A rare insider's account of the inner workings of the Japanese economy, and the Bank of Japan's monetary policy, by a career central banker The Japanese economy, once the envy of the world for its dynamism and growth, lost its shine after a financial bubble burst in early 1990s and slumped further during the Global Financial Crisis in 2008. It suffered even more damage in 2011, when a severe earthquake set off the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. However, the Bank of Japan soldiered on to combat low inflation, low growth, and low interest rates, and in many ways it served as a laboratory for actions taken by central banks in other parts of the world. Masaaki Shirakawa, who led the bank as governor from 2008 to 2013, provides a rare insider's account of the workings of Japanese economic and monetary policy during this period and how it challenged mainstream economic thinking.
Download or read book Financial Reform in Japan written by Maximilian Hall and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 23 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Financial Policy and Central Banking in Japan written by Thomas F. Cargill and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2001-01-03 with total page 205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book analyzes how the bank-dominated financial system—a key element of the oft-heralded "Japanese economic model"—broke down in the 1990s and spawned sweeping reforms. Japan's financial institutions and policy underwent remarkable change in the past decade. The country began the 1990s with a heavily regulated financial system managed by an unchallenged Ministry of Finance and ended the decade with a Big Bang financial market reform, a complete restructuring of its regulatory financial institutions, and an independent central bank. These reforms have taken place amid recession and rising unemployment, collapsing asset prices, a looming banking crisis, and the lowest interest rates in the industrial world. This book analyzes how the bank-dominated financial system—a key element of the oft-heralded "Japanese economic model"—broke down in the 1990s and spawned sweeping reforms. It documents the sources of the Japanese economic stagnation of the 1990s, the causes of the financial crisis, the slow and initially limited policy response to banking problems, and the reform program that followed. It also evaluates the new financial structure and reforms at the Bank of Japan in light of the challenges facing the Japanese economy. These challenges range from conducting monetary policy in a zero-interest rate environment characterized by a "liquidity trap" to managing consolidation in the Japanese banking sector against the backdrop of increasing international competition.
Download or read book Arthritic Japan written by Edward J. Lincoln and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2004-05-13 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the late 1980s, Japan's strong economic performance put it on a the verge of becoming a major player in regional and global affairs. But nearly a decade of economic stagnation, a mounting of bad debts, and a continuing stream of scandals have tarnished the country's distinctive economic model. At the turn of the millennium, the Japanese economy remained mired in a pattern of stagnation. As this disappointing condition dragged on, the government pursued policies to restore economic health. Yet Japan has been slow to embrace the systemic reform on which a robust economic recovery depends. In Arthritic Japan, Edward J. Lincoln examines the causes and implications of this weak response. Concluding that Japan is unlikely to pursue the vigorous reform necessary for economic growth, Lincoln warns of serious consequences: a stumbling economy bedeviled by recession and financial crisis, eroding leadership in economic and security issues, a continued defensive trade posture, and a disgruntled population that could turn a more nationalistic stance in foreign policy.
Download or read book Corporate Financing and Governance in Japan written by Takeo Hoshi and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2004-01-31 with total page 379 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, Takeo Hoshi and Anil Kashyap examine the history of the Japanese financial system, from its nineteenth-century beginnings through the collapse of the 1990s that concluded with sweeping reforms. Combining financial theory with new data and original case studies, they show why the Japanese financial system developed as it did and how its history affects its ongoing evolution. The authors describe four major periods within Japan's financial history and speculate on the fifth, into which Japan is now moving. Throughout, they focus on four questions: How do households hold their savings? How is business financing provided? What range of services do banks provide? And what is the nature and extent of bank involvement in the management of firms? The answers provide a framework for analyzing the history of the past 150 years, as well as implications of the just-completed reforms known as the "Japanese Big Bang." Hoshi and Kashyap show that the largely successful era of bank dominance in postwar Japan is over, largely because deregulation has exposed the banks to competition from capital markets and foreign competitors. The banks are destined to shrink as households change their savings patterns and their customers continue to migrate to new funding sources. Securities markets are set to re-emerge as central to corporate finance and governance.
Download or read book Excerpt Can Abenomics Succeed written by Mr.Dennis P Botman and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2015-01-30 with total page 20 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the bursting of the bubble, Japan has been unable to sustain economic recoveries. Monetary policy was unable to beat deflation, structural reforms failed to lift potential growth, and fiscal measures were insufficient to reverse the path of ever rising public sector debt. Japan’s revitalization plan dubbed the “three arrows of Abenomics” devises a three-pronged strategy—combining fiscal, monetary, and structural policies—to overcome these problems. Amid a more challenging external environment and an aging population, Japan may well face its last opportunity to avoid a highly disruptive fiscal crisis and restore sustainability in a smooth manner instead. The book discusses mutually reinforcing reforms on several fronts, including aggressive monetary easing, growth-friendly fiscal consolidation, and structural and financial sector reforms to revive animal spirits and stimulate potential growth.
Download or read book Money Rules written by Henry Laurence and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Henry Laurence traces financial market reform in Britain and Japan over the last two decades, charting the movement of the Anglo-Saxon and Japanese styles of capitalism toward a new, hybrid form of economic organization. He explains what these two stories reveal about changes in the nature of business-government relations in an age of convergence.The package of reforms known in Britain as the "Big Bang" and in Japan as "Biggu Bangu" decontrolled prices, liberalized the number and nature of financial instruments that could be traded, opened both countries' markets to foreigners, and introduced a much greater degree of competition than would have been believed possible twenty years earlier. At the same time, Britain and Japan have undertaken stringent measures to improve the transparency and fairness of their markets.Why did two countries with traditionally very different regulatory styles adopt such strikingly similar reforms, and why did these reforms result in a mixture of deregulation in some areas and tighter control in others? In explaining these apparent contradictions, Laurence invokes the powerful domestic political impact of international capital mobility.Money Rules challenges the view that bureaucracy is the most powerful actor in the policymaking process. Using extensive interviews with more than one hundred policymakers and financial professionals in both countries, the author rebuts conventional wisdom. He argues that the events in Britain and Japan demonstrate striking crossnational convergence of political and economic institutions.
Download or read book The Political Economy of the Japanese Financial Big Bang written by Tetsuro Toya and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2006-04-06 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1996, the Japanese government introduced a policy package initiating massive deregulation and liberalization in the nation's financial sector, referred to as Japan's financial 'Big Bang.' This book argues that the emergence of the Big Bang Initiative poses numerous challenges to conventional interpretations of Japanese politics and represents a clear case of institutional change in Japanese finance. Whereas many observers stress continuity in Japanese politics, this book argues that the emergence in the 1990s of performance failures and scandals attributed to the bureaucracy, as well as the increase in the likelihood of a change in government in this period, led policymaking patterns surrounding the Big Bang to differ radically from those dominating public policymaking in the past. These developments led to change in the nature of the alliance between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Ministry of Finance (MOF), to a shift in priorities within the MOF, and to a heightened role for the public in policymaking. The result was that the MOF, long perceived as 'entrenched' and seeking to maximize tangible tokens of organizational power, became more than willing to launch the Big Bang, despite the fact that these reforms would strip the ministry of many of its regulatory tools and sever the ministry's close ties with the financial sector. The book also argues that these new developments prevented financial industry actors from forestalling these reforms, as they had done in the past with other reforms similarly threatening the viability of weaker firms. The findings reveal that not only politicians, but also bureaucrats and interest groups, have reasons to pursue public support to enhance their respective political influence. Consequently, well-organized groups do not always prevail over the unorganized public.
