Cooperative Capitalism Self-Regulation, Trade Associations, and the Antimonopoly Law in Japan

by Schaede, Ulrike

• ISBN13: 9780198297185
• ISBN10: 0198297181
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-09-14
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The Japanese government is becoming less involved in shaping industrial policyDSbut what does this imply for the openness of Japanese markets to foreign competition? In an extensive study of 'post-development' Japan, Ulrike Schaede argues that, contrary to what many have suggested, the reducedrole of government regulation may not result in more open markets. Instead, as has happened throughout Japanese history, deregulation and the recession of the 1990s have once again led Japanese trade associations to assume important regulatory functions of their own. They do this through'self-regulation'DSsetting and enforcing the rules of trade for their industries, independent from the government. As a result, many Japanese markets are now effectively governed by incumbent firms, in particular in terms of structuring the distribution system. As the record of postwar antitrustenforcement reveals, Japan's antitrust system considers most activities of self-regulation, other than outright price-fixing, as legal. Using interviews and a unique database of trade association activities, this book concludes that increasing self-regulation renders both government deregulationprogrammes and international trade negotiations ineffective in opening Japanese markets. The implications of self-regulation for Japanese industry are mixed: while internationally competitive firms can use self-regulation to reduce competition at home in order to compete more forcefully abroad, somedomestic industries, such as the financial sector, may suffer from increased self-protection.

Author Biography

Ulrike Schaede is Associate Professor at the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, University of California, San Diego.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
List of Figures	xii
List of Tables	xiii
List of Abbreviations	xiv
Introduction	1	(29)
The Argument: Toward a ``Cooperative System'' Based on Self-Regulation	1	(17)
Paradigms for Studying Trade Associations and Self-Regulation	18	(10)
Structure of the Book	28	(2)
Japan's Trade Associations in the 1990s	30	(39)
A Typology of Japanese Trade Associations	32	(11)
Internal Organization and Information Exchange	43	(5)
Economic and Regulatory Functions of Trade Associations	48	(9)
Political Functions of Japanese Trade Associations	57	(10)
Conclusions: Trade Associations and Self-Regulation	67	(2)
Antitrust Policy and Industrial Policy in the Postwar Period	69	(40)
The 1947 Antimonopoly Law and its 1953 Revision	72	(18)
Antitrust Policy in the 1960s: The Tokushinho Controversy	90	(7)
The 1977 Revision of the Antimonopoly Law	97	(6)
``Structural Depression'' after 1977	103	(3)
Summary: Industrial Policy and the Propensity to Cooperate	106	(3)
Self-Regulation and the Antimonopoly Law	109	(38)
The JFTC and the Enforcement Process	111	(10)
The Rules of the Antimonopoly Law: Examples of Violations	121	(24)
Summary: The Effectiveness of the Antitrust System in Containing Self-Regulation	145	(2)
The Evidence---Antitrust Enforcement and Self-Regulation in Postwar Japan	147	(44)
Data Analysis: Formal and Informal Antitrust Cases in the Postwar Period	150	(21)
Case Analysis: Self-Regulation that is not Prosecuted	171	(18)
Summary: Regulation---Deregulation---Self-Regulation	189	(2)
Data Analysis: Trade Associations and Self-Regulation	191	(25)
Predictors of Self-Regulation: Hypotheses	192	(7)
The Database	199	(7)
Analysis and Results	206	(7)
Summary: Predictors of Self-Regulation	213	(3)
The Historical Development of Self-Regulation by Japan's Trade Associations	216	(42)
Early Developments: The Za in the Middle Ages	217	(6)
The Nakama of the Tokugawa Period (1603-1868)	223	(11)
The Meiji and Taisho Years (1868 through the 1920s)	234	(11)
From 1931 to the Toseikai---Control Associations During WWII	245	(10)
Summary: Self-Regulation in Japan's Economic History	255	(3)
The Implications	258	(18)
The New Dominance of Self-Regulation in Japan's Regulatory System	258	(3)
The Evidence	261	(3)
Implications for Japan's Economy	264	(2)
The Stability of the System in the Medium Term	266	(4)
Self-Regulation in Theory and Comparative Perspective	270	(3)
Implications for U.S.--Japan Relations	273	(3)
References	276	(19)
Index	295