MITI and the Japanese miracle

Page 356

13. As an example of the misplaced cultural explanation, note the following: "Neither profitability nor common financing or trading activities explain the grouping of firms along the keiretsu lineage. The basic motivation for the grouping of keiretsu firms lies in sociological factors. The tendency to form a group is an inherent part of Japan's cultural tradition." Haitani, p. 124.

14. Ikeda, pp. 14850.

15. See "Mergers Revive Trade Concerns Splintered in Japan in Occupation,"

New York Times

, Dec. 7, 1952; and "Broken-up Concerns in Japan to Reunite,"

New York Times

, Mar. 31, 1955.

16. MITI,

Nempo

* (fiscal 1954), p. 80; MITI, 1965, pp. 57375; and MITI Journalists' Club, 1956, p. 42.

17. Abegglen and Rapp, p. 430.

18. The standard work on the alleged incompetence of Japanese planners is Watanabe Tsunehiko, "National Planning and Economic Development: A Critical Review of the Japanese Experience,"

Economics of Planning

, 10 (1970): 2151.

19. Japan Development Bank, p. 23.

20. See the memoirs of Tamaki Keizo*, in MITI, 1960, p. 116; and the comments of Hayashi Shintaro*, in

Ekonomisuto

Editorial Board, 1: 99101. See also Japan Development Bank, p. 28.

21. Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, Monograph 39, "Money and Banking," p. 42.

22. MITI,

Nempo

(fiscal 1950), p. 151. Note that these annual reports were prepared well after the fiscal year they covered; thus, for example, the report for fiscal 1950 bears a preface dated October 1, 1951.

23. For the membership of the JDB's board, see Japan Development Bank, p. 52.

24. See "Sharp Increase in Post Office Savings Upsets Banks and Worries Bank of Japan," plus editorial,

Japan Economic Journal

, Oct. 7, 1980. See also Ministry of Finance, Tax Bureau, pp. 27, 41.

25. MITI Journalists' Club, 1956, p. 24; Endo*, 1966, pp. 17475.

26. Japan Long Term Credit Bank, pp. 45.

27. Endo, 1966, p. 179. See also Fujiwara, p. 426; and Shibagaki Kazuo, "Sangyo* kozo* no henkaku" (Change of industrial structure), in Tokyo University, 1975, 8: 88.

28. Boltho, p. 126. For figures on the size of FILP and comparisons of it with both the general account budget and GNP, see Johnson, 1978, pp. 8384.

29. For the term

Gaimu-sho

*

no demise

, see Policy Review Company, 1968, p. 118; for the term "dark age," see Akimoto, p. 39.

30. See Yamamoto's memoirs, in MITI, 1960, p. 115; Shiroyama, Aug. 1975, p. 315; and Takase Sotaro* Memorial Association, p. 1067.

31. For the number of personnel in MITI's various units, see MITI, 1975, p. 95.

32. Sahashi, 1967, pp. 79, 8788, 12026. Sahashi refers to the union he headed as the "firing committee" (

kubikiri iinkai

).

33. On the Nagayama case, see Akimi, pp. 7677, 14851; Akimoto, p. 43; MITI Journalists' Club, 1956, pp. 25859; and Nawa, Apr. 1976. Nagayama went to Showa* Oil and Mitsubishi Yuka because, as chief secretary, he had