ABSTRACT
The Japanese economy is different. This assertion, as often as it is made, is meaningless as it stands. Analytical questions intrude from the start: How is differentness measured? Compared with whom? Along what dimensions? All nations, societies and economies differ from one another. It requires little thought to note, for example, that American states or Japanese prefectures differ among themselves. To bring content to the assertion of differentness, at a minimum, it is necessary to name comparison economies, enumerate the qualities being compared and define a metric for appraising differentness.
