ABSTRACT
As part of a “planned shipbuilding” or the “shipbuilding program”, reconstruction and repair of vessels were also allowed, and restrictions against economic activities of various shipbuilding companies were relaxed. On the basis of two laws passed by the Diet in July 1963, the “Five-Year Shipping Reconstruction and Reorganization Program” was launched on April 1, 1964, to aid the shipping industry through promoting a rationalization of the structure of the shipbuilding industry. From 1958 to 1961, shipbuilding remained in a recession. The export of ships was considered vital to the Japanese shipbuilding industry, and Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) could help local builders, which were the ones most in need of secure export orders. The MITI, which had jurisdiction over ship exports, had promoted the export of ships on a deferred payment basis. MITI has a lot of political and bureaucratic “clout” compared to ministry of transport.
