ABSTRACT
The techno-industrial sectors of the Japanese economy appear to operate on principles of national well-being and security, somewhat in the manner of a modern strategic military or foreign policy system. Economic policy in Japan appears to be formulated initially by the elite bureaucracy, not by the elected National Diet. Ministry of International Trade and Industry is possibly the most powerful institution politically, economically, and socially in Japanese society. In Japan, strategic plans for the economy are generated by high-ranking economic officials amidst a flurry of journalistic debate and are usually approved by the people’s representatives if they are in accord with public opinion. Ezra Vogel likens the Japanese system to the National Football League. The Japanese techno-industrial system seems to have a number of attributes in common with modern strategic military systems in the West, especially in its upper coordinating levels.
