ABSTRACT
Until 1998, Japan's Ministry of Finance controlled-legally speaking-most aspects of economic life in Japan. It controlled taxes through the National Tax Agency and the tax bureau, the government budget through the budget bureau, government bond issuance via the finance bureau, foreign exchange intervention and international capital flows through the international finance bureau, imports and exports through the customs bureau, securities transactions via the securities bureau, and the banking sector via the banking bureau. For good measure, the Ministry of Finance prints government documents and even the paper money issued by the Bank of Japan at its printing bureau (the central bank pays a small fee for this, but the ministry merely acts as a printer and has no say over the quantity printed).
