ABSTRACT
The malaise that has afflicted the Japanese economy since the start of the 1990s has been attributed by many commentators to problems with institutions and organizational technologies in Japan, limiting an effective response to changed economic and social imperatives, and undermining the ability of different groups to take the necessary action to regain the economic and technological competitiveness that characterized the country up to the late 1980s. Recent Japanese governments, particularly that of Prime Minister Koizumi, have argued that some of the answers to this perceived stasis can be found in changing the role of the state, but it is clear that such moves have encountered considerable opposition from both within and without the government’s political supporters. The possibility and viability of substantial change in Japan, in institutions, organizations and technologies, therefore, remains high on the agenda.
