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It’s complicated, and has a long history. The Japanese industrial complex has generally been more tightly linked than the West. (Perhaps cultural reasons?). Su
by mathattack 7y ago
It’s complicated, and has a long history. The Japanese industrial complex has generally been more tightly linked than the West. (Perhaps cultural reasons?). Suppliers and customers frequently had large cross-holdings. The system works when the goals are well known, but can prove tough to change.
After WW2 the US occupational forces were going to dismantle the giant corporate groups (Kerietsu) but decided to keep them in place to strengthen Japan as a counterbalance to North Korea.
Despite this, the links weakened over time. While there are cases like the ones with SoftBank, this isn’t a new phenomenon.
And before we judge the system too harshly, in 30 years Japan went from a post-nuclear dystopia to a first world economy. It’s managed to keep the economy moving despite an aging population and very low birth rates. There are lots of “But X...” though it’s still a fascinating economy.