From the article: "Fast forward to 1992. The world looks very different. In 1990 the Nikkei Index, which had risen strongly for an unprecedentedly long period,

From the article: "Fast forward to 1992. The world looks very different. In 1990 the Nikkei Index, which had risen strongly for an unprecedentedly long period, from the beginning of the FGCS project, was about to breach 40,000. But instead of continuing its rise, it started a decline and was down to half the peak value by 1992. Most of the Toyotas and Hondas driving around in the US were mostly made in the US. If MITI was mentioned at all, it was in studies revealing that MITI had never sponsored a successful project; that industry, far from being helped by MITI, had been hindered by its meddling." From Wikipedia: "The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (通商産業省 Tsūshō-sangyō-shō or MITI) was one of the most powerful agencies of the Government of Japan." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_International_Trade_and_Industry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_International_Trade...