From: mukai@lheavx.gsfc.nasa.gov (Koji Mukai)
Subject: MITI bashing
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: NASA/GSFC Laboratory For High Energy Astrophysics
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1992 22:47:00 GMT

miklg@acuson.com (Michael Goldman ) said:

>	Everyone has talked about books read, or newspaper
>	articles, or TV expose's to prove or not that
>	Japan is open or closed.  I would like to add
>	some personal experience.  I have been working for
>	17 years in cos., both Japanese and American that
>	do business in Japan.  I have met many Japanese and
>	Americans who have worked in Japan-US trade as
>	businessmen and -women in the day to day routines
>	of trying to sell stuff.  No one, get that, not a
>	_single_ one of them, would say that Japan is an open
>	society in terms of trade.  It is universally known
>	and understood by all those involved that Japan's
>	MITI will keep out foreign goods as much as possible
>	and protect and coordinate Japanese business both
>	in Japan and in the US.
> 
>	My experience includes data-comm, telecomm, and other
>	hi-tech industries.  I have also met people in agricultural
>	trade who say the same thing, in a variety of product areas.
>	These people include Japanese and Americans working in
>	every combination of Japanese and American cos. in Japan
>	and the US.
[rest of the post deleted]

This post misses the mark in terms of placing the blame for most
of the specific cases mentioned here.

I'm sure MITI does play a role in regulating data-comm and telecom
industries, but most of the restrictions that I've heard about actually
comes from the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications.  Agricultural trade,
of course is under the purview of Ministry of Agriculture etc. (can't remember
the exact English title this ministry is known by).  I can think
of two other ministries that should be prominent in any discussions
of the closed-market-ness, or otherwise, of Japan, Ministry of Construction
(public works projects including major airports such as the one
being bulit near Osaka, and zoning regulations) and Ministry of
Finace (banking regulations).

Blaming MITI is harmful, I think, in a couple of different ways:

(1) If you don't know who is responsible for restrictions, how can
you hope to have them lifted?
(2) It can inflame the myth of an all-knowing MITI who wants to conquer the
world.

In my estimation, MITI is for freer trade but cannot persuade the other
ministries.

It is true that MITI was very protectionist not too long ago --- but then,
Japan used to suffer from a chronic trade deficit, which lasted probably
up to late '60s (something most Japan bashers seem not to know or care about).
However, MITI has had a long experience dealing with trade issues since then
and at least knows what is internationally acceptable and what is not.  They
are well aware of the need to lower the trade surplus (still maintaining
some surplus against North America and Western Europe, just enough to offset
the chronic trade defficit against such resource rich countries as Australia,
Indonesia and Middle Eastern oil producers --- another factor Japan bashers
seem to ignore).

The other ministries, on the other hand, had been sheltered from the
international reality until very recently.  They still have a very
provincial outlook; combine this with the sheer bureaucratic inertia
and empire-building (more you have to regulate, bigger your ministry/
section budget) and the ubiquitous intra-ministry turf-wars...
At some level, protecting Japanese banks/farmers/construction industry
etc. is a legitimate concern of these ministries; I do agree that the
level of protection they provide is way out of line in international standards.
But if MITI suggests that may be the case, would they listen?  Well,
doing so will be a loss of face, since all ministries are supposedly
equal, however powerful MITI may be.  This partially explains why
foreign pressure often seems to be the only way to remove the barriers,
as bowing to the request of a US president does not lead to a loss of
face...

Whether you agree with my assesment of MITI or not, the almost complete
lack of discussion of the role played by other ministries in mass media
should be a cause for concern to everybody...

				- Koji Mukai
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan