Deregulation demands that the few dominant insiders for the most part give up their privileges. Accountability demands disclosure and explanation of the process of decision making. The game is characterized by two principal phenomena. Entrancism Under the current system, entrepreneurs trying to start commercial activities must pay absurdly high costs to join the ranks of established business. With the exception of these newcomers, no one is expected to obey the established rules.
Many rules exist for the sole purpose of discouraging new competition.
To open a liquor store, for example, a license must be purchased. Because entrance-related rules are often a collaboration between club members and regulators, there has been no way to stop them from making and managing rules that guarantee the propagation of their vested interests. Most rules do have superficial justifications, but the point is whether the regulation has a plausible causal relationship with the intended regulatory object. Because many insiders in Japan feel that safety and security must be achieved at any cost, these regulatory goals actively support all kinds of entrance restrictions. No rigorous studies of the connection between regulatory purposes and entrancism have ever been carried out.