日本は社会主義の理想を実現した数少ない国の一つだろう。日本と同じような成功を遂げているのは北欧諸国だ。
　だが、日本の調和主義に基づく資本主義は、グローバルスタンダードの資本主義を採用するべきだとの圧力を受けて、危機に瀕している。
　調和主義の資本主義には自由がなく、起業家が育ちにくいという欠点がある。一方、純粋な資本主義は、貧富の差を生み、下手をすると奴隷を作りかねない社会だが、競争が激しく、起業家も生まれやすい。
　二一世紀の日本的資本主義は暗中模索の最中だ。

PART THREE:
Outcome of Harmonism (7)

By Shun Daichi

5. Capitalism Japanese-style
Capitalism in Japan has been modified by Harmonism. Capitalism under Harmonism had to seek harmony among competitors. We have only limited competition among companies.

"In Japan there is no 'fight to the death' but there is one in the United States" a Japanese who headed an American company in Tokyo once told me.

It is true that we don't have a no-holds-barred-fight-to-the-end. If there had been such a thing then more companies would have gone out of business a long time ago.

When shipbuilding industries went into a deep slump, the government did a lot of things to help the weak companies. In 1987 the Fair Trade Commission approved the shipbuilder's cartel.

There are few heavy industries in Japan, such as Mitsubishi, Hitachi, Ishikawajima-Harima and Toshiba. When Tokyo Electric Company was granting an electric power plant construction job, they would give each company a contract in turn?

And when Ishikawajima was in a deep slump because of the poor shipbuilding business then the government-controlled electricity companies granted more jobs to Ishikawajima-Harima.

Big national projects such as the construction of Narita and Kansai airports are always given equally to the leading companies without competition. In the name of harmony we have always restricted free competition.

This practice in a way works very efficiently, but at the same time encourages companies to bribe Government officials and politicians, perhaps not so openly but in a crafty way.

It is a widely known fact that if you bribe a key person in Japanese business, you are almost certain to get that particular Job from the company. However, you have to develop personal human relationships with the key personnel before doing anything.

In this sense the practice of former President Marcos in the Philippines and Suharto of Indonesia were not surprising at all to many Japanese; however, only the scale of the bribes may be the difference with the Marcos regime.

So, in Japan we do not really have free competition. If the industries are doing well, then there may be freer competition, such as in the audio-visual industries.

In Japan companies help each other. Companies protect themselves by holding company stocks each other. This brings steadiness to business and works good for Harmonism. At the same time available stocks for individual investors becomes limited so that the price of Japanese stocks becomes ridiculously high. This is changing lately due to a pressure from the US.

The Fair Trade Commission in Japan gives consideration first to Harmonism and to fair trade second. The Fair Trade Commission rarely takes the initiative. The job of the commission is to destroy a peaceful mutual consent among the companies, so the nature of the job is go against Harmonism.

It was known for a long time that the price of beef was a bit too high in Japan, but the Fair Trade Commission just recently told us that there had been a cartel of importers.

It only became news after we reached an agreement with the United States on the opening up of the Japanese market. The commission must have known such a thing existed but didn't bother to reveal it.

Protection of the key companies by the government has been the key to success in business in Japan. Today we enjoy such a success in business; however, we could have never done it without government protectionism.

Our government protected our industries and limited foreign investment in key business such as car manufacturing, department stores and so on. And today we try to protect the space industries from the United States; otherwise the companies will be wiped out by the mighty American space industries.

 

"Japanese business investment in Thailand is economic imperialism and invasion. Isn't it, Shun?"

"Of course, it is! I have no doubt about that. So you should protect your own country by yourself"

"You are the first Japanese to admit that," said a medical doctor who was one of the leaders of the anti-Japanese movement at the time, and he and other leaders were successful in overthrowing the military government in 1979.

"Japan protected herself very well from American industries and developed its own. The difference with Thailand is that your military government is inviting Japanese investment to get themselves rich"

"You are right Shun, though is there any way that Japan can restrict its own investment voluntarily? "

"Sorry to say, but, it might be hard to do, because we are living in a Western-style capitalistic world so you have to help yourself and safeguard your own interests".

"Yeah, I know . . . . . . . I think we should develop a new theory of economics and capitalism for Asia to develop our society".

"We should do that!"

 

I had a visitor from Australia. He was a capitalist and it was his first visit to Japan. After researching Japanese market he told me, "I think Japan is a very successful communist country. This is not a capitalist society.”

The Japanese system of capitalism under Harmonism has been successful in creating a low unemployment rate, and less bankruptcy and social peacefulness. However, Harmonism is only for the domestic economy, and outside Japan "Civil-Warism” has been at work which has confused the world economy.

(To be continued)