Banking in Japan offers a wide-ranging survey of the institutional structures, operating principles and regulatory frameworks of Japan's financial system from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 to the mid-1990s. This collection is an invaluable resource for researchers and students of the Japanese economy and banking and finance worldwide.
Japan's financial system is the subject of intense debate. Immediately after the Second World War, Japan's financial order was derided by Western commentators as unsuited to modern industrial economy. By the 1970s derision had turned to respect as it became clear that Japan's banking system played an important part in Japan's post-war economic success.
The most influential articles written by Western and Japanese scholars since the Second World War are included.
Critical questions asked include:
* how is the Japanese financial system different from American and European models?
* how can the distinctive evolutionary trajectory of Japanese banking be explained?
* is Japan's system unique?