Comparative Study of Corporatist Implementations in Liberal Fiscal and Administrative Reforms

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Japanese administrative reform during the 1980's was conducted on the basis of economic liberalism with such slogans as "small government", "deregulation" and "privatization". However, corporatist characteristics were manifested throughout their implementations, and those reforms rather strengthened those characteristics at the end. For example, the All Japan Telecommunications Workers' Union unprecedentedly conducted massive pressure group activities during the Diet deliberation on the privatization of the Japan Telephone and Telegram Corporation, having direct access to the Liberal Democratic Party. The party in power, on the other hand, welcome this move. Thus, mezzo-corporatist tendencies were strengthened in Japanese politics. Meanwhile, micro-corporatist arrangement was also strengthened between the labour and management in the Corporation. For the Union accepted the argument by the management and actively supported the privatization. It seems paradoxical at the first glance. Yet, as Peter J. Katzenstein shows referring to Swiss case, liberalization tends to promote, rather than hinder, the development of corporatist arrangement once the labour accepts liberal ideology which argues that the healthy development of their corporation (or national economy) is indispensable for their own welfare. Japanese administrative reform is to be interpreted as one of such cases.