There are various views and assessments on the industrial policy in Japan.1 It is true that
the bureaucrats in most cases at least tried in earnest to promote industrialization
through industrial policy. However, background logic was not necessarily consistent
with standard economics. Rather than focusing on solving static and dynamic market
failure, mercantilism sometimes crept in. Competition was often considered too harsh,
and measures, which at times were inefficient for limiting competition, were
occasionally introduced. Industrial policy thus had mixed results: occasionally it worked
well while at other times, it only worsened the situation.