The economic system of contemporary Japan is often referred to as the "Japanese-style" system. This is because, whether consciously or unconsciously, many people consider the economic system in Japan to be different from that in Western Europe and, in particular, from that in the United States.

This paper explains two points that are regarded as important when examining the Japanese economic system: First, that most of the systems and mechanisms which have been established with stability in a given society are not formed by necessity. Second, the kind of economic mechanism that emerges...