Antitrust in Japan

Before and during World War II, Japan’s economy was controlled by power economic concentrations, large family holdings that passed from one generation to another, called zaibatsu. This book is a full assessment of the American postwar attempt to break up these powerful combines. Miss Hadley recounts both General Douglas MacArthur’s efforts to implement the American occupation’s antitrust policies and the Japanese government’s resistance while it appeared to comply with zaibatsu dissolution. As the Cold War developed, American defense thinkers began to emphasize recovery rather than reform, and conservative American businessmen supported the abandonment of antitrust policy in Japan. The second half of the book examines the consequences of the antitrust measures and reaches conclusions which challenge prevailing Japanese and American views.

Originally published in 1970.

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