Competition policy vs. industrial policy as a growth strategy.

This paper shows that competition policy, rather than industrial policy, generated the rapid economic growth in post-war Japan. It also reveals that Japan’s growth rate was lowered from the mid-1970s due to newly introduced industrial policies and paucity of further competition policy. The current Abe government recognises the need for competition policies in Japan to recover from the low-growth period. The paper describes the types of competition policy carried out under Abenomics, especially in National Strategic Special Zones.Abbreviations:METI: Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry NSSZ: National Strategic Special Zones [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]