What kind of economic system does Japan have?
Very definitely a market economy. There are some command elements to it, as the government tries hard to spur economic growth. Back in the ’80s, when Japanese growth was booming, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MITI) was feared around the world as the engine behind an economic powerhouse. But for the most part, the government is content to just foster what it considers beneficial initiatives and to let the corporations that form the backbone of the nation’s economy find their own way. There’s really no comparison with the classic command economies of the old Soviet Union, with Cuba, or North Korea. Japan is as different from those countries as night is from day.
