TOSHIAKI TACHIBANAKI is Professor of Economics at Kyoto University, Japan.

• Preface - Introduction - PART 1: TAXATION - The Japanese Tax System and Its Effect: Efficiency versus Equity - Income Redistribution through the Tax System - PART 2: SAVINGS - Introduction to Savings Behaviours - The Increasing Importance of Contract-compulsory Savings - Household Portfolio Behaviour and the Implication of Tax Policies - The Effect of Housing on Savings - PART 3: CAPITAL MARKET AND INVESTMENT - Government Policies, and the Working of Capital Market - Capital Income Taxation and the Cost of Capital - The Effect of Regulation and Deregulation on the Financial Industry - PART 4: LABOUR MARKET AND UNEMPLOYMENT - The Working of Labour Market - Labour Supply, Mis-match and Unemployment - Wages and Labour Market Policies - PART 5: OVERALL EVALUATION - An Increasing Inequality Trend - Concluding Remarks - Index