'… this book is a valuable data resource. Published in 1998, when central government reform was being widely debated, it is also timely and useful in understanding the character of recent Japanese administrative reform. if students read the case studies carefully - especially the passages where Schwartz's interviewees give blow-by-blow accounts of specific debates - they will surely discover important materials for future studies in this area.' Social Science Japan Journal

• Preface; 1. Interest-group politics in Japan: competing interpretations; 2. The Shingikai system; 3. Shingikai in the spotlight; 4. Amending Japan's labor constitution: revision of the labor standards act; 5. Regulating the invisible giant: the introduction of financial futures markets; 6. The god that fell: reducing the price of rice; 7. Comparisons and conclusions.

'… this book is a valuable data resource. Published in 1998, when central government reform was being widely debated, it is also timely and useful in understanding the character of recent Japanese administrative reform. if students read the case studies carefully - especially the passages where Schwartz's interviewees give blow-by-blow accounts of specific debates - they will surely discover important materials for future studies in this area.' Social Science Japan Journal

• Preface; 1. Interest-group politics in Japan: competing interpretations; 2. The Shingikai system; 3. Shingikai in the spotlight; 4. Amending Japan's labor constitution: revision of the labor standards act; 5. Regulating the invisible giant: the introduction of financial futures markets; 6. The god that fell: reducing the price of rice; 7. Comparisons and conclusions.

'… this book is a valuable data resource. Published in 1998, when central government reform was being widely debated, it is also timely and useful in understanding the character of recent Japanese administrative reform. if students read the case studies carefully - especially the passages where Schwartz's interviewees give blow-by-blow accounts of specific debates - they will surely discover important materials for future studies in this area.' Social Science Japan Journal

• Preface; 1. Interest-group politics in Japan: competing interpretations; 2. The Shingikai system; 3. Shingikai in the spotlight; 4. Amending Japan's labor constitution: revision of the labor standards act; 5. Regulating the invisible giant: the introduction of financial futures markets; 6. The god that fell: reducing the price of rice; 7. Comparisons and conclusions.