How did the Japanese achieve their unrivalled position in world banking? This book, first published in 1995, provides a full account in English of the banking industry in Japan for the century following the opening of the country to the outside world in 1859. Professor Tamaki begins by considering the period of experimentation during the Meiji Restoration which resulted in the adoption of the Gold Standard in 1891. He then offers a detailed examination of the highly profitable years up to the end of the First World War and of the subsequent crisis which was hastened by the earthquake that devastated Tokyo and Yokohama in 1923 and sealed by the financial collapse of 1927. New light is thrown on the extraordinary role played by the banking industry during the period of military expansionism which culminated with defeat in the Second World War. The book ends with an assessment of the post-war financial system which developed out of the Macarthur directives and the subsequent American 'democratisation' programme.

BL Gives a definitive description and analysis of the main bank system BL Strong contributors BL Understudied subject BL Incorporates results of a major World Bank research programme BL Balances institutional description with financial theory and empirical analysis This volume looks at systems of corporate finance, concentrating on the Japanese main bank system. The remaining chapters describe different systems, assessing to what extent the Japanese system can serve as a model for developing market economies and transforming socialist economies. The basic characteristics of the main bank system are examined here, its roots, development, and its role in the heyday of its rapid growth. The volume looks at how the system has performed and at its strengths and weaknesses. It goes on to look at how the system has changed and what its approprate role is as deregulation, liberalization, and internationalization of Japan's financial markets have proceeded over the past two decades and a new issue securities market has emerged. A basic conclusion of the book is that banking-based systems are in most cases the most appropriate for industrial financing until a rather late stage of a country's economic and financial development. It aims to identify the conditions under which banks are better able that securites market institutions to evaluate the credit worthiness of borrowers and the viability of new projects, to monitor the ongoing performance of firms, and to rescue or liquidate firms in distress. Contributors: Masahiko Aoki, Theodor Baums, V.V.Bhatt, John Campbell, Yasushi Hamao, Toshihiro Horiuchi, Takeo Hoshi, Anil Kashyap, Dong-Wong Kim, Gary Loveman, Sang-Woo Nam, Frank Packer, Hugh Patrick, Yingyi Qian, Mark Ramseyer, Clark Reynolds, Satoshi Sunamura, Paul Sheard, Juro Teranishi, Kazuo Ueda,

The unique Japanese banking system has contributed greatly to Japan’s post-war economic advance by investing aggressively in industry and by supporting close government-business relations. The banking sector might not have come to assume such a significant role, however, had American efforts to reform Japanese finance during the Occupation (1945-52) been successful. How Japan’s banking system maintained continuity of development and avoided the occupiers’ attempts at "democratisation" and "Americanisation" is the subject of this book. It explores why the Americans were committed to reform, the reasons they failed and how important the maintenance of the financial status quo was to the subsequent development of Japan’s "miracle" economy.

First Published in 2000. Nothing definite is known about the banking system of the early days of Japan, but it is clear that the system played no important part in affairs, since the insignificance of trade and industry called for no extensive credit arrangements, and the spirit of contempt for business was general. This book looks at the banking system and traces the development of currency in Japan.