Since the 1950's, Japan's economic success has stimulated the interest of scholars from around the world. In the 1990s and particularly since 1997, however, it is Japan's economic difficulties which have attracted the most attention. The very institutions whose efficacy was earlier praised are now often criticised as being the core of Japan's economic problems.;This volume brings together the research of many specialists on the Japanese economy to assess how Japan's distinctive economic institutions have operated in the past and how their evolution in the face of changing domestic and international circumstances will shape the prospects for the Japanese economy in the 21st century. Particular attention is paid to the evolution of Japan's financial system and the changing character of Japanese firm governance, and to the changing role that government and the legal system play in Japan's economy.