Viewed historically as the lapdog of business, bureaucratic and political interests, Japan's Fair Trade Commission has had mixed success in promoting its agenda for stronger antimonopoly policy since the early 1970s. Dr. Beeman unravels antimonopoly politics in Japan through an analysis of the diverse interests of industry, government, and other parties to reveal how and why antimonopoly policy has made important inroads yet ultimately failed to gain deep acceptance in Japan.

Employing extensive use of primary research materials and numerous interviews, Dr. Beeman finds predictable patterns of change as well as themes of continuity in the development of Japan's antimonopoly policy. By addressing a broad array of industry sectors and policy issues, the book provides fresh insight into an agency and a policy that have often been criticized from within Japan as too stringent and from outside Japan as too lax.