The paper begins with reviewing the monetary policymaking of Japan since mid-1990s. The ＂Big Bang＂ reforms in 1996-1997 had developed the foundations of financial restructuring in both private and public sectors. Mo...The paper begins with reviewing the monetary policymaking of Japan since mid-1990s. The ＂Big Bang＂ reforms in 1996-1997 had developed the foundations of financial restructuring in both private and public sectors. More importantly, under the 1998 Bank of Japan （BOJ） Law, BOJ successfully earned an independence status to formulate ＂politically neutral＂ monetary policies but encountered political pressures from politicians and Ministry of Finance （MOF） bureaucrats. Then, the paper explores how the second Abe administration has forced BOJ to accommodate its financial agenda--boost economic growth and fight against deflation - in order to gain political interests but hurt BOJ independence. The paper proceeds to explain the conflict between politicians and appointed technocrats as an institutional game under government change. The paper concludes that Abe Shinzo handled the rivalry properly by acting aggressively on both economic and strategic issues and brought a significant electoral success of the Liberal Democratic Party＇s （LDP＇s） in the 2013 upper house election.展开更多
文摘The paper begins with reviewing the monetary policymaking of Japan since mid-1990s. The ＂Big Bang＂ reforms in 1996-1997 had developed the foundations of financial restructuring in both private and public sectors. More importantly, under the 1998 Bank of Japan （BOJ） Law, BOJ successfully earned an independence status to formulate ＂politically neutral＂ monetary policies but encountered political pressures from politicians and Ministry of Finance （MOF） bureaucrats. Then, the paper explores how the second Abe administration has forced BOJ to accommodate its financial agenda--boost economic growth and fight against deflation - in order to gain political interests but hurt BOJ independence. The paper proceeds to explain the conflict between politicians and appointed technocrats as an institutional game under government change. The paper concludes that Abe Shinzo handled the rivalry properly by acting aggressively on both economic and strategic issues and brought a significant electoral success of the Liberal Democratic Party＇s （LDP＇s） in the 2013 upper house election.
