Systemic Change

Abstract

The previous section considers the Japanese economy in the next decade and a half in purely quantitative terms. However, as we discussed in section entitled "Japanese-Style Capitalism, " there have been many profound economic changes in Japan. Along with population aging, later marriages, and fewer children, the family system is in the process of transformation and the lifetime employment system is on the verge of demise. When the principle of collective utility maximization—which we argued is the guiding principle of Japanese-style capitalism—is finally eroded, can the system itself remain intact?