Among Japan's many inventions in the 20th century was the "developmental state", an alliance between government and business to direct industry and set economic priorities. For most of the post-war period it was phenomenally successful, transforming the country into the world's second largest economy. So was the Liberal Democratic Party (ldp), which embraced this approach during over 50 years of almost uninterrupted sway. But in elections on August 30th the Democratic Party of Japan (dpj) trounced the ldp. Given the active role that the state still plays in the economy, the change may be as sweeping for business as it is for politics.
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