Government, Private Business, and the Public
--The Shifting of Economic Initiative

NASU Shoh

Vice Chairman
Keidanren


According to a government-sponsored poll done a few months ago, 24 percent of Japan's citizens believe the country is "improving," while 54 percent fear their nation is "deteriorating" --very regrettable proof that various recent incidents are eroding the trust that forms the basis of society.

How should we respond to this problem? Basically, all members of society, be they in government, administration, or business, should not only demand accountability from others but also determine the role they ought to play and strive to reform themselves. True structural reform is the combination and aggregation of these various elements of society and only this will restore trust.

The modus operandi of business enterprises will also have to be reassessed in the context of a deregulated society. When we consider the relationship between the government and the private business sector, we must reconsider what the word "public" means when we talk about "the separation of public and private." In providing goods and services, or in dealing with environmental problems, we in the private business sector are responsible as citizens for offering, without government mediation, built-in safety and security to consumers. I believe that a "downsized" government can only be realized through deregulation when the private business sector sees itself as being part of "the public."

I completely agree with the late Ryotaro Shiba's view that one of the positive aspects of Japan is that private enterprises have historically been part of "the public" and have served it through their business endeavours. In this age of declining trust, we in the business community must do our best to lay the foundations for restoring trust throughout the nation. Deregulation offers us a golden opportunity to showcase our accountability as citizens. Whether Ryotaro Shiba's view about private business ends up being mere nostalgia for the past depends on the future actions of private enterprises.


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