This interdisciplinary book gathers contributions from experts in political science, economics, law and Japanese studies to give a deeper understanding of how Japan's political economy and policymaking processes are working today.

A team of international leading experts provide a much needed re-examination of the theoretical claims and the empirical foundation of developmental state theory. Asian States argues that regardless of the merits of the developmental state as an explanation of economic growth, it falls far short of being an adequate theory of the state in Asia. The contributors critically review claims about agency, state-society and state-market relations that shape developmental projects. It broadens the analysis of state involvement in developmental projects and considers the variety of...