Introduction, Japanese Resistance to American Financial Hegemony: Global Versus Domestic Social Norms

Credit markets dealing with government, corporate, and household debts, whose social foundations vary by region and country, are double-edged swords for capitalist states. Whereas periodic credit crises create destructive impacts on these states, credit is a driving force for the economic development of capitalist states. A credit market’s levels of autonomy change over time and are strongly affected by influential economic ideologies and international capital mobility. The growing influence of higher international capital mobility has driven the “financialization” of industrialized countries’ political economies. The US and local credit rating agencies have assigned Japanese borrowers credit ratings since the mid-1980s, and the volume of corporate bond issuance in Japan rapidly increased during the mid to late 1990s. In a credit boom, when labor enjoys conducive employment conditions and good access to credit, capital has a relatively strong voice, and state financial deregulation, which accelerates international capital mobility, is likely to be legitimized.