Report Compiled by the New Industrial Structure Committee of the Industrial Structure Council-Utilizing the Strength of "Maturity" and "Diversification": From Price Competition to Value-Creation-

In recent years people in Japan are having to bear an economy which, facing a decrease in potential growth due to an aging population combined with a falling birthrate, has slipped into a continuous shrinking downward spiral. The stalemate in "corporate strategy and industrial structure," and "employment structure" that has existed since the high-growth period has caused such a spiral. In order to breakthrough this stalemate, changing Japan's economic and industrial policy from "growth for the sake of growth" to "growth that ensures benefits to all the people," is strongly required.

Based on this background, the New Industrial Structure Committee of the Industrial Structure Council compiled a report titled "Vision of Economic Society: Utilizing the Strength of "Maturity" and "Diversification" from Price Competition to Value-Creation."

The social economic vision is composed of an "economic growth vision", a "social vision to respect individuals' abilities" and the arrangement of a time frame up to realizing Japan's shift to a value-creation society. An outline of such facets of the vision is as follows:

1) "Economic growth vision"

1. Change of corporate strategy (from price competition to value-creation)
2. Global business expansion (taking in benefits of overseas growth to Japan)
3. Creation of new industries and change of industrial structures (to a "Yatsugatake mountain range" type industrial structure consisting of multiple moneymakers)

2) "Social vision to respect individuals' abilities"

1. Creation of innovation through diversification (diversity management)
2. Development of an environment that fosters human resources who lead value creation (innovative and global human resources)
3. Smooth labor shift (having diversified human resources exercise their ability to the full, including supporting "adults' relearning")

3) Arrangement of time frame up to realizing Japan's shift to a value-creation society

1. Urgent countermeasures to deal with the yen's appreciation and hollowing out of industry
2. Development of a world-class investment and business environment

• Full text of the report (in Japanese)
• Summary of the report(PDF:1,294KB) Updated on August 6, 2012

June 15, 2012

Industrial Structure Policy Division, Economic and Industrial Policy Bureau