Administrative guidance (gyōsei shidō 行政指導) is a principal instrument of enforcement used extensively throughout the Japanese government to support a wide range of policies.
The persuasion is exerted and the advice is given by public officials, who often have the power to provide or to withhold loans, grants, subsidies, licenses, tax concessions, government contracts, import permits, foreign exchange, and approval of cartel arrangements.
Mechanisms used by the Japanese government to affect the economy typically relate to trade, labor markets, competition, and tax incentives.
Government and business leaders generally agree that the composition of Japan's output must continually shift if living standards are to rise.
At the same time, government promoted the managed decline of competitively troubled industries, including textiles, shipbuilding, and chemical fertilizers through such measures as tax breaks for corporations that retrained workers to work at other tasks.
The government showed little inclination to promote such booming parts of the economy as fashion design, advertising, and management consulting.