Restructuring Japan’s Rustbelt

Abstract

The crisis of Japan’s political economy raises the question of how it has dealt with the restructuring of its peripheral industrial regions, and the degree to which it has embraced neoliberal policies. I argue that the spread of neoliberalism in Japan has been uneven, shaped by local settings and adopted only selectively. To make this case, the article focuses on restructuring in Muroran City (2010 population, 94,600), a city of steel and heavy industry that lies on the southern coast of Hokkaido. I examine the changing fortunes of Muroran over the 1985-2010 period based upon a number of site visits made in the last 25 years or so. Set against contemporary industrial restructuring in Japan, the article evaluates the actions of the city’s major employer (Nippon Steel Corporation), central government ministries, and programs of the City of Muroran. The results show that despite the rise of the neoliberal rhetoric in Japan, restructuring in Muroran reflected a commitment to manufacturing and the local workforce by corporate as well as central and local governments.