In 1986, the Maekawa Commission (the "Advisory Group on Economic Restructuring" headed by Maekawa)Library of Congress (LOC), Maekawa, Haruo proposed economic reforms designed to make the living standards of Japanese more comparable to levels enjoyed in the West.Sterngold, James. "Tokyo's Importing More, but Who's Benefiting?" New York Times. February 25, 1991; "Japan's Broken Pledge of Change Comes Back to Haunt Its Economy," New York Times. August 15, 1992; retrieved 2011-08-17 Maekawa is credited as the chief author of the commission report. WorldCat Identities: Maekawa, Haruo; Mayekawa, Haruo Maekawa Report into effect. His two reports argued that Japan should seek switch from an export-oriented economy into a domestic demand-led economy. They downplayed the need for achieving economic parity using foreign exchange rate adjustments. A new reorientation would require more spending and less saving. There would have to be demand-side improvements in the quality of daily life, changes in Japan's industrial structure and more imports. It proposed industrial structural transformations using market-incentive mechanisms.Mayako Shimamoto, et al. Historical Dictionary of Japanese Foreign Policy (2015) pp 180–181. however the report was merely a statement of long-term goals, and contain no meaningful action programs. Even so it was opposed by many Liberal Democrats, by angry interest groups, and a few prominent economists. The report had very little long-term impact. Kpzp Yamamura, "Shedding the Shackles of Success: Saving Less for Japan's Future." Journal of Japanese Studies 13.2 (1987): 429-456 online.
