ternational economic development to a high art.
Also important was the Japanese tradition of cultural stability and hierarchy. In this regard, Williams (1994) cites the tradition of the difference between manifest power and the power behind the throne, or between surface and reality. This concept helps explain the character of development of internal political, social, and economic power in postwar Japan. The focus of development as far as industry was concerned was specifically technological in nature. Further, it was organized around direct cooperation between government and industry. In the current period, cooperation between government and industry occurs especially through the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), which is an official screen for a cartel. Officially, MITI is not a government agency but an unofficial advisory board. But it, like earlier Japanese cartels such as zaibatsu, has the force of authority for cross-industrial development. Meanwhile, such cartels within cartels as zoku or even yakuza, which are screens for gangsterism and corruption in the modern period (Williams, 1994). This is important to understanding the "now" of Japanese histor
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