liberalization

Filed in archive Global Economy on December 3, 2003

The Economist targets the windmills a Japanese retail chain has to fight. There are many parallels to Germany. Many German political parties made verbal commitments to reform of labor markets and reduction of bureaucracy. But few things have been done so far.

"The battle began in August when Don Quijote decided to sell non-prescription drugs all day---and all night. Though regulations bar stores from selling medicine without a pharmacist on the premises, the retailer installed videophones at ten stores so that customers wanting a night-time box of aspirin could do so after consulting a pharmacist remotely. Local health authorities quickly gave warning that the new service might be illegal. Don Quijote responded by offering instead free minimum doses of non-prescription drugs after-hours..."

Don Quijote is one of only a few companies that have dared publicly to take on Japan's powerful ministries. Its battle is reminiscent of those fought by Yamato Transport, these days Japan's biggest parcel-delivery firm, which fought the transport ministry (in court) and the postal ministry (at the Fair Trade Commission) in its drive to create a door-to-door delivery market in the 1980s and 1990s (and is still trying to beat back Japan Post, a public entity which until recently was controlled by the postal ministry). MK Taxi, a Kyoto-based taxi firm, has also repeatedly fought the transport ministry during the past couple of decades, as it tries to create a cheaper, customer-friendly taxi service."