Please Note: The following article has critical bias of the subject matter.
The Economy of Japan was originally a socialistic, planned economy but transitioned to a mixed economy with heavy state influence. Many economists, on both the left and right side of the political spectrum have criticized it as oppression, illiberalism, and promotion of income inequality. As state influence decreased, the rate of GDP growth increased immensely, in conjunction, the economic inequality also decreased, although not as much as the GDP growth.