When Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed at the World Economic Forum in Davos to take a "drill bit" to the "solid rock" of vested interests blocking reforms to Japan's economy, executives at companies such as General Electric and IBM paid attention.
In the months that followed his January appearance at Davos, blue-ribbon panels sought out GE and IBM for advice on how to give companies more flexibility in hiring and pay.
But the labor market deregulation announced last week as part of his economic package aimed at boosting investment in Japan and lifting growth, stops far short of the sweeping change that foreign business leaders sought.