"The third way" to economic recovery, as advocated by Prime Minister Naoto Kan, appears to have been misinterpreted by a columnist who wrote for the July 3 issue of Nihon Keizai Shimbun, a leading Japanese economic journal.
In the article titled "What is the Third Way?," the columnist stated that the "first way" called for an economic recovery led by investment in public-works projects and that the "second way," which replaced the first way, turned out to be a mistake, as it involved excessive market fundamentalism that relied too heavily on supply-side economic policies, attaching importance to improvements in productivity.
The third way, he wrote, is aimed at achieving economic growth by creating demand that contributes to resolving problems related to social security and environmental protection.