Japan Times
Opinion
December 26, 1999
Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara, in his Dec. 7 commentary, "Stand up on your own, Japan," wrote, "Under U.S. strategies, the Japanese, known for their manufacturing prowess, are allowed to make money through foreign trade, but the profits they make are used to benefit the U.S."
Although this certainly is the case at the moment, Ishihara fails to point out that the main cause of such a situation is not due to any deliberate strategy of the United States, which is helping to keep the already feeble Japanese economy alive by absorbing Japanese exports, but entirely the fault of Japan for not increasing its imports from the U.S. and other countries, an act that may benefit Japanese consumers.
Through nontariff barriers, structural impediments, and monopolistic behavior that protect specific strong producer and service groups in Japan such as the agricultural sector, the average Japanese consumer is not able to fully enjoy the fruits of her or her labor, and is, for example, forced to pay higher than world average prices for such daily necessities such as food and housing. This is what is pulling down living standards.
Instead of making veiled accusations at the U.S. for the various failures of the Japanese economy, Ishihara should devote his energies to attacking the groups that protect producers and help transform Japan into a truly open, consumer-based society in which the majority of Japanese society can enjoy the returns from the country's foreign trade.
KO UNOKI
Fujisawa, Kanagawa
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