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third largest producer of steel and
machine tools. The list is lengthy.
Sorne econornists predict that Japan
will enjoy the world's highest Gross
National Product by the turn of the
century - just 29 years hence! And yet
Japan faces severa! major problems that
threaten to disrupt her economy unless
the proper solutions can be found.
Japan Versus the
U. S.?
Japanese products flooding American
markets have resulted in sorne tension
between these two nations. Japanese au–
tomobiles, television, stereos, and
espe–
ciaily
textiles
have hit American
manufacturers very hard. American tex–
tile manufacturers claim that if imports
of certain synthetic materials made in
Japan are not curtailed, many thousands
of American textile workers will lose
their
jobs.
As of July
1,
Japan voluntarily
restricted textile exports to the
U.
S.
However, the textile problem is far
from resolved.
The solution to this seeming eco–
nomic impasse is not an easy one to
find. These facets of the problem must
be considered.
The United States is Japan's best
single customer. One third of al1 Japa–
nese exports ( over $5 billion annually)
go to the U. S. On the other hand,
Japan purchases vast quantities of raw
materials from the U. S. American coal
supplies half of Japan's requirements.
Alaska has become a virtual Japanese
economic tributary. Japanese industry is
deeply involved in Alaskan lumber,
pulp milis, fertilizer manufacturing and
oil development. A remarkable
65%
of
all Alaskan exports go to Japan!
Still, Japan
selh
about one billion
dollars
MORE
in goods to the U. S. than
she
bt~ys.
She would prefer to keep the
American market strong as well as be
able to purchase American raw mate–
rials and fuels. Should a trade war break
out, Japan would also come out a loser.
The Need to Oiversify
To offset the possibility of curtailed
trade with the U. S., Japan must diver–
sify her rnarkets.
Trade with the nations once included
in the concept of the Greater East Asia
Co-Prosperity Sphere of pre-World War
Top left
and
below- Wide Wodd;
T
op
ríght
-
S
un Te¡.pholo
"JAPAN, INCORPORATED"
- The huge American market is
Japan's biggest export customer.
Honda motorcycles (above), Nikon
cameras (below) and Datsun auto–
mobiles are only three of the
many Japanese products rapidly
gaining popularity in the United
States.
II
days represents a great market
potential -
IF
it can be developed.
Total exports to all Oriental nations
are almost as great as those
to
the U. S.
But Mainland China, with her
750
mil–
lion people, is still a largely untapped
market for Japanese industry.
Like China, the smaller nations of
Asia are poor. To improve the Asian
market will require extensive invest–
ments in the area.
But even with her immense wealth,
Japan is limited as to how much she can
invest in forei&n enterprises of doubtful
value.
Many of the "have-not" nations have
not because they are filled with corrupt
politicians and businessmen, are short
on educated a·nd skilled technicians and
lack national unity and cohesivencss.
Right now many
free
Asían nations
are a good market for Japanese goods
because of forcign aid, war reparations
from Japan and a certain amount of
prosperity brought on by the Indo–
China war. They have raw materials
and fuels but most of these have been
developed by foreigners. Further dcvel–
opment of these reserves awaits more
foreign investment.
When - or
if -
the Indo-China
war ends, any income from that conflict
will disappear. The ability of people in
these nations to buy Japanese products
will therefore diminish.
Realistic observers of Southeast Asia
can see a time when the Malayan
crescent - Indo-China, Indonesia, the
Philippines - will have little to offer
in the way of exports other than lirnited
foodstuffs and minerals. When that
time comes, these countries will not be
able to purchase Japanese products in
rcturn.
What About Euro
pe?
If she were to lose the U. S. as a
prime customer and the small Asían
nations failed to grow, could Japan
expect Europe to absorb her immense
and growing output? Today Europe
purchases about
15%
of Japan's total
exports - less than half of that of the
U. S.
Europe is an important buyer of
Japanese goods, but there is no substan–
tial indication that she will ever
fill
the
roll of the U. S. as Japan's
major
mar–
ket. In fact, there are certain indica–
tions that Europe will import an even