Japan as Competitor

摘要

The article from the March 1990 edition of Foreign Policy develops two majorthemes. The first is that the US and Japan in the 1990s and beyond will be competitors and at the same time benefit from increased cooperation. The competition is inevitable as both countries are leaders in the research, development, production and sale of advanced technology products, sold in each other's national markets as well as around the world. If our two national markets are free and open, the consumer in each country will benefit from the competition. At the same time, the article points out that 'Japan and the US, with the European Community as the third partner, will have much to gain by increasing their cooperation on items from the global agenda-for instance, managing macroeconomic relationships, solving problems of growth and debt in developing countries, and looking for solutions to global problems like AIDs, pollution and global environmental degradation.' The second theme develops alternative scenarios for the evolution of the US-Japan relationship in the 1990s and beyond. The most likely scenario will find Japan, in its own self-interest, becoming a more open economy and a more mature democracy along the lines of the older democracies of North American and the European Community. At the same time, the US, in its own self-interest, will take the costly and unpopular steps necessary to reduce the federal budget deficit, to lengthen economic time horizons, and to upgrade the education system to improve our international competitiveness. The Commission on US-Japan Relations for the Twenty First Century calls attention to several issues and recommendations it draws from the article.