Japan to Tighten Export Rules

WASHINGTON — Japan vowed today to tighten its export-licensing procedures and said it will take other steps to guard against illegal sales of sensitive technology to the Soviet Union like that made recently by a subsidiary of Toshiba Corp, the Commerce Department announced.

Japan’s trade minister, Hajime Tamura, also promised that his agency will pursue its investigation of the Toshiba incident “with a view toward criminal prosecution,” a spokesman for Commerce Secretary Malcolm Baldrige said. Baldrige and Tamura met for two hours today and ended the meeting “in basic agreement on Japan’s future role in improving the cooperation and effectiveness of export controls,” said the spokesman, B. Jay Cooper.