Tokyo Blasts U.S. Action on Toshiba : Will Call on Reagan to Veto Congress’ Trade Sanction Bill

The Japanese government lashed out today at what it called a “deplorable” move by Congress to impose trade sanctions on Toshiba Corp. for selling high technology to the Soviet Union.

Japan criticized Congress for preparing to take action against Toshiba after the Japanese administration and courts took what they considered adequate steps to punish the company and assure that future violations are prevented.

“It is deplorable that the U.S. government is planning to impose sanctions . . . in addition to the punishment Japan administered,” said Hajime Tamura, the minister for international trade and industry.

House and Senate negotiators, working on a compromise trade bill, agreed Thursday on a three-year ban on all imports from Toshiba Machine Co., the subsidiary responsible for the illegal sales to the Soviet Union, and a three-year ban on government purchases of products from the parent company, Toshiba Corp.

Action ‘Deplorable’

“It is very deplorable that the U.S. Congress is going to pass a trade bill with sanctions against a foreign company,” said Keizo Obuchi, spokesman for Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita. “We will ask President Reagan to veto the bill.”

The Japanese government has banned Toshiba Machine from exporting to Eastern Bloc countries for a year, stiffened its export law and doubled the number of investigators monitoring sensitive exports.

A Tokyo court found Toshiba Machine guilty, fined it $15,000 and gave suspended sentences to two executives for providing the technology for the Soviet Union to build quieter submarines.

Japanese officials argue that the responsibility for stopping sensitive exports lies with them, not with Congress, and that the sanctions will set back their work to stop illegal exports.

Toshiba Machine exported submarine propeller milling machines to the Eastern Bloc between 1982 and 1984, violating the rules of the Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls, of which Japan and the United States are members.