Mansfield Presses Japan on Trade Curbs : U.S. Envoy Asks Lower Agriculture Barriers, Bigger Defense Role

U.S. Ambassador Mike Mansfield today called on Japan to join in dropping trade barriers and contribute more to its own defense.

Mansfield’s remarks came two days after Japanese farmers smashed and burned an American car, torched boxes of U.S. oranges and set fire to a U.S. flag in a rally in western Japan. The estimated 300 farmers were protesting U.S. demands that Japan end its restrictions on imported beef and oranges.

For two hours today, Mansfield answered questions at the invitation of a foreign affairs and defense committee of the Japanese Diet (legislature).

The former U.S. senator, a specialist in international affairs, was asked by committee Chairman Takenori Kato of the governing Liberal Democratic Party about the agricultural issues that have embroiled the two countries in disputes since the quota system on beef and oranges expired April 1.

Mansfield promoted his proposal to include Japan in a Free Trade Agreement, which is intended to remove trade barriers between the United States and Japan and put them on an equal footing. But he acknowledged that neither country had shown any interest in the plan. Mansfield said the “prospect looks very bleak indeed” for such an accord, even though the United States is working on similar proposals with Israel and Mexico.

Mansfield said an intermediate-range nuclear weapons agreement under review by the U.S. Senate would put more pressure on nations to strengthen their conventional forces at a time when the world is already too heavily armed and too much money is being spent on weapons.

Although he said he wants Japan to help share the military burden, he said he does not want Japan to violate its constitution, which prohibits military action other than defense.

He said the United States is no longer in a position to carry the burden of defending other nations as it did after World War II.