‘Japan Seeks World Influence’
Prime Minister Takeshita, in the 2 1/2 hour session which marked George Bush’s first meeting as President with a foreign leader, declared repeatedly that the United States and Japan should cooperate on more equal footing on “joint endeavors in order to create a better world.”
We can applaud these words, but when will we see concrete evidence that Japan is ready to put these ideals ahead of the lure of immediate profits? I would point specifically to Japan’s failure to abide by agreements to stop killing whales. A Times article (Part I, Feb. 4) tells us of Japan’s involvement in road building in the Amazon, where precious and dwindling rain forests will be endangered. Japan has already been guilty of participation in the despoiling of forest lands in Asia.
The Japanese know that world ecology is already seriously threatened. Now it’s time for Japan to turn its impressive skills toward mending the damage. When this happens we will believe in the possibility of “joint endeavors . . . to create a better world.”
BARNEY PACKMAN
Los Angeles
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