Candor on Issues Noted at Japan-U.S. Conference

The 20th Japan-American Conference, an event usually marked by deferential talk among politicians and businessmen on economic issues, ended Wednesday after three days of what participants called “unusually frank” debates on sensitive topics ranging from politics and the environment to race and culture.

“I have seen an increase in the candor of the discussions of a serious nature at this conference over the last several sessions,” Mayor Tom Bradley observed in a speech before the closing session. “I, for one, am very pleased about it, and very proud that we see this emerging determination by our delegates to really come to grips with some of the critical issues that confront us.”

The Japan-American Conference of Mayors and Chamber of Commerce Presidents, which has been alternately hosted by Japan and the United States every other year since 1951, has long been an important forum for addressing issues affecting the two countries. But it was not until the mid-1980s, as Japan skyrocketed in economic stature and political influence, that delegates from the two nations began to frankly air their differences over sensitive economic issues such as trade barriers, business practices and domestic budget deficits, conference regulars said.

This year, with a record 349 conference delegates on hand and with Gov. George Deukmejian becoming the first California governor to attend the event, the discussions grew even more candid and wide ranging. Japanese and U.S. leaders touched on everything from AIDS and drug abuse to racism and national security.

“We have to come to grips with the critical issues that confront us,” beyond the issues of trade imbalances, said John S. Reed, chairman of Citicorp. “We have to talk about the environment . . . we have a common interest in the global economy . . . helping the developing world,” said Reed, echoing similar comments by other Japanese and American speakers.

Many Common Interests

Added Seizaburo Sato, a political science professor at the University of Tokyo: “The common interests between the U.S. and Japan are many. . . . For example, the (military) security interest . . . countering the threat of the Soviet Union.” Sato also said the United States and Japan “should do their best to solve the issues of AIDS and drugs” by using their scientific and political resources.

Although no economic or political policy measures are implemented by delegates, the Japan-American conference is considered extremely influential on the business, political and economic relations between the two nations, particularly at the local and regional level, experts say.

James Day Hodgson, former U.S. ambassador to Japan, summed up the sentiment of several participants when he noted that conferences inevitably end on “expressions of good will.” But what is really needed, he said, “is to start on (solving) specifics.”