Japan Aide Blames Trade Frictions on Americans

Foreign Minister Taro Nakayama said Friday that Americans are to blame for trade friction with Japan because they do not understand this country, do not speak its language or don’t try hard enough to penetrate the Japanese market.

Many business leaders in the United States, however, say that Americans cannot penetrate this market because the Japanese system will not let them do so.

Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu said that he will visit Washington next month to meet with President Bush and reaffirm relations with the United States as the foundation of Japan’s foreign policy.

Nakayama, a physician appointed Wednesday after Kaifu took office, said that “U.S. efforts are lacking” and that Japan’s distribution system should not be held responsible for tensions over trade.

“While I am, of course, aware of the various opinions emanating from the U.S. side in regard to Japan’s distribution system, the distribution systems of the United States and Japan differ as the countries themselves differ,” he said.

He said that “Japan must speak its mind” to bring the United States around to its way of thinking.

Americans, including members of Congress, often complain that Japan’s complex distribution system, in which longstanding relationships and delivery practices take precedence over efficiency and cost-cutting, are a major barrier to U.S. goods.