Thatcher Begins Japanese Tour With Trade Imbalance Warning

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher left today on a four-day visit to Tokyo and warned that Japan cannot continue to rely on Britain’s open markets unless it becomes more open to imports.

Thatcher, who will attend a conference arranged by the International Democrat Union, said she will have talks with Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu before the conference starts and will meet Emperor Akihito.

Thatcher said she would “tackle” Kaifu personally over the continuing delay of the Tokyo stock exchange in granting membership to two British investment companies, James Capel and Barclays de Zoete Wedd.

“We have an adverse balance of payments, and they (Japan) have a colossal balance of payments surplus,” Thatcher said in a television interview before her departure. “Part of that is because our markets are far more open than theirs, and they must open their markets more.”

To emphasize her point, the government Central Statistical Office reported that first-quarter British exports to Japan totaled $912 million, compared to $2.773 billion of Japanese imports by Britain. Figures for the last four years showed a similar trend.