Morita’s Book on United States

William Pfaff’s commentary, “U.S. Talk, Fear, Bluster Won’t Cut It” (Op-Ed Page, Nov. 13), doesn’t cut it. I was amazed to see that Pfaff took seriously a piece of Japanese literature, “A Japan That Can Say No,” that is overtly chauvinistic and biased.

To call the United States racist because it dropped the atomic bomb on Japan rather than Nazi Germany skirts the facts. The bomb wasn’t even tested until after Germany surrendered. Also, there were Allied troops all over Europe and concentration camps filled with Allied prisoners of war and innocent civilians, all of which were not present in Japan. Too, the Japanese opted to “ignore” (Japanese official’s choice of words) demands to surrender.

And to make a case that the U.S. is racist by looking at the place of blacks here, makes one wonder about the place of blacks in Japan.

Another point: “Americans want to steal Japanese know-how.” Did the Japanese invent TV? Telephones? Computers? Baseball? And why are Japanese scientists and engineers always here in the U.S., rather than the other way around?

Yet another point: “Americans demand that Japanese invest to offset U.S. deficits, but when the Japanese do invest, the public and Congress are overcome ‘by fear and anxiety.’ ” It is one thing to buy from the U.S. and another thing to buy the U.S.

And finally, “Americans don’t trust the Japanese.” This is easy to say. Let’s see the study on this. Conversely, have the Japanese shown that they trust Americans? Hardly. (This book hints at the answer.)

It’s easy to see why Sony Chairman Akio Morita chose not to have his book translated into English. It’s not easy to see how Pfaff could take the book seriously.

PAUL DILESKI, Agoura Hills