P.M. BRIEFING : Don’t Bash Japan, Delegate Says
A Japanese business leader said the United States should “stop whining” about Japan’s trade barriers and stop “bashing Japan as a scapegoat” for America’s own economic problems.
Tadashi Yamamoto, president and chairperson of the Japan Center for International Exchange, made the remarks at the final day of Pacific University’s First Pacific Symposium.
Yamamoto said he was worried about negative feelings toward Japan in the United States. A poll presented to delegates by Rep. Les AuCoin (D-Ore.) showed his constituents resent the Japanese.
“The negative feelings for Japan have slipped out of the beltway and into such hospitable communities as Portland, which is reason for grave concerns by the Japanese,” Yamamoto said.
Yamamoto added, however, that he is leaving the symposium with a great optimism about future ties between the two countries.
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