O’Connor Returns From Japan With Promises

Mayor Maureen O’Connor met the media Sunday after a whirlwind tour of Japan that she said netted the promise of a potential economic windfall for the city.

“It’s in San Diego’s best interests to be extremely competitive,” O’Connor said at a noon press conference in her office at City Hall. “The opportunity is there, so the question is whether San Diego is willing to take advantage and be successful, or whether the dollars and opportunities will go to other American cities.”

O’Connor’s Monday-to-Sunday junket--which some in city government criticized as being frivolous and self-serving--included visits with the Japanese External Trade Organization (JETRO) and with officials of the Sony Corp., at whose invitation she went.

O’Connor defended the trip, saying she paid for it with her own money and obtained “excused absences” from other members of the City Council before leaving.

She listed these as some of the chief accomplishments of the trip:

* As a show of “good faith,” Japanese officials are interested in a direct flight between Tokyo and San Diego and hope to institute the service just before the America’s Cup finals in May, 1992.

* Sony hopes to improve and expand its facilities in Rancho Bernardo and Otay Mesa and broaden its local base in the future. But, O’Connor said, Sony hopes to rely more heavily on several American cities, among which “the competition is great.”

San Diego is vying with Los Angeles, New York and at least two other large cities, she said, for Sony’s interests.

* Japanese officials hope to extend low-interest loans to American manufacturers willing to sell goods on the Japanese market.

“They are willing to send their experts to San Diego, and our Chamber of Commerce is willing to sponsor a seminar,” O’Connor said. “They will look at all items manufactured in San Diego. They do have a particular interest in medical equipment--therapeutic pools, Jacuzzis. They’re also interested in clothing and furniture. They did not rule out any type of manufacturing.”

* Officials in Yokohama, Japan, which O’Connor called San Diego’s sister city of long standing, are interested in more joint ventures.

“They have millions of dollars to spend, and they’re willing to spend it here,” she said. “They also like San Diego very much.”