FOCUS : Japanese Companies Can Polish Image by Finding U.S. Partners

Within a public opinion study that unveiled a great deal of America’s concern over U.S.-Japanese economic relations was some advice for any Japanese firm interested in improving its standing in the United States: Forge partnerships with U.S. firms and develop good relations with American communities.

Those suggestions were contained in the second part of a two-pronged study sponsored by advertising giant Saatchi & Saatchi, a firm with a number of Japanese corporate clients. The first part of the study, based on a survey by an independent pollster, showed that most Americans believe that the Japanese engage in unfair trade practices and that most would support severe trade and investment sanctions against Japan.

In an effort to understand that attitude, psychologists and cultural anthropologists interviewed many respondents for up to two to three hours about their concerns. They concluded that much of the “resentment” toward the Japanese stems from a loss of American self-esteem.

That analysis was contained in the second section of the two-part report released last week.

“Self-esteem, in the social context, is derived by how we feel we as a nation ‘stack up’ against other nations,” the Saatchi & Saatchi report said. “As individuals who derive a great deal of our identity from being American, we constantly evaluate ourselves, and our self worth, against others.

“Today, as other powers--in particular, Japan--have become more prominent, we still evaluate ourselves against others,” the report continued. “But now we perceive ourselves as slipping, while others have gained.”

Earl Gandel, a Torrance-based executive vice president at Saatchi & Saatchi who helped plan the study, said American resentment is not attributable to simple envy.

“Americans admire many qualities of the Japanese--including their success,” Gandel said. “However, when you factor in the economic problems Americans have experienced--that’s when Japan becomes a scapegoat.”

Contending that many Americans have an inaccurate view of U.S.-Japanese business relations, Gandel referred to a separate 1991 survey report that seems to indicate some American gains in Japan’s markets. The survey, conducted by the Tokyo offices of the Chicago-based management consulting firm of A. T. Kearney, involved 340 U.S. firms with Japanese operations.

Kearney reported that more than half the American businesses said the investment climate in Japan has improved in the past five years and is now favorable or somewhat favorable. Also, 60% said their trade with Japan had more than doubled over that period. And nearly half said they were meeting or exceeding their sales targets.

In contrast, the majority of the American public sees a conspiratorial factor operating in Japan, according to the Saatchi & Saatchi poll. In all, 72% said they believed that Japan’s government and industry “are committed to dominating the world economy.”

Japanese companies should respond to the more extreme American attitudes toward their nation by stressing a “common ideal,” the Saatchi & Saatchi report said.

“A belief in the value of hard work and industriousness (is) the basis for social and economic good,” the report said. “This common ideal provides the link between the two sets of cultural values.”

Japanese firms must also act--not just tout common ideals, the survey said.

The report urged Japanese firms to:

* Establish joint ventures that require U.S. companies’ expertise and involvement.

* Highlight American technology in Japanese products.

* Give credit to American ingenuity and know-how.

* Highlight benefits of the U.S-Japanese interdependence.

* Exhibit good corporate citizenship by supporting programs designed to help the American communities in which they have operations.

Americans must also begin to reassess their relationship with the Japanese, said Steve Clemons, executive director of the Japan American Society of Southern California. Clemons said some American politicians are leery of speaking their mind on the U.S.-Japanese issue.

“Some are afraid of being called a Japan-basher,” Clemons said. “We need to realize that we can disagree with Japan--but we need to do that constructively. Otherwise, we could wreck the relationship.”