Japan’s Hata Urges Solutions to U.S. Disputes

Newly appointed Foreign Minister Tsutomu Hata declared Monday that economic disputes with the United States must be solved as soon as possible and said that both he and Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa want to visit the United States, probably in September.

Hata, who also was named deputy prime minister, made the comments Monday night in a press conference at the Foreign Ministry. Earlier, in initial remarks after being named to the Cabinet, he had said nothing about U.S.-Japan relations.

“Unilateral accumulation of black ink in trade by Japan is harming Japan-U.S. relations,” Hata said.

Visits by the two leaders to the United States might be made when the U.N. General Assembly holds a meeting in New York in late September, or even earlier, he said.

Hata, who played a key role in the formation of Japan’s first coalition since 1948 when he led a band of rebels out of the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party in June, said the solution to the trade dispute lies in Japan’s raising its own living standards and stimulating domestic demand to pull in more imports.

Government regulations should be relaxed to promote competition and “restore vitality” to corporations suffering dwindling profits, he said. Japan should act on its own, he warned, because responding to demands from the United States promotes ill feeling in both countries.

Hiroshi Kumagai, the new minister of international trade and industry, also called for an easing of government regulations and a dispersing of central government powers to local administrations.

Specifics, however, were scarce in press conferences given by all 20 new ministers.

“Looking at the news conferences of the new ministers, there were many remarks that were made looking at memos written by bureaucrats. Even with many new faces, the statements were very similar to the ones our ministers used to make,” said Yohei Kono, president of the Liberal Democratic Party, whose 38-year rule of Japan ended with the installation of Hosokawa’s new Cabinet.

Hosokawa bowed to a demand made last week by the Liberal Democrats to deliver a policy address to Parliament on Aug. 23 and answer questions Aug. 25-28. Parliament will be extended by two weeks to permit the scrutiny.

Meanwhile, Hosokawa and South Korean President Kim Young Sam agreed in a telephone conversation that they should meet as early as possible. Hosokawa assured Kim that Japan will continue to cooperate with Seoul and Washington to persuade Communist North Korea to abandon its effort to develop nuclear weapons.