European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 11, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                . Image dips in Japan by Susan Chira new York times a television commercial in Tokyo show what Many japanese now see when the look at the United  . Workers panting from their exertion on an Assembly line turn to each other and say i guess we just can t keep up with the  Only when they drink the japanese health tonic being advertised can they continue. A new Edge is creeping into japanese feeling about the United states born of Pride in economic rights resentment at pressure about Trade and defense and uncertainty about Japan s role in a world that does not include an All powerful United states. The present japanese see a United states profoundly different from the one they were taught to Revere and emulate after world War ii. In japanese eyes the United states is unable to tame its budget and fiscal deficits and eager to blame Japan for problems that were made in America. You be been very slow in recognizing your decline said Masahiko Ishizuka who edits the English language Japan economic journal and has written extensively about the relationship Between Japan and the United states. You have a Trade deficit and a huge external debt. This has been the most obvious sign of the decline of american Power. Now Japan and the United states Are in a unique situation. America s decline is the other Side of the Coin of Japan s  As the japanese wrestle with the implications of their new status changing views of the United states Are Breeding what some Call arrogance and other defend As justifiable self assertion. Other countries Tell us you Are a big boy now and that s news to us said Kuniko Noguchi associate professor of political science at Sophia University in Tokyo. After decades of being told that you Are a Defeated impoverished nation and we believed it you have to allow for the excitement of a country that has recovered and become a real economic Power. We Are in a transition period of Surprise Joy and bewilderment about our new  the turning Point in the japanese perception of the United states Noguchi and Ishizuka agree has been the surge in yen ironically pushed up by the United states As a Way to reverse its Trade deficit with Japan. As the japanese realize they Are Able to buy Choice real estate and prime North american companies and snap up Hermes scarves and Louis Vuitton bags at bargain prices in yen terms they began to see Japan As a rising Power and America As declining. For Young japanese who have Only known a Strong Japan the thought that they should look up to the United states is an alien one. I think the older generation even my own father has an inferiority Complex about foreigners said Nami Matsuko 20, a University student. I Don t think our generation feels that Way any  that is not to say that the japanese see a United states in ruin. Everyone insisted that the United states is still a vital nation with unchallenged military Power the world s largest Economy an affluent lifestyle and natural abundance that leaves resource poor Japan in Awe. The japanese remain acutely aware of their vulnerabilities dependence on other nations for food Energy and Trade. At the same time they find evidence of . Power ebbing while japanese financial rights swells. Japanese Confidence was at first shaken by a decline in the Quality of certain . Products. Now the japanese assume that Many american goods Are poorly made and that . Products do not sell in Japan because of incompetence not Trade barriers. . Businessmen say that legitimate complaints about Trade barriers Are often met by lectures on Quality control and the merits of japanese management. The Quality of most american products is rather poor compared to japanese products and even those of newly industrializing countries said Hajime Karatsu one of Japan s Foremost authorities on Quality control and an Engineer who helped rebuild japanese manufacturing after world War ii. I am quite sad because of All the things we Are doing today we Learned almost All from the americans. I Tell Young product engineers that America is still Good but they Don t believe  the image of american society also suffers by comparison with Japan a nation with Universal literacy Low reported crime and services that work. Although japanese have Learned to shy away from publicly placing the blame for these problems on . Minority groups As the former prime minister Yasuhiro Nakasone discovered when he attributed Low american literacy Levels to the presence of minorities Many japanese in conversation will assert that Japan owes much of its Success to cultural homogeneity. Japanese Are also coming to realize that it will be very difficult for americans living in a society in which there Are a Large number of different races and ethnic groups that have to live together said a japanese writer who has lived in the United states. We suspect this might be reflected in the Quality of your products in the difficulties you have in managing  the changing japanese image of the United states is also prompting a foreign policy debate about How Japan could fit into a new order in which the United states can no longer dictate policy but will share Power and the economic costs of leadership with a group of nations that includes Japan. Slowly and tentatively prodded along the Way by other nations Japan is assuming a higher profile. Prime minister Noboru Takeshita urged the United states to continue to fulfil the responsibilities of a global superpower in a speech he delivered last in june in Chicago. I m concerned about a possible underestimation of american strength Ishizuka said. If the United states reduces its military spending who will fill the vacuum there is no Clear Cut alternative or strategy for Japan. We need to do our  heated debate Over Rice by Teresa Watanabe Knight Ridder newspapers High in the Hills of the Bountiful japanese farming Village of Kaiyo where Lowland Rice paddies gently yield to tobacco Patch Sand Mountain mushrooms Yoshiki Namba served his visitors a Glass of warm milk. Then he spoke his fears. If California Rice and other products Are allowed freely into Japan this Hometown will be destroyed said the Farmer. Virtually All of the 2,000 residents in that Western Japan Village Are Farmers and nearly All of them grow Rice. They have heard California Rice is tasty. They know it is six to 10 times cheaper than japanese Rice. They know they can t compete with it. And they Are All too aware of . Pressure on Japan to lift its virtual ban on Rice imports pressure redoubled when . Trade representative Clayton Yeutter announced that Rice would become the next Trade topic. Indeed the Sticky White Grain commands Center stage in what has become a passionate debate Between the United states and Japan. California Rice growers want Access to what would be their largest Export Market. The ban on Rice they say is even worse than japanese restrictions on american beef oranges or semiconductors. At least they say some of those products Are admitted. But Rice is Japan s oldest and most lucrative crop one cultivated by two thirds of the 4.5 million farming families. And what is under attack is not merely a commodity japanese Rice Farmers say. In this place they Call Mizuho no Kuni country of Rice Rice represents their National soul. The japanese regard Rice As the seed of their spiritual traditions the foundation of their culture and a unifying element in their history. It is regarded As National Security against the meals of boiled Grasshoppers they had to eat after the War. The average japanese eats 165 pounds of Rice annually americans consume Only 10 to 12 pounds. For 2,700 years the japanese have been producing Rice said Jiro Suemori vice president of the Okayama prefectural agricultural cooperative. It is the pillar of not Only agriculture but also our culture and  but Rice is also important to California. The state s 2,500 Rice growers who mainly inhabit the Sacramento Valley have seen their Export markets dwindle from 60 percent to 30 percent of their production after Korea and other customers became self sufficient in Rice. Japan represents a potential $2 billion Market which would make it America s biggest customer for Rice. And no one can Supply it better than California which produces 90 percent of the nation s Stock of Short and medium Grain Rice the Only kind the japanese eat. So critical is Rice to California that gov. George Deukmejian in his Maiden voyage to Japan last year said that unless the Rice ban was lifted he would restore the unitary tax under which multinational corporations that do business in the state Are taxed on their worldwide earnings not just on what they earn in California. To him and others the ban is yet one More infuriating Trade Barrier that Japan employs to keep out . Competitors. They re not letting anything in. That s indefensible said Stephen Gabbert president of the . Rice Millers association. The current policy just allows the Farmers to sit around and get fat and  on one level the Rice debate is a classic . Is. Japan struggle As obvious and exaggerated As Kabuki theater. Japanese naysayers predict that forcing open the Market will topple the ruling Liberal democratic party by undercutting its support among Farmers. It will arouse anti americanism and jeopardize . Military bases Here. It will they say destroy Japan s ability to feed itself thereby placing it at the mercy of foreigners. And they say it could threaten Public health with poisonous . Pesticides even aids. But on another level the debate is As Subtle and impenetrable As a Noh drama. Although the antagonists appear to be the United states and Japan Many observers say the real Battle is taking place within the Island nation itself. The Issue has put the nation s powerful Farmers under unprecedented attack from their countrymen. New York times tasty California Rice is much cheaper than japanese Rice Japan s Farmers know they can t compete with it Urban voters blame them for expensive food which consumes 30 percent of their budget twice what americans pay. They blame Farmers for astronomical prices for land half of which is occupied by crops. Industrialists Are hammering Farmers to open the markets because imports of California Rice and other agricultural products would improve the . Trade imbalance with Japan. That would enable the industrialists to continue to Export heavily to the United states. They also want Rice subsidies phased out in order to lower the Price and free up consumer dollars that could be spent on imports further reducing the Trade imbalance. Two of Japan s most influential business associations Keidan ran and Nik Keiren have come out for liberalization of the Rice Market. So has the Manichi daily news and the japanese housewives association. A hot Best seller new wealth of the nation argues that City dwellers could live in far roomier housing if Farmers would quit Rice production in Urban areas. The Ordinary salary Man would like to get cheaper Rice cheaper oranges and cheaper beef said Yoko Yoshioka an Okayama City housewife. The salary Man does not have Good feelings toward Farmers. Most people envy their life because they Don t pay taxes and because they own the  japanese Farmers Are egoist said Toshihiko Ikuta a Tokyo real estate executive. In return Farmers cry foul. Don t make Rice a Scapegoat said Iwao Yamaguchi of Zenchu the nation s most powerful farm organization in a recent japanese news article. The Trade friction is caused by enormous exports of japanese manufactured goods to the ., and the manufacturing Industry especially car makers should control their exports to soften the  japanese students opt for clubs Over curriculum by Susan Chira new York times Hen Hiroshi Yamamoto goes for his first Job interview and is asked what he did in four years of College he plans to look his potential employer in the Eye and Tell him the truth he played table Tennis. Yamamoto a senior at the prestigious Keio University in Tokyo works hard at table Tennis. He practices with the other members of his table Tennis club five hours a Day six Days a week. For Yamamoto As for most other College students in Japan a club not academic study is the Center of his University life. To a degree unthinkable in Many other countries japanese students forsake their studies for their clubs. Students will choose classes at which attendance is not taken so they can devote More time to club activities. Indeed clubs Are so important that prospective employers scrutinize not grades but club memberships. On the surface clubs Are about having fun an escape from the years of grinding study required to enter a japanese University. But clubs Are where students Are schooled in the All important ways of japanese society How to work together in Harmony How to devote themselves to group goals How to make and preserve relationships How to defer to their seniors and guide their juniors. In japanese colleges Many students spend four years without doing much of anything a spokesman for Sumitomo Bank said in describing his company s recruiting process. So it is a plus for a student if he can say he did something with Devotion. Classes Are a grind clubs Are where students Are schooled in the All important ways of japanese society. If a student was a Captain of the club then he is Likely to be trained in harmonizing the team to produce Good teamwork and to work under pressure. We Don t require them to submit grades. Even if grades Are bad it does not necessarily mean that we Don t want a student. We stress personal  Mami Hasegawa a Junior at Keio learns these lessons on the Tennis court. During the hot summer months when her club goes on a Tennis Retreat she wakes at Dawn to begin chasing Tennis balls. We have to yell fight fight " she said describing her regimen. If our senior hits a Good shot we have to Call out Nice Ball during the summer it is very hard physically. But i think i have Learned from this hard training. I feel like i m pushing my limits of physical and mental  students receive Points for club attendance. We race to attend As Many sessions As possible so people skip class Hasegawa said. Many students seek in clubs a Community and sense of purpose that japanese University education does not offer them said Toshiaki Izeki a professor of sociology at Keio. The popularity of clubs is not something we completely approve of but it shows the underlying problems of the japanese College  top level japanese universities Izeki and his students say Are huge and impersonal and offer a narrow scholarly curriculum that does not seem useful in the world outside the University. At Keio As at Many japanese colleges Only a limited number of students can gain Entrance to Small seminars without any direct Contact with a professor said Daisuke Nakagawa a Keio senior and an avid member of the school Badminton club students have Little incentive to show up on Campus and he knows Many who come to Keio Only once a month. In clubs you can find close friends you know you can have fun Nakagawa said and when you get older and become a Leader it s fun to be Able to Mold an organization. It s kind of like training to be an  for years students have sought training in sports clubs that Are noted both for their demanding physical workouts and for the formal relations Between the older members known As Sendai and the younger ones or Koohai. Junior members must use honorific language when addressing their seniors and run errands for them that include fetching them refreshments or doing their laundry. But in return the seniors try to watch out Tor their juniors coaching them and protecting them in a relationship that often lasts a lifetime and will have its counterpart in company life. Page 14 the stars and stripes monday july 11,1988 the stars and stripes Page 15