European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 07, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Pearl Harbor . And Japan face off in a new kind of Bat Lethe associated press it worked for decades. The United slates played big brother and Little Japan tagged along busily rebuilding from wartime devastation while enjoying . Protection from the soviet menace. But those Days Are gone. The United states is not the monolithic Power it once was the cold War is history and Japan is an economic giant viewed by Many fearful americans As predatory and unfair. Fifty years after Pearl Harbor sent the two nations to War Japan and the United states face yet another Crossroads will the so called new world order Force them asunder or will it present new opportunities for cooperation despite the tensions tearing at the Alliance most observers say its Bedrock is firm. It is built on economic and Cross cultural ties that have become inextricable in an Era when hondas throng . Highways and Toky oites flock to a nearby Disneyland and Munch . Fast food. Quot you have a couple of major trends in the world that i believe will lend Long term durability to the very close ties Between our countries Quot . Ambassador Michael Armacost said in a recent interview. Quot one is simply the globalization of the world Market. We be become increasingly interdependent on one another. And second there Are a Host of problems that Are appearing that simply cannot be resolved unilaterally Quot he said citing efforts to save the environment to liberalize global Trade add to bring the soviets into the world Economy despite recent attempts to sound the death Knell of the .-Japan Alliance a one Book is sensationally titled Quot the coming War with Japan Quot a deep ties from the postwar Era remain. The japanese consider As sacrosanct Tor example their pacifist Constitution that was a gift from . Occupiers after world War ii it renounces War and enshrines democratic institutions. American culture has completely won Over Japan where . Movies Are King and pop icons such As Madonna and . Hammer play to packed Arenas. Ads for English classes Dot subway trains and sidewalk billboards. Across the Pacific japanese products have won Over the United states with their moderate prices and High Quality. What american consumer is not familiar with the names Toyota Honda. Sony and Hitachi an economically ascendant Japan also has made huge investments a purchasing Treasury Bills to fund the . Federal deficit for example a that have helped America grow despite its Lack of savings. The surge of japanese imports and High profile purchases of key . Companies a Mca corp. By Waikiki sidewalk cafe 2520more than 1.4 million japanese visit Hawaii annually. Among the stops the Arizona memorial. Matsushita electric and Columbia pictures by Sony corp. A also have been a source of great tension. Many americans see Japan As simply a mercantilist nation and the Halls of Congress Are forever filled with demands that so called unfair Trade practices be met with punitive action if the United states pulls out of its recession and Japan s Economy cools Down sending the Trade deficit higher the rhetoric May go up yet another notch. Anger toward Japan increased during the Gulf crisis when Many americans Felt Tokyo did not move Quick enough to assist the .-led allies. Critics wondered aloud Why gis should die defending a free flow of Oil that was More important to Japan than the United states. To Many people in Japan that smacked of Japan bashing of blaming Tokyo for everything. Many japanese feel that their country s contribution to the War which eventually totalled $13 billion and was raised largely through additional taxes was insufficiently appreciated. Visitors from Japan such As these on Waikiki Beach spent $4 billion in Hawaii last  visiting japanese couple strolls by one of Many japanese restaurants in Honolulu. The Gulf War also was viewed by some japanese As proof that the United states was a trigger Happy and dangerous ally. The tensions unleashed by the War led to renewed interest Here in Shintaro Ishihara a lawmaker of the governing Liberal democratic party who won notoriety in the United states for his Book titled Quot the Japan that can say  Ishihara argued that americans were biased against japanese. He urged greater Independence from Washington and suggested that Japan As a bargaining ploy could threaten to withhold from the United states technology needed for weapons manufacture. With Tough talk coming from both sides of the Pacific it s not too surprising that recent Public opinion polls in both countries suggest that As soviet Power declines japanese and americans View each other As greater threats. Armacost and others acknowledge that such Public attitudes Are a cause of worry but there Are signs of Hope. Bilateral Trade pacts have been signed on issues such As semiconductors Wood products and imports of . Beef and Citrus. With formal barriers to Trade fast disappearing the two countries last year reached a historic agreement to attack informal barriers such As Japan s often exclusionary distribution system the Gulf War appears to have finally convinced the japanese that they Are too powerful economically to sit on the sidelines. Although Japan s decentralized Power Structure and Premium on consensus politics ensures that Washington will take the Lead in times of crises for the foreseeable future there is a realization Here that More must be done besides wielding a Check Book. Last Spring japanese minesweepers were sent to the persian Gulf in the first overseas military deployment since world War ii. The diet May soon approve the Quot use of japanese troops abroad to participate in United nations peacekeeping activities. Tokyo also has increased its financial support for the tens of thousands of . Troops stationed Here to 50 percent of costs excluding salaries a sign that it remains committed to the bilateral Security treaty. Since a 1985 agreement that sent the yen s value soaring against the Dollar . Exports to Japan have More than doubled to $49 billion last year. Japanese exports to the United states Rose 30 percent during that time to $90 billion. That has narrowed the Trade deficit from a 1987 High of $56 billion to $41 billion in 1990. The one thing that officials in Washington and Tokyo agree on unanimously is that the bilateral relationship is too important to let fall apart. Trade Between the two countries reached $139 billion last year which Means that millions of people have a direct stake in maintaining Friendly ties. 16 the stars and stripes saturday december 7,1991