Passage 2
American hopes that pressure from the U. S. will force Japan to suddenly dismantle its trade barriers are almost certain to evaporate in disappointment.
The fact is that Washington faces an obstacle far more formidable than a few power brokers in Tokyo's government offices. It must buck centuries-old, deeply ingrained Japanese customs. To move the Japanese government, Washington must move an entire nation.
So far, the U. S. has had only limited success despite congressional threats to retaliate.In an April 9 nationwide broadcast, Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone urged the Japanese to buy more imported goods and unveiled a long-awaited three-year plan to ease import restrictions. But this program was far short of what Washington hoped to see. White House Chief of Staff Donald Regan said the Japanese offered "few new or immediate measures. While the plan did promise fewer curbs on imports of telecommunications gear, medicine and medical equipment, it offered no relief for American forest products-which are among the most contentious trade issues.
Nakasone gives every sign of being secure in his desire to reduce a Japanese surplus in trade with the U. S. that hit 36. 8 billion dollars in 1984 and could soon top 50 billion. Yet to rely on any one Japanese political leader, no matter how popular he is at home, to reverse trade policies is to underestimate the culture and traditions that weigh heavily against a breakthrough.
Big business and dozens of anonymous bureaucrats have as much power as Japan's top elected leaders.
"The whole concept that we can turn this around right now is patently ridiculous,"says an American trader who has lived and worked here since 1952. "The vested interests are being shaken and slowly moved, but at a pace too slow for the eye to follow.
49.What of the Japanese government is meant to be "moved"?