Concerned over the evident stresses in the U.S.-Japan relationship and their implications for regional and global efforts such as APEC and the WTO, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Global Industrial and Social Progress Research Institute (GISPRI) in Japan convened study groups of corporate executives, academics, journalists, and former senior government officials to take a candid look at the relationship.
This book, the result of their half-year study, urges both governments to take a number of steps to improve their handling of the relationship. The two groups explored a wide range of issues, identifying points of agreement, disagreement, and potential areas for progress. Among the issues addressed in the study are both governments’ roles in increasing bilateral trade frictions; the creation of a non-binding bilateral dispute settlement mechanism; the end of gaiatsu; the weak Japanese deregulation and domestic stimulus programs; the uncertain future of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty; and conflicting U.S.-Japanese views of the role of China.