JPRS ID: 8674 JAPAN REPORT

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• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00850R000100090033-5
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• Document Page Count: 31
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• Content Type: REPORTS

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JPRS L/8674
21 September 1~979~
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. ~a an Re ort
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~ CFOUO 27/79)
FBIS FOREIGN BR~OADCAST INFORMATION SERVICE
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JPRS L/8674
21 5eptember 1979
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CONTENTS PAGE
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� POLITICAL AND SOCIOLOGICAL
~ 'AKAHATA' Criticizes Ohira's Stance in Diet Session
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(JPS, 6 Sep 79) 1
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! Growing Influence of SDF Uniformed Personnel Cause for Concern _=n
I (SEKAI, Aug 79) 3
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' ECONOMIC
! Experts Claim Japan Will Survive Trade War
! 9
~ (SHIJKAN ASAHI, 6 Jul 79)......�
_i _
i Ministry Wants To Revive Aircraft Financing System
~ (MAINICHI DAILY NEWS, 17 Aug 79).. 18
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` Hokkaido Linked to National Power Grid
(MAINICHI DAILY NEWS, 15 Aug 79) 2~
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Government Subsidy Puts T~ife Into Shipping Industry
' (MAINICHI DAILY NEWS, 17 Aug 79) 22
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' SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
I Industry Gearing iJp for Small-Car War With U.S.
' (ASAHI EVENING NEWS, 20 Aug 79)............~... 24,.
New Air Condicioner 40 Percent More Effective
~ (MAINICHI DAILY NEWS, 10 Aug 79) 26
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~ Cylindrical Solar.Heater Developed
i (MAINICHI DAILY NELJS, 15 Aug 79) 27
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~ _ a_ [III - ASIA - iii FOUO]
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POI.TTICAL AIJD SOCIOLOGICAL
AFCAHATA'CRITICIZES OHIRA'S STANCE IN DIET SESSION
I Tokyo JPS in English 6 Sep 79 OW
I [TextJ Tokyo, 6 Sep JPS--Prime Minister Masayoshi Ohira took a defiant ~
stance in answering representatives' questioning on September 5 in the
House of Representatives.
AKAHATA reported this in its September 6 issue. AKAHATA sai3:
Prime Minister Ohira took a domineeringly defiant stance throughout on all
the questi.oning, including the aircraft import graft, tax increases, and
the ener.gy problem, including the kerosene price hike, taking a challenging
' position against the people. 7.'hus ~ toughtest anti-people nature of the
Ohira government was brought to the light. Atter the party representatives'
questioning on September 6 and 7, Prime Minister Ohira is going to dissolve
I; the Diet on a solely selfish cause, w-lthout any deliberations about the Ohira
administration. The responsibility of some opposition parties, lending hands
~ to this administration, must be also questioned severely.
~ On this day, Shoichi Shimodaira(Socialist), Haruo Kino (Liberal-Democrat),
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and Hiroshi Nishimiya (Socialist) took the floor for the questioning, asking
the government's views on the political stance, steps to curb the inflation-
ary prices, the reconstruction of the national finance, and energy.
On the kerosene price, which the ~e4ple are now suffering from the abnormal
~ rise, and worrying about its price fluctuation from this autumn to the win-
ter, the prime minister said that "the government will not intervene in the
oil price," and that "if there is no abnormal buying, the price will settle
down by itself," taking a laissez-faire policy on the price rise. As for
Minister of International Trade and Industry Masumi Esaki, he even came out 1'~~
! to ~ay on the price of kerosene, which is rising over 1,000 yen per 18 litres d
that it is not limited to particular sections in Japan, that "this is not
exorbitant."
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i On the aircraft import graft, Prime Minister Ohira cited the judiciary
authorities' investigation report saying that "Ex-Prime Minis~er Nobusuke
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Kishi is cleared of the saspicion, and ex-Defense Agency Director General
Raizo Matsuno is not exposed to the charge of per~ury," and refused to carry ;
on the Diet investigation on them. Prime Minister Ohira, at the same time, '
took an unfair attitude of denying the Diet's independent investigation into
the truth of the aircraft import graft, on the strength of the Diet's right
to investigate the national administration, by saying that "if the Diet
wants to carry on th~=inquiry, it should make a wise decision deriving from ,
this fact (the judiciary authorities' judgment)." Ohira saj.d, "It is a ,
groundless slander to say that the government and the Liberal Democratic f_
Party are reluctant from investigating the aircraft import scandal," and ,
he turned defiant and said, "I will give it right back at you the ground-
less slander that the dissolution of the Diet is being speed~d up" to con-
ceal the scandal. :
On the question of the recon:truction of the national finance, Prime Min- ~
ister Ohira kept silent on the machinatior~ of giving preferential treatments i
to big busi..ess, and defiantly said, "On rectifying the unequal taxation i
system, the government is giving efforts every fiscal year." But he said
openly of the coercive tax increases on the people, saying "we must ask the .
- people to share new burdens." On the general consumer tax, Ohira said that he
is not going to "insist" on it to gloss over the issue, but he implied in- ~
tention to rush tax increase at one full swoop, the introduction of the gen- :
eral consumer tax, by saying, "a concrete answer will be given in the budget i
for fiscal 1980." ~
On the foreign affairs and the security issue, Prime Minister Ohira said,
"We should not take lightly of the military strength," indicating the rein-
forcement of the self-defense forces by employing the world "military strength." ;
and by laying stress on the "faithful and efficient application of the Japan- ~
U.S. security treaty," he indicated that the government has an intention to ,
strengthen the Japan-U.S. military alliance setup. i
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~ ' POLI'PICAL AND SOCIOLOGICAL -
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GROWTNG IN~'LTJENCE OF SDF UNI~'~:2MED PERSONNEL CAUSE FOR CONCERN
' Tokyo SEKAI in Japan~se Aug 79 pp 201-204 -
(Excerpt] Recently the active role being assumed by the uniformed exec- _
ut3.ves of the Defense Agency has become conspicuous. For example, the chief
of staff of the Ground ~orces, Shigeto Nagano, made a statement regarding _
review of the "General Principles for Defense Planning" and the chief of
staff of the Air Self Defense Force, Goro Takeda, announced ~oint Jaganese-
United States training exercises oriented towards United States aircraft
carriers and B 52's. Tn the old days a statement such as Chief of Staff
Nagano's would certainly have been a"problem statement" of the kind which
brin2s debate in the Diet to a halt. Nevertfieless, the statement was saved
by the questioni:ng going on at the tiTne involving suspicions about aircraft
import and ended up not being criticized that stron~ly. Furthermore.
exchanges between uniformed personnel and militarv leaders of various
countries have gradually beeY: becoming more active.
, In tfie midst of chan~es at hom.e and abroad, uni~ormed personnel who
previouslv had been shut out of the defense debate seem to hat~e established
a platform for speaking out as military technocrats and to have firmly taken
a stand of participating directly in the debate. This trend seems to be
particularly marked since the removal last year of former Chairman Kirisu
of the Joint Staf..f Council. ,
As far as the background for this assumpti:on of an active role by unif.ormed
- personnel is concerned, the very first things which can be inenttoned are the _
' . great changes in the international situation and tfie military situation
surround~ng Japan. The bui:ld-up of the Scn~iet Far Eastern ~orces, ~artic-
ularly tfie deployment of ground t~roops and building of bases on Kunashiri
and Etorofu Islands, and the Sino=Vietnamese war caused the Self Defense
Forces greater feelings of danger than we would imagine. Furthermore, the
Sel~ Defense Agency ha~ ski11fu11y tried to make use of these cTianges in
the situation.
~ Secondly, in response to these changes in the situation, there is a drift to
_ tfie right in public opinion on defense issaes. Tt caused the reformist
camp a great deal of consteznation wfien China, the pr.ime hypotfietical enemy
~ under the Japan-United States~Security T~reaty, approved of the Security
; Treaty at the time o� the conclusion of the Sino-Japanese Treaty of Peace
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1nd Amity. The Komei Party changed directions on security and the Se1f ~
Defense Force; the DSF has already established a dialog between party
executives and executives of the SDF. In the meantime, in a public opinion
poll. conducted earlier by tfie Prime Minister's Office, thP percentage of ,
support for the SDF reacfied an all time htgh of 86 percent. AlthouR~ tlie !
nature of this support needs to be analyzed, for practical purposes it
shows that the existence of the SDF Tias become firmly established. Within
the 5DF one can hear bullish statements that "common sense tias finally
prevailed." '
Thirdly, a phenomenon which is noteworthy is the fact that the internal
departments within tTie Self Defense Agency have been growing. Former
Cfiairman Kirisu of the Joint Staff Council was removed from office after ,
having made a statement that "in a national emergency, under the current ~
lega:L system actions by the SDF to deal with tfie emergency would have to
go b~yond the laws and regulations." Within the SDF there is st~11 deep- ;
seat.ed dissatisfaction over this and a feeling that "as a person in the ~
first line of defense Kirisu only stated the obvious." One cannot overlook ~
the fact that the existence of this dissatisfaction has made the internal ~
bureaus of the Self Defense A~;ency take a conciliatory approach toward the ;
. uniformed personnel. ~ ~
The statement on revision of the General Principles for defense by Ground !
- Self Defense Force Nagano was made at the defense round table whicfi is ~
held by executives of the defense industries. After giving a detatled ~
explanation of the Soviet military buildup and the accompanyin~ changes in ;
the United States-�Soviet military balance, Chief of Staff Nagano said, "Tfie '
international situation surrounding Japan has been changing consptcuously
from what it was in 1976 when the General Principles on Defense Planning ;
were set; gradually~we will have to direct our attention to review of the ~
General Principles. Thus~, as a member of the uniformed serv~ces he openly .
statpd to outsiders his desire for revision of the General Principles. I
T~iis statement was quickly taken up in the Budget Committee of the House i
of Representatives and was turned into a question "touch3n~ on the principle ~
of civilian control of the military." This became such an issue because ~
the c~eneral Principles are, after all, Japan's basic policy on national i_
defense and the statement came ~ust when Director Genex'al Yamasfiita was ~
repeatedly making a cautious response to questions in the Diet by saying,
"Tfiere are very harsh aspects to the situation around Japan, but I do not ;
thinlc the situation is sucli that it is necessary to change the perceptions
� in the General Principles." One could probably appreciate the seriousness !
of the issue from seeing a certain executive of a department witfiin the
Def~nse Agency who, when Tie had fieard the statement, held his tiead and
said, "Tt is a repeat of the Kurisu statement."
Nevertfieless, Director General Yamashita and Director Hara ot the Defense
Bureau in their response to questions i:n the Diet got out of the situation
witfi the strange reasoning that "tlie Ground Forces chief of staff spoke af
directing attention to (revision of the Gene~ral Principles) but he did no~
say that the General Principles should be revised right away. Seriously
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~ inte:nt upon restoring quiet, Director Hara of the befense Bureau said, "I
customarilv discuss matters with tlie cliief of staff; and lie has never said
tfiat the General Principles should lie changed. I will defend fiim in the
~ Diet; that is only natural."
Nevertfieless, those who know the feelings.of the people in uniform toward
the Qeneral outlines do not see this statement by Nagano as a slip of the
tongue in this single instance. The overwhelming ma~oritv of tliese people
see the statement as a meticulously prepared, deliberate statement of true
~eelin~s in which consideration was given to tilne and nlace. Ground Self �
Defense Force Chief of Staff Na~ano is an o1d soldier who served in Central
China after havin~ come up through the Hiroshima ?~Iilitarv Preparatory _
School and Class 55 0~ tfie Military Academy; lie is known by his unusually
nolitical nature for a military man and his stubborr~ character. He is
- the most capable person in the three Self Defense Forces and simply because
~ it is fie that made the statement, speculation of all kinds about ~ts real -
intent was flying. In reference to the statement, a certain lieutenant
general among his subordinates said, "The people in uniform arP unanimously
critical of the thinking on basic defense preparations, which is at the
heart of the ~eneral principles,. Mr Nagano was probably acting as a ~
resp~resentative in raising the question o~ whether Japan's defenses are
! all right as thev stand when the Soviet Union is buildin~ bases in our
~ Northern Territories. I think Na~ano overstepved his bounds in full
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knowledge of al1 of this."
~ At this point it is necessarv to QivP some exp],anation of the General -
Principles for Defense Planning and the basic concept ~f defense preparations.
In 1976 the ~overnment switched from the Defense Preparedness Plans which .
had progressed through four versions since 1958 and set un the ~eneral
Principles as guide].ines for future preparedness plannin~. The General
Principles were put together bv the tfien Director Ger.aral of the Defense `
AQencv Sakada and Deputy Director General Kubo and were decided upon by the
National Defense Council and the Cabinet on 29 October 1976. Along with
' this, the policy was o=ficially established that the total amount of ,
defense related expenses in a single yea~r in the future would not exceed
1 percent of the GNP. In shart, it was.decided that 3:n "peacetime" when
the general shape of the international situation as it stood in 1976 did
not change conspicuously, tfie scale of defense preparations would be
' limited to levels reached in the Fourth Defense Plan and efforts to up~rade
' quality would be made within those 1i~its. At the:bottom of this thinking
was the idea that bv increasing Japan's military strength in response to
the unending expansion of military preparations on the uart of other
, countries, the limits of an exclusively defensive posture would c~nly give
rise to alarm among the Asian countries that Japan is again a military
power. Therefore, the guidelines ca11 for harn~onizinQ de~ense with otT~er
national policies in the light of the.fiscal situation and other such
considerations. This is called the concept of .basic~defense preparations.
- The one party rule 3y tfie LDP at that time was beQinninQ gradually to be
oversTiadowed, and the multipartv era was bein~ ushered in. The "General
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Principles" which are based upon the concept described above were established I
out of nolitical considerations~ on tfie tacit precondition tfiat tliey would I
be acceptable to other mid"dle~of-tfie-road parties not in the government. i
Even now, Mr (KOH) P4aruyama, wfio served as deputy director under Director i
General Sakada, Rives this assessment of the matter, "I think that it had
transitional significance as a process in that situati.~n."
It may be s~aid that tn tTie political sense, the General Princ~ples were ~
~ based upon a certain percent~on of things; arnonQ tfie people in uni:form,
however~ they were ~enerally dis].iked. Since this u~as national policy ~
there was, of course, no open criticism. Behind the scenes. however, one ;
could hear strong criticism suc~ as this, "Defense capability is relative ;
to what the other side has; setting an absolute upper limit on Japan alone ;
is militarily to tie Japan's hands" (a commander on the Maritime SDF Staff
who ~raduated from the Defense Academy) or "National defense sfiould be ;
flexible to respond to the situation at the time; it is strange to applv ~
absolute f iscal limits to defense "(a lieutenant colonel on the Air SDF I
Staf.f) . ~
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'Phe dissatisfaction is particularlv stronQ reQardinQ the limitation tTiat ~
defense expenditures wi11 be within 1 percent of the GNP. ;Earlier, when i
Chai~rman Takashina of the Joint Staff Coun~il visited the United States ~
and consulted with Chairman Jones of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and otfiers, !
soon after Chairman Takasfiina~returned to Japan a story ci~culated within i
the Defense Agencv to the effect that the United States side had said "We ;
understand Japan's 1 percent policy, but when wi11 exvenditures reacfi ,
1 percent (thev were 0.9 percent in�1979) and to what percentage will they ~
rise in the future?" Since tlie uni~ormed serV.ices fiave these feelings i
about the General Principles, there will be a euriously convincin~ quality i
to the view that Chie� of Staff Nagano's statement involved farsiQTited i
intent to touch off review of the circumstances surrounding the General ~
Princivles a:id to create an atmospfiere wfiich wi11 break dowa the basic ;
concept itself, I
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Air SDF Cfiief of Staff Takeda's remark on joint Japanese-American exercises
may be said to have the same kind of siQnificance as Nagano's statement in i
that it expressed his true sentiments in light of his wishes for the SDF. I
At a press conference on 1 Jun Air SDF Cfiief of Staff Takeda publicly said, ~
"The Air SDF Staff wants to carry out ~oint training exercises with the ~
strategic B 52 bombers ~leployed on Guam and the aircraft carrier t'Iidway as ;
the tiypothetical enemy." ~
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It is said that the weakness of the SD~' at this time is that their 1eve.'~
of training is Tield back by a lack of effective training exercise~. Nike ,
znd Hawk units are makin~ special trips to the United States for live fire !
trainin~ because they have no firing ranQe and since the (SHIZUKUISHT) ;
accident only a patchwork o� fligfi.t zones woven throu~;h tfie commercial j
fligfit routes fiave been allowed for flight trainin~ areas for fighter i
aircraft. For the air and ground SDF particularly, improvement of tfie ~
training environment is nearly a c~rying need. ~
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Except in the case of the ground forces, joint Jananese-American training
exercises axe already being carried out in individual instances. Sucli
exercises were incozporated into tfie United States Japanese Defense Guide~
lines whicfi ;aere formulated in the autumn of last year, and joint Japanese--
~ American studies as to what kind of exercises to carry on in the future
are now in fu1l swing. .
It g,ives one a start to hear the B 52's mentioned in Air SDF Cfiief of Staff
Takeda's statement, but tfie intention of using the B 52's is said to be
electronic warfare (ECM). Modern warfare has been made into a contest of
electronic ~aeaponry, an3 since the Japanese side by itself is not capalile
of t.raining in jamming and so forth against the large B 52 aircraft which
1re fu11y equipped with electronic devices, the Air SDF feels that it
woul.cl like to have the exercises even if they anticipate the guidelines.
At ttie end of May this year in Hokkaido and Aomori pref.ectures combined
exercises joining all three branches of the SDF were hel3 for the first
time in 4 years. Open voice was given to the idea of holding exercises
with United States forces whicfi would surpass the individual exercises
helcl with the United States forces in the past and would involve the
comb:~ned arms of both sides. The United States forces in particular were
entfiusiastic about the idea.
Furthermore, because of the visits to the United States and Soutli Korea
by executives of the uniformed services which have come one after another,
stories of a Japanese-Korean-American joint defense system being put
together are reported from Soutli Korea. It is inffvitable that in tiie future
; at least the training exercises between Japan and the United States will be
' substantive and on a large scale.
Incidentally, the matter of a change of generations within the unifor.med
services is also involved in tfie back.ground of the top ranks of the service
staf.f:s tal:ing a higher profile.
The ~xecutive ranks of the three services at this time are composed almost
entirely of the war generation who come from the old army and navy. Nocoever,
~ the postwar group who have graduated from the Defense Academy fiave advanced
�to the rank of colonel. In about'2 years they will be promoted to general
~ officer ranks and the first generals from the nefense Academy will appear.
~ Althou~h there may be some executives from general universities in the mean-
time, it is probable that after a few years the leadership of the SDF will
' have sfiifted almost completely to graduates of the Defense Academy. So
far, the executives from the old army had been anxiously watching the growtli
of ttie Defense Academy graduates. [dhile the ~raduates of the Defense
Academy do not have war experience, neither do they seem to have any
' distorted sense of a defeated, eclipsed Self Defense Force. A certain
~ general from'the Group SDF said, "The graduates of the Defense Academy liave
a strong sense of mission and loyalty and they are capable. For the present
we want ro handle our tasks so that we can pass on good traditions when we
~ turn our posts over to them." However, there is uneasiness in one respect.
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'lhe group from the old army took a hesitant line on defense because the SDF i
was uncler a cloud; it is possible that the ~raduates of the Defense Academy
who have received a new education will spring up all of a sudden.
In connection with this matter the problem of the bureaucracy and the people
in uniform cannot be ignored. The top ranks of the bureaucracy fiave up to
now been almost all persons imported from other ministries and agencies.
- Even in the current regime Vice Director General ~datari, Director Hara of
the Defense ~ureau come from MITI: Chief of the Director General's Secretariat
Shioda is from the t4inistry of Home Affairs; and Director Kurabe of the i
Equipment Bureau is from the Plinistry of Foreign Affairs, and the of.ficer
in charge of education anc: trainin~; comes from the Police Agency. Although ;
tfie Defense Academy graduates 400 people a year, only a few career people ~
who have passed the hi~~li level civil service examination enter the agency. i
Because of this it has been pointed out that in the future it will be ver_y
diff.icult for the bureaucracy to control the uniformed personnel who liave i
~~;r.aduated from the Defense Academy as military technocrats. This is a ,
serious matter because it is a question which involves civilian controZ of ~
the military. ;i~' ~
Alreacty there have been cases, such as the case of the statement by Air SDF
Chie.E of Sta�f Nagano, in which bureaucratic leadership which would preserve
civilian control has not been exercised. It is only natural that a chief ;
of staff in that position would ma'~e statements on questions of jur~sdic- i_
tion. However, in these matters the principle of. civilian control of the
military must be maintained. Some of the people in uniform are Bring.,ing '
forth demands, albeit unofficially, for strengthening the authority of the
cliairman of the Joint Staff Council and handing over authori*yo uver personnel
matters for the various staffs. Former Chairman Kurisu of the Joint Staff ~
Council caused a public furor by saying that "Cliairman of the Joint Staff ;
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Council should be a prime minister`s appointment by Imperial Attestation."
On the other liand, mistrust of politics was increased because of the suspicious !
involving the aircraft. It can probably be said that there is no way to ;
preserve civili.an control over the military other than for those of what to i
do about national security.
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COPYRIGHT: Iwanami Shoten, 1979 ~
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ECONOr1IC
~EXPERTS CLAIM JAPAN WILL SURVIVE TRADE WAR
Tokyo SHUKAN ASAHI in Japanese 6 Jul 79 pp 167~171 ,
[Panel discussion chaired by Keitaro Hasegawa. Discussants, Mr A., a
high-ranking bureaucrat in the MITI; Mr B., a member in charge of export
in a major automobile manufacturer; Mr C., a member in charge of planning
at a major electric equipment manufacturer]
[Excerpt] Part III
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The trade war problem is like a burr stuck in the throat for Japan, which _
' depends on trade to feed a population of 110 million. At the recently held
Tokyo summit, the problem appeared to have been overshadowe~ by the
imminent energy cri.sis. Nonetheless, it remains a severe problem tied to
Japan's very survival. What is the fate of Japan with its "rabbit hutches?" -
Japan does not necessar~ly enjoy trade surpluses against all the naticns of
the world. It bears an enormous defi~it vis-a-vis the oil-producing and
resources-producing nations. Lacking its own resources, Japan'c:tust earn
~ foreign currency to import them and to feed its 110 million people. Alsa,
it is not imperative that every nation balance its trade within the frame-
work of global economic development. On the contrary, if every nation were
! to adopt such a policy, the world economy would probably suffocate.
On the other hand, in order for Japan to survive during the 1980's, it has
- no choice but to face squarely the problem of dealing c~rith a trade war with
- a considerably broad scope of nations, including advanced nations.
It should be pointed out that the problem of a trade war has some extremely
delicate aspects. First, since it involves business transactions, there are
inevitable confrontations between the buyer and seller, and words cannot
be exchanged detached from business interests. The more knowledgeable the
involved parties are concerning real conditions, the more jealous they
become concerning their respective positions. Secondly, the interests and _
"face-saving" on the part of offic3.aldom always come to the fore. In Japan,
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- where the tradition of putting "the government above the people" still per-
sists, it is extremely difficult to persuade the peop]e who dare not "fight
city hall" to reveal their own inner feelings. Therefore, the following
discussion was conducted by the participants, who remained anonymous.
Japanese Products A1so Lead in Energy Conservation
(Moderator) While the problem of the trade war appears to have been over-
shadowed by the increasing c:nergy crisis, I wonder if th~re is a connecCion
between the two.
(A) Naturally...because the quickest solution to energy conservation is to ~
buy Japan-made goods.
(B) Look at the car sales. Americans would be upset if they could not buy
= Japanese cars. Being unable to buy more than 5 gallons of gas at a time,
they must get as many miles per gallon as possible. As long as the oil
crisis continues, import restrictions on cars cannot be too severe.
(C) In Europe and AmQrica, the consumer liimself must wrack his brains
regarding energy conservation. In Japan, one can automatically conserve
energy by buying new cars and household appliances sold by the manufac- -
turers (laughter). The consumer is ki~ig. It shows how~much effort the
manufacturers are putting in towards energy conservation.
(Moderator) For instance?
(C) In the case of free2er/refrigerators of the sCandard 20~J-liter model,
the monthly electricity consumption has decreased during the past
S years from 100 kw/hour to 35 kw/hour. It is the same with color TV sets.
(A) Taking steel as an example, the past 5 years have shown a 40-percent
- energy saving. With the oil prices up, the makers are going all out to
consume as little oil as possible.
(Moderator) You recommend the use of Japanese products to save energy.
Couldn't the same apply to products of otiher countries?
- (C) Of course every country is trqing to conserve energy. However,
Japan is making much greater progress. Statistics show that, compared -
to the United States and Europe, Japan's conservation rate is twice as high.
Realistically, it could be said to be five or six times as h9.gh.
(Moderator) That would mean a stronger competitive capability.
(A) NEWSWEEK magazine recently published a special issue pointing out that
U.S. technological development was greatly lagging behind. The reason
could only be ascribed to the fact that, compared to Japan regarding en~~rgy
conservation, American manufacturers are not really trying hard to deveiop
new products.
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(B) While the Japanese continue to be industrious, the Americans and
Europeans have become lazy. The industrious ones will n~�~urally win in
the competitive markets. It is the natural law of victoty versus def.eat.
(Moderator) There is a story about the ant and the cicada in Aesop's
Fables. The ant, which works diligently during the summer, does not want
for food in the winter. The cicada, which idles away the summer, dies
from starvation. That is the original story. However, when it is trans-
lated in Jap an, it is revised to show that the ant shares his food with
the cicada. In the present world, the original story is not acceptable
and the revised version is upheld. Therein lies the cause for the trade
war, in my opinion.
(C) That is true. Regarding color TU~ sets, Japan does not try to exert
her fu11 competitive capability. The number of sets exported to the
United Stat,es is voluntarily restricted to 1.75 million sets per year.
However, the consumer cannot be prevented from purchasing high quality
Japanese products. The Unitied States knows well that controls cannot be
carried out that far, since free enterprise is their motto.
(A) As for steel, the United States began the trigger price system
, (See Note 1) in February last year. The system was thus set up to shift
rising domestic costs to the sales price. The profits of the steel
_ companies immediately rose by 770 percent. Since the national average
of profit increase was 17 percent, the profit increase rate for steel was -
conspicuous. The trigger price system was a huge success. Nevertheless,
no rationalization of facilities and equipment is going on. ~he attitude
' of easy profit is abundantly clear.
(Moderator) One might say the best way to easy profit is protectionism. ~
This makes it difficult for the consumers. Aren't they complaining?
I (A) Surprisingly enough, the Americans feel that the price of a commodity
includes cost plus profit and, if the price of steel goes up, they just
add it on to the price of the product. The result is that the ultimate
consumer pays the price in the form of inflation. The organized workers
have an inflationary clause (See Note 2) and their wages automatically
increase by the amount of inflationary costs, so they do not complain. -
The most serious victims are the f armers. They somehow manage to make
ends meet because of their farm products support pricing system (See
Note 3), but they are not as well off as the organized workers, since
they are self^employed, and they end up with a loss. So the farmers are
- the strongest advocates of free enterprise. It is the opposite from Japan.
(C) Japan makes a profit from the trigger price system, because export
prices have gone up. A look at the February balance sheet will show that -
steel and iron manufacturers have inade money. I believe that Japanese
iron and steel companies are also fond of the trigger price system (laughter).
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(A) I don't deny that, since I am a member of the industry (laughter). ~
However, the Japanese steel companies made money through their rationaliza- '
tion efforts. The cutdown of costs was a major reason for the profit ~
increase. It is true that export prices rose because of the trigger price
system, but domestic prices have not risen at all, and exports to the
United States constitute only 16 to 17 percent of the total.
Future Japan-U.S. Trade War To Center on Computers
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- (Moderator) Looking towards the 1980's, will the trade war involving Japau
disappear? ~
(A) Regarding steel, as long as the trigger price system continues, there .
will be no major problem. There will be coexistence and coprosperity.
(C) I don't foresee any major problem. In the case of finished products ~
such as color TV sets, the Japanese companies have set up assembly plants
in the United States and have begun local production, so the United ;
States has no cause for complaint. The local production volume has already
exceeded exports from Japan. Ho�~aever, controversy may still arise eon-
cerning parts.
(Moderator) What about a semiconductor trade war?
(C) Not only semiconductors, but I think the future will bring trouble `
concerning computers. Since the outlook is for further development of
- Japanese technology and a rapid rise of computer exports to the United
States, a trade war apart from that of home appliances is inevitable.
(Moderator) In the United States the home appliance industry is viewed as
being on the decline, but computers and semiconductors are regarded as
important from the standpoint of national defense. Since they constitute
the so-called "life line" of America, it is possible that severe friction
wi11 arise between the United States and Japan.
(A) That is certainly conceivable, but I wonder how much inroad Japan can
make into the United States, which is largely controlled by the powerful
IBM. As for semiconductors, I understand that the manufacturers who
complai.n are actually importing large amounts of semiconductors from Japan.
Then, why do they complain? Their true intentiions are absolutely unclear.
(Moderator) What about cars? The MITI is encouraging setting up plants
in the United States similar to those for household appliances, but the
Japanese manufacturers are not too enth~usia.stic. On the contrary, the
United States continues to enter the Japanese~market, as seen for example
in the joint venture between Ford and Toyo Kogyo.
(B) In the case of cars, unlike household appliances, there is a tremendous
gap in scale between thp Big Three of the United States and Japanese makers.
Although at present Japan has the edge in technology for light and small
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cars, the United States is capable of reversing the trend in the 1980's.
It is naive to think Japan will continue to hold the edge. Because of this -
outlook, we cannot afford to move aggressively into the United States.
We can only act passively.
Increase in Exports to Japan
(Moderator) Th~ United States has changed its tactics in the trade war
wieh Japan. The policy of restricting Japanese exports of color TV sets
and steel has been changed towards forcing the Japanese market to op~n up.
I think it indicates a switch in the trade policy of the Carter administra-
tion. Since Strauss has stood in the vanguard of negotiations with Japan,
an open door policy was demanded, first for farm products and secondly
vis-a-vis the KDD (Internatfonal Telegraph and Telephone Corporation). I
believe this change in strategy towards Japan is putting severe pressure
on Japan. -
(A) It is the so-called "foreign pressure." The bureaucrats are by nature
obsessed with the idea of earning foreign currency necessary for the import
_ of resources while increasing exports and protacCing domestic industries.
Seen from the industries' side, the protectionist policy makes them
comfortable. Even whil~ they grow stronger, they would rather keep the
door closed as much as possible.
(B) Needless to say, the industries objected strenuously during the
- liberalization of trade and the liberalization of capital. Although nothing
of serious consequence developed, the bureaucrats acceeded to industry in
order to soften their objections, and told them in effect that "well, the
inten.tion is liberalization, but in reality we will keep them from coming
in." (laughter) They thus led them into sabotaging the liberalization
. policy set forth by high goverrm?ent officials.
As long as the United States and Eu~ope made no serious efforts to export
to Japan, there were no real problems. Only a few enterprises with
serious intentions regarding exports to Japan became aware of "the agreement
on general principles, but objection regarding particulars," while the
goverrnnent remained totally unaware. Once they began to consider seriously
the fact that, since Japan has developed into a major market and exports
to Japan must be ir~creased in order to cancel out their trade deficit with _
Japan, they realized ~hat Japan was a market where they could not se7:1 even
if they wished to. The market was just a painted fantasy. This dev~elops
into a major political issue. A great hubbub is created and the government
officials make concessions.
(A) That is the truth. The bureaucrats act onl.y after a great commotion
is made. That is the inherent nature of the bureaucrats (laughter). It is -
not peculiar to Japan. A long time ago, I read in a book that a German
named Herr Verich (.phonetic), who was finance-minister during World War I,
wrote as follows: "I-.called in an official to question him about a matter
which he turned down, although it seemed ~o everyone as meriting approval.
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His reply was that his practice was to initially turn down all new cases. i
If it was really necessary, it would be resubmitted. He would then consider
it carefully. This is the bureaucratic way of doing things." ~
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Herr Verich had been the president of a commercial bank before he entered ~
politics and he was untrained in the ways of the bureaucrats, so he must +
h3ve been surprised. It is similar to the situation in Japan today. ~
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(C) It does ring a be11'(laughter). Bureaucrats do reac~ vehemently when
their authority is challenged and their official power is ignored. If you ~
take away their official power, there will be nothing left, so you cannot
blame them (laughter). Cabinet ministers last barely a year, but bureau-
crats last a lifetime. Even after ret3ring from office, they enter the
business circles and must continue to earn a living. It is not unnatural
for them to do their utmost to protect the interests of business.
,
(B) In the United States, one does noC find the kind of bureaucrats one
sees in~Japan. With every presidential election, every elected official
loses his job, down to the postmasters in the rura~ areas. There are ,
specialists, but they are merely part of the staff and have no powers ~
of decision. Decisions are made at the top and handed down to the lowest j
echelon without a hitch. ~
m i a ood exam 1e. Althou h the I
(A) In that sense, the KDD proble s g p g
"window" may be opened, one cannot enter Japan through it~ At best, ~
it is like a painted layer of rice cake. One might as well paint three ~
layers of rice cakes as two layers to make it look better. This is how I
Strauss has described it. It'is~beyond the comprehension of the Japanese. ;
Or rather, it is understood and yet they ask, "Why must the Ministry of ~
Post and Telecommunicatiotts be told what to do by the Foreign Ministry?" -
(laughter) The end result is that the prime minister must make the
_ ~
decision. ~
(Moderator) Do you mean to say the bureaucrats are the "source" of the (
trade war? Isn't that too harsh a judgment on the bureaucrats? ~
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(C) The phenomenon is as T have described it, but a reverse technological ~
gap lies behind it. The level of Japanese technology has surpassed that I
of the United States. No matter how hard they try, it has been successively '
proven that there are areas where they cannot compete with Japan. !
However, Amer~cans who believe in their own superiority do not care to ~
recognize the facts. Americans in general carinot believe that the United
States, which defeated Japan with the atomic bomb, is lagging behind Japan ;
even regarding the camputers. The Japanese can say that during the j
33 years after the war, while the United States has been idle and napping, ,
the Japanese have worked desperately...because they are winning (laughter). ;
The Americans who are losing are unable to say thati. They have their pride i
as the greatest nation in the world. "
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(B) It is the same with the business people. They may praise us one-on-
one, but the same people will cry "unfair competition" at a hearing. A -
dif~Eerence between principle and true intention exists in every nation.
It is a problem if th~t is true. Japan is always made the target of
� critical attacks. Can we continue this way? -
(C) Actually, it doesn't amount to much. Those who buy Japanese products
stand to gain by it. As long as the consumers consider it to their profit,
imports cannot be suppressed despite such efforts. Besides, J'apan is not
the only nat~on which exports to the United States. Others arE doing the
same thing. What the United States is doing is watching the balance with
the other nations. If they really wished to keep imports down, they should
~ institute a trigger price system which would also benefit Japan. Actually,
; it was Europe which suffered from the system. Japan profited from it
instead. ~
(A) Nonetheless, the fnrm products issue has been unconscionable. Some-
thing must be done, or we will be severely affected. If we are forced
to eat rice costing five times the international rate, we will be compelled
to live in "rabbit hutches." (laughter)
A Strong Japan Will Survive the Trade War '
(Moderator) It is often pointed out that the United States and Europe
- criticize the import barriers in Japan, but make no effort to sell to Japan.
(B) Exactly. Their tendency is to make money the easy way. It is wrong
for them to think that they can se11 cars with steering wheels on the left
side in a country which drives on the left side of the road. On asking
questions we discover that, because of the clumsiness of their workers,
they are unable to build cars with steering wheels on the right side in
the same assembly lines that buil.d those with left-side steering wheels.
The workers get confused. They cannot use the same assembly lines for
both types of cars, as we do in Japan. It probably indicates the skill
of the Japanese.
(C) Their managers themselves don't really have any,motivation. Since
their top management is used to making money easily', the workers are also
of the same frame of mind, so what ca~i they do? The more you think about
it, the more hopeless the situation is. The United States is declining.
(.laughter)
(Moderator) They want to make us pay for their laziness. No matter how
- hospitable an ant may be, it cannot afford to give all of its food to the
lazy cicada.
(A) That cannot be done. First of all, such a thing may be mentioned, ~
but it is not practicable. It is one thing if the United States is able _
to declare war against Japan, but that is impossible. They may remain
somewhat dissatisfied, but they have no alternative except to compromise
on certain terms.
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(B) There is much room for Japan to be criticized. It is questionable I
whether it is wise to raise the price of rice so high and spoil the I
fa~rmers. It is not good that only the farmers remain snug and comfortable, ,
while the industries strive so desp~rately towards rationalization. i
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(C) The same can be said ab~ut bureaucrats. Look at the Japan National ~
Railway (JNR).. They are complacent with the knowledge that no amount of j
deticits can put them out of business, so they have no concern for the ~
users. The idea of being backed by the goverrunent is the creater of ~
evil men. (laughter) One can only deduce that those in the private sector I
and those in the JNR are different kinds of people, although they are all
Japanese. The difference is in the way of doing things. The United States 4
today could be compared to the JNR and Japan to private industry. (laughter) ~
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- (Moderator) In conclusion, it may be said that Japan will survive the trade ~
war. Since the Japanese are serious, they react sensitively to outside ~
pressures. Japan as a whole is becoming increasingly,rationalized and ~
stronger. Japa~, will not be able to avoid a trade war in the 1980's. Still, ~
it would probably not be too serious. ~
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(C) The reason the Japanese work hard is because of the intense competition. I
If they were lazy, they wou1d fa11 behind instar?t1y. The enterprises would 1
go bankrupt. They are afraid of this, so they cannot help working hard.
- In Japan, where 110 million people are crowded into a small territory, this
cannot be helped. There is a drastic difference in the competition 3n the ~
United States, where only twice as many people live in an area five times I
as large. The secret of Japan's strength lies in its success in linking ;
the fiercely competitive life of its people to economic progress. It is i
necessary for the Japanese Chemselves to become more aware of these circum- i
stances. It seems that the Japanese just keep running without being aware
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of their own strength. ~
(Moderator) That is very true. The Japanese did not know their own selves i
in the past. Now that they are becoming aware of their strengths, won't ~
they keep on winning? ~
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FooTrro~s I
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1. The trigger price system was in~tiated in February of last year. When ~
the import prices of steel became lower than the agreed trigger price ~
for each item, the difference is automatical.ly added on as import ~
surcharge. In other words, the trigger price becomes the minimum f
import price for steel into the United States. j
2. The inflationary clause is a clause which large unions, such as the ,
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Union of Auto Workers (UAW), have won within their wage contracts.
It ca11s for escalation of wages in line with the consumer commodities
price index.
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3. The U.S. Goverrunent uses the farm products support price system to
determine minimum prices for wheat, corn and soybeans. Commod3.ty
financing firms may purchase unlimited amounts at these prices.
COPYRIGflT: Asahi Shimbunsha 1979
' S884 ~
CSO: 4105
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'~IINISTRY WANTS TO REVIVE AIRCRAFT FINANCING SYSTEM
Tokyo MAINICHI DAILY NEWS in English 17 Aug 79 p 5
[Text] The Ministry of Transport has reportedly decided again to ask the I
Finance Ministry to revive~the now-defunct special low-interest govern-
ment bank f inancing system for purchasing foreign aircraft by Japanese ~
airlines.
~f'
According to informed sources, t~e Transport Ministry is to seek a 60 ~
billion yen "special account" appropriation in the fiscal 1980 national I
budget to resurrect the system discontinued at the end of fiscal 1975. ~
~
The special governmental financing system, under which the Export- ~
Import Bank of Japan provides low-interest loans to airlines buying . I
- foreign airplanes, was first adopted in fiscal 1973 and maintained in i
- the following three fiscal years. Utilizing this sytem, Japanese air- '
lines imported 38 airplanes in the three-year period.
But the system has been discontinued since fiscal 1976 because domestic
commerci_al bank rates declined sharply and the U.S. Export-Import Bank
relaxed lo~n conditions for aircraft exports. I
Last year; the Transport Ministry made its first request for revival of
the system from the standpoint of promoting the.business of the Japanese
airline industry.
Although commercial bank rates remaix~ed low at that time~, the system had
been considered a decided financial help to Japanese airlines because
easy new plane-buying loans were available under the system, regardless
of their financial conditions.
But the Finance Ministry rejected last year's request on grounds that
abundant low-interest loans were available domestically.
- Japanese airlines thus had floated convertible bond issues or turned to
the Ex-Im Bank of the U.S. for raising aircraft purchase funds. ~
. ~
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Despite this, the Transport Ministry decided to seek revival of th.e system
again this year because domestic bank interest rates have gone up sharply
in the wake of official discount rate hikes in April and June.
Besides, the U.S. governmental bank's lending rates have also climbed
under Washington's new tight-money policy, with tYie rate for a 10-year
loan rising to 8.25 percent, higher than tne Japanese equivalent, and a
great deal of funds is needed by Japan's three m:~~jor airlines for their
fiscal 1980 aircraft purchasing plans.
~ Japan Air Lines plans to buy 10 new planes, including DC-lOs and Boeing
747s in the fiscal year, Al1 Nippon Airways (ANA) four Boeing 748 SRs
(super jumbos) and Toa Domestic Airlines (TDA) five DC-9 Super 80s. _
The sources said the system's revival could arouse a new conflict for
leadership in financing aircraft purchases between two governmental
banks, the Export-Import Bank of Japan and the Japan Development Bank,
both eyeing such financing to replace the sharply lower financing of the
shipping and shipbuilding industries.
Whether aircraft purchase financing is import financing" or "industrial
development financing" is now a moot question, they added.
COPYRIGHT: Mainichi Daily News, 1979
CSO: 4120
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HOKKAIDO LINKED TO NATIONAL POWER GRID ~
Tokyo MAIrT~~CHI DAILY NEWS in English 15 Aug 79 p 5
[Text] The nation's four major islands were finally interconnected elec-
trically as the last power transm3ssion cable linked Honshu and Hokkaido
recently at a cost of 36,400 million yen and a time of about three years.
The Honshu-Hokkaido power transmission system will go on test operation I
soon. j
The completion of power interconnection offers fallback in power supply I
at times of emergency. ~
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The total integration of national power grid had been hampered by the
20-kilometer wide Tsugaru Strait although the remaining three islands-- ~
Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu have aerial power transmission..lines across ,
the waters. ~
Due to .isolation, Hokkaido Electric Power Co alone has been required to I
maintain about 20 percent power supply margin against peak demannino en- i
sure stable power supply in the northern main island. The remai g
eight power companies in Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu only need to have
about 10 percent supply margins to cope with their peak 1oad.
Moreover, the lack of power connection often proved to be uneconomical, I
especially when there was considerable rainfall on either side of the I
Tusgaru Strait. Usuall} hydropower plants are used to generate power .
- to meet the base electric demand and to hold down overall generating
costs. .
However, the technical difficulties in spanning the 20 kilometer-wide
strait with aerial power lines had been overwhelming in spite of the
obvious advantages. The breakthrough came with transmission technology
to convert alternating current (AC) into direct current (DC). i
The new method allows power transmission through submarine cables. The '
43-kilometer-long submarine cables are linked to aerial power lines on ~
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~ the land via two AC-DC converters installed at each end. The linkage
meChod is so unusual that there is only one other such large-scale
transmission line--the submartne cable which links Britain and France
across the Straits of Dover.
The Honshu Hokkaido submarine cable has an initial transniission capacity
of 150,000 kilowatts and will begin test transmission late this month to
begin normal operation in December. The capacj.ty is scheduled to be
doubled next June, and is ultimately to'reach 600,000 kilowatts.
COPYRIGHT: Mainichi Daily News, 1979
CSO: 4120
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GOVERNMENT SUBSIDY PUTS LIFE INTO SHIPPING INDUSTRY ,
Tokyo MAINICHI DAILY NEWS in English 17 Aug 79 p 5
[Text] The nation's shipping companies are now rushing to build new ' ~
ships, taking advantage of the government-sponsored interest-subsidy ,
system, the Transport Ministry has reported. '
ceived a flood of applications for the interest-supplying (
The ministry h~s_re i
method which was~r~started in fiscal 1979 in an effort to relieve the
chronically deficit=r~3den business. ~
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Some 1.5 million gross tons are expected to be constructed under the ~
method as against the ministry's original estimation of 0.7 million ~
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gross tons. . ~
The main factors behind the deluge of applications, the ministry believes, ~
are the disappearance of a worldwide tendency toward surplus tonnage and I
rising freight costs. l
The interest-subsidy system, designed to promote the construction of ~
new ships, was devised in 1952 to strengthen the nation's shipping trade
and was abolished in 1974.
However, a persistent slump hit the shipping business in later years and I
the resultant decline in international competitiveness forced the govern-
ment to revive the system. ~
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In fiscal 1979, 714 million yen was appropriated for the system especially ~
to offset interest which shipping companies owed to banks. The ministry i
subsidizes, for instance, 2.5 percent of the interest when building a new ~
tanker. ~
C3ting a tanker, as an example, they said, higher fuel prices triggered i
by Iran's upheavals brought about relative stability in shippirig supply
and demand.
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Shi.pping companies have ordered their tanker captai:ns to reduce speed to
save fuel, consequently, they must have more ships to fi11 the falling
transportation capacity.
'L'lie sti3.pbuilding boom was evident in June when constiruction orders were
eight times as high as those registered in June 1978.
- Encouraged by the figures, the Transport Ministry intends to ask the
Finance Ministry to allot more money to the system to ensure the recovery
of the business.
COPYRIGHT: Mainichi Daily News, 1979
CSO: 4120
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t~l:l I~:N(,h: ANI) 'I'I~;CIINI)Id1(;Y ~
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INDUSTRY GEARING UP FOR SMALL-CAR WAR WITH U.S.
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Tokyo ASAHI EVENING NEWS in English 20 Aug 79 p 5 ~
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[Text] TOKYO (AP)-Japan is on porary, pointing to` the ~
a collision course with the worldwide fuel situation and ;
United States over sales of the demand for smalleC, Com- ~
small cars in the 1980s, pact cars. !
a leading 7apanese car manu= ~e JapBn~ aiso fal un- I
facturer says. . ' dar pressure, he aaid, because
The Japanese auto industry of the revaluation of she yen ~
is gearing up for' a"car war" ag~t ~~~~ar~ hurting Ja- ~
to meet publ~c demand for PBn~$ ~j~ adv.satage and ~
Iighter, roomier and fuel ef- strong cort~potit~~e ed8e� ;
ficient models, said Nissan ~~pcice .is ao longer a ma- ~
Motor Co. spokesman Yuki- jor factor in aGlling cars," i
hito Eguchi. ' g~~~ ~d. "We ate now I
He said Japanese automak- ~d~~g on� sdvaacxd tech- _
ers see themselves locked in a nology, 'fuel economy ~nd the
costly battle over technology ~de uae of electrcnics:' I
with the Americans brought Y g b inade
about by the need to produce . Fuel-sa in ~~cotnpac '
a revolutionary car engine in in Japaa liave-boen'se11in8 so ,
these days of gas shortages , wall in~ the'United States ~ that i
and need for energy conserva- stocka' are st a record low
tion. with leas ,thaa two and s half 4
"We're on a direct collision months'~, 1 kft, the Japan I
course with the United States. ~u~~O~ ~ I
sociation U~?11U?) ~s~id.
It is generally envisioned we ~ i
will have a war with � the J~?MA ale� sa~d the rush
Americans over ~ small car now. is on to get freth ah~p- ~
sales," he said in an inter- ments� off: the a:sembly lines
view. and inW the Ameri~an ~aer-
Despite Japan's lower, ex- ket as the drive on both sides ,
ort erformance last year of the Pacific to develop a re- i
with 4 13 million cars; trucks volutionary engi~e 8~~e18 '
and buses going overseas, sn~~� i
more than two million pas- Japanese �sutotnakers re-,
senger cars alone went to the p~~ly are particularly wary
United States,' Japan's biggesf of poeaible movcs by Ford to � , ~
and most important market ~~~c ~aon to improve ;
abroad. its posi6on in the amall caz
Exports registered a 5.5 per= ~azk~~, i
cent drop over the year but in ~'ord ~is said ~to be 1ag8~8 ~
monetary terms they were ~ Il~als ia�daveloping
worth a record $17.8 bil~ion, ~
up 20.4 percent from a year new typee of small cars~ a fac- !
earlier. ' tor ihat is believed to have ;
But induatry officiale be- 1~n '~h~~ ~e ~American ;
lieve the boom is only tem- ~~'s U~uP ~rlier this year ;
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with Toyo~ Kogyo, Japan's ~unds we can't com~ with
third-biggest automaker. the Americans," Eguchi said.
Despite the Japanese car iu- At Nissan's rosearch labor-
d~,atry's fears, the major Amer- atories, he said e~ gineers are
ican car makers are also seek- wodeiqg around We clock "ex-
ing to cultivate their markets ploring every ~ossibk avenue"
in Japan and maintain ti~ups to come up w~th � a revolutaoa-
over here - General Motors ary car engiae.:
with Isuzu Ltd., Ford with "We're looking at every-
Toyo Kogyo and Chrysler thing-gasohol, gas turbines~
w~ith Mftsubishi Motors Corp. electric cars, you name it;'
Thus, any restrictions on g~~~ said, adding that his
U.S. automobile imports company is ready to launch a
would not necessarily be in the whole new range . of cars on
best iMe~e~ts of American au- ~e American market under
tomakers~ of~cials here said. the Datsun brand name.
The big Japanese car man- He declined to spell out de-
ufacturers, who compcte tails but said the cars will be
fiercely among themselves for marketed undor the "FF" con-
a sliee oE the American mar- cept (front engine, front-wheel
ket, all agrce they caa't com- drive), and will be light and
pete with American giants full-efficient.
whea it comes . to spending The Honda Motor Co. ear-
money oa technological inno= lier announced it. is working on
vations and others 4ypes of re- a~vhole new range of engines
search. that will run on gasohol: 90
"Financially, we are incom- percent petroleum and 10 per-
parable to GM. In terms of cent alcohol.
� COPYRIGHT: Asahi Evening News, 1979
CSO: 4120
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NEW AIR CONDITIONER 40 PERCENT MORE EFFECTIVE ~ ~
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y ~ Tok.yo MAINICHI DAILY NEWS in English 10 Aug 79 p 5 ~
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[ T ex t] pn innovational type of home ~ cooling and heating purposes. I
air' conditioner, tar more ef- Kansai Electric Power will ~
tective, yet consuming far less provlde its� electric power I
elsetricity than any con�. sav~ngknowhow. ~ � .
~ ventional model will be ~ The, inotor' will be an ex- (
developed jointly soon by tremely miniaturized version of I
Kansai Electric Power Co., of the "thry~tor chopper" type ot
Osaka, and Hitachi, Ltd.,~ of no-stage,r:~self�revolution j
Tokyo, it was announced Thurs- regulating ~ motor previously , i
- day. produced as a huge device for ~
Kansai Electric Power Co. limited~~iises, such as aboard ~
said the development of the new � subway tr~ins. ~ I
home air conditioner ~ in ~The prospective air~ con� ~
response lo modern energy- ditioner, . scheduled .to be
saving demand is already marketed by 1981 at about the ;
foregone conclusion. same price as �the average ~
The research staff of Hitachi, conventional type, will feature
one of Japan's top electric- automatic regulation. ~
. electronic equipment makers, it will be at least 40 percent ~
will p~oduce a new scrrall super-,~, more effective in cooling or I
efficiency motor to be installedi heating than conventional i
in the proposed air conditioner. types. ~ ;
~ Kansai Electric Power said it It will also save so much
has signed a three-year con� electricity that the power ~
tract with Hitachi to develop, on company can. expect an
a commercial basis, the average of 30 percent reduction ~
. proposed heat pump-type air in demand for,power during the _
_ cond[tioner applicable to both hottest summer season.
COPYRIGHT: Mainichi Daily News, 1979
CSO: .4120
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j CYLINDRICAL SOLAR HEATER DEVELOPED
I Tokyo MAINICHI DAILY NEWS in English 15 Aug 79 p 5
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[T~xt] A cylindrical solar water heater has be~n circWate by convection raising the �tem-
I developed~tor use in�the veranda and garden as p~rature of the whole water in the , inner
well as on the robf. cylinder and pipe.
The device was developed by Hideo Fukuda, Ttie cylindrical heater is useful anywhere in
professor of Meiji University's faculty of the sun, bec:anse it can absorb sunlight frnm all
I engineEring. directions. ,
The heater, ciaimed to be superi~. in thern~al While the temperature .of water in a panel
~ insulation to a conventional solar panel ~water heater will peak up to 60 to 70 degrees in cen-
; heater, is expected to come onto the market at tigrade around 2 p.m. in the summer, that of
I a price of about 200,000 yen next April. � the cylindctcal heater will rise up to 60 degre~
! The new heater consists of two cylinders- centigrade around 4 p.m.
~ the outer cylinder measuring one n~etec in , The water temperature in ; the cylindrical
! diameter and 1.5 meters high enveloping the heater will not drop below 40 degees cen-
inner one 60 centimeters in diametcr and 1.2 tigrade until6 a.m. the next morning.
~ ~ meters high. ~ The heater can be used as a room heater in
~ The cylinders are made of semitransparent winter as it can keep the water temperature 20
~ fiber-reinforced plastic, which is as pervious to degrees centigrade higher than the outside
suNight as g,lass but more effective in con- ~ temperatureduringthedaytime.,
taining heat. . � The heater will last a decade for a family of
The inside cylindrical tank; which can ' five or siz, according to Fukuda.
contain about 3001iters of water, is coiled round He said if 3.3 million cylindrical heaters are
with a four-centimeter-thick brass pipe. set up across the country while scliools and
~ , When water filling the inside cylinder and buildingc are solar-housed by 1985, they wouid
~ pipe is warmed by suNight that runs through save oil consumption by 1 percent tn that year
I the outer cylinder, the water in the pipe wUl ~ and by nearly 10 percent in the year 2000.
j COPYRIGHT: Mainichi Daily News, 1979
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