The 34th annual meeting of the Japan-U.S. Business Council will be held in California from July 7 to 9, the Japanese leader of the organization said June 24.
The issues of deregulation, including Japan’s “Big Bang” financial reforms, as well as the recent upward trend in Japan’s trade surplus are likely to top the list of discussions among business leaders of the two nations, according to Yotoaro Kobayashi, chairman of Fuji Xerox Co. and head of the council. The meeting will be chaired by Kobayashi and Michael Jordan, chairman and CEO of Westinghouse Electric Corp.
Jordan is expected to announce an interim report the U.S. side has been working on regarding the effect of Japan’s deregulation on Japanese consumers, Kobayashi said. He said the two nations currently do not have any sticky trade problems that could lead to a serious dispute, but the U.S. side continues to watch Japan’s trade surplus and is hoping to gain better access to Japan’s markets. Participants in the meeting will include Shoichiro Toyoda, chairman of the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations, Robert Allen, chairman and CEO of AT&T Corp., and Maurice Greenberg, chairman and CEO of American International Group, Inc.
