The Japanese government may view U.S. proposals on reviving the Japanese economy as unwanted foreign pressure, but it should listen to such proposals this time, Japanese business leaders said April 7.
"Foreign pressures are sometimes appropriate and sometimes not appropriate. But this time, I think what the U.S. is calling for is appropriate," said Yuzaburo Mogi, deputy chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives (Keizai Doyukai) and president of Kikkoman Corp. "The government must perceive their proposal positively," he said.
Expressing support for repeated calls by U.S. President Bill Clinton and other U.S. officials to take bolder policies to boost the economy, Keizai Doyukai officials said the government needs to implement permanent income and corporate tax cuts and spend its funds only for projects that will be effective in stimulating the nation's economy. Clinton has been urging Japan to break its longtime reliance on public works projects as economy-boosting measures.
Chairman Jiro Ushio said the government needs to impress domestically as well as internationally that Japan is trying to transform its economy into a private-sector-led mechanism. Ushio also said that other business organizations in Japan, such as the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren), share the same view, and plan to make a joint proposal to Hashimoto.