Despite Japan's protracted economic slump, its neighbors are still looking to it for support and leadership.
This was the prominent view of participants at a recent international conference in Kuala Lumpur, according to Itochu Corp. Chairman Minoru Murofushi, who jointly chaired the talks with Carla Hills, a former U.S. Trade Representative, Tommy Koh, Singapore's ambassador at large, and Nicholas Platt, the president of the Asia Society.
Most of the participants at the two-day 30th Williamsburg Conference, which began April 12, said Japan, whose economy represents up to 65 percent of the total gross domestic product in Asia, has a vital role to play in the region, Murofushi told The Japan Times.