The government and private sector made desperate efforts to boost exports to the United States in the late 1950s when the country was still recovering from the wounds of World War II, according to Japanese diplomatic documents just declassified.
Some of the documents indicate that the government urged manufacturers to develop new products and promote advertising activities in a bid to increase exports to the United States, apparently aiming for export-led economic growth.
In January 1956, the Japanese consul general in New York proposed to Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu that Japanese radio-receiver makers adopt unusual designs for their products and strengthen after-sales services for the U.S. market. Radios were a key home electric appliance at the time.