Japan Fears Being Sidelined by Trump on Trade and North Korea

You are giving him way too much credit, deep understanding of anything is NOT what this man is about. Just money, for himself.

Such biased and uninformed opinion.

Sure, what do I know about Japan? I'm just an American expat who has been living in Japan for over a decade, including having worked here professionally for many years at some of the largest Japanese and multinational corporations in Tokyo. But, I guess you must know Japan better than me.

You forgot about Koizumi. "Always" is a tricky word.

Good point - most of the Japanese abductees were kidnapped in Europe by fellow Japanese who had moved to the DPRK in the '70`s and '80`s to reunite with members of the Yodogo hijackers, and who were sent on these missions by Kim Il Sung in the hopes they would help establish a beach head for the "juche" philosophy in Japan. A new book from U Hawaii Press, "Destiny", tells the story of the Yodogo hijackers and subsequent kidnappings in Europe that the Japanese govt refuses to publicly acknowledge.

Where did all these distorted opinions about Japan suddenly come from? yeah and Trump had a plan all along and is the one that enabled the meeting with NK too. Amnisia is an epidemic in this country.

Our American farmers have been losing to Japan for a long time and TPP would not change that much. Japan imposes extremely high tariffs on most American agricultutal products, including tariffs of as much as 778 percent on imported rice. Japan's non-tariff barriers are even worse. For example, it buys a small amount of imported rice according to WTO rules. Most of this is American rice, including the high-grade japonica variety, which is the type favored by Japanese consumers. But, the Japanese government makes sure that this rice never makes it to Japanese tables in households or restaurants, because it is given away to developing countries as foreign aid, used as animal feed or for making rice crackers. Why does the government wastes such perfectly good high quality imported rice? The answer is simple. For decades, the Japanese government has been telling consumers that imported American rice is not as good as Japanese rice. Because of such disinformation, most Japanese now believe this, even though they have never tasted American rice. So, the Japanese govt. gives away imported rice as foreign aid, or uses it for rice crackers and animal feed to keep Japanese consumers in the dark. If the Japanese don't have a chance to try U.S. rice for themselves, they'll never know that it is just as good as Japanese rice and that the government has been feeding them misinformation all along. This issue has been covered in several pieces published in The LA Times going back decades.

Actually, the Nokyo, or JA, the National Agricultural Cooperative was set up under the auspices of the ministry of Farms and Fisheries when Abe's grandfather was PM as a vote siphoning machine. JA provided seedlings, fertilizer, banking services, etc and tied the farmers to the land just as if they were peasants or indentured servants. They were unable to leave the co-op because they would be unable to market their rice. In exchange for a subsistence-level existence in post-war Japan, they surrendered their political and personal independence, and traded their votes for the ruling party for guarantee of lifetime servitude.

Or, South Korea may like to see the U.S. return to the agreement even while they aren’t in it themselves...nah, it’s all black and white.

How about you stick to tilling fields?

To be invited to someone's house is considered a great honor in Japan. Trump is simply doing what he did to become successful in business. Honoring another leader.

If the usage of Mar-Lago involves spending tax money on Trump's property, then one cannot equate it to the traditional sense of invitation to one's home. This would be another example of violation of the emoluments law.

Mar-a-Lago is a resort, not his home. His home has a golden throne.

Abe-San is dealing with charges of corruption of his own in Japan. His government has been losing support among the people of Japan. There is more to be learned about his travails.

According to Bloomberg (https://www.bloomberg.com/quicktake/japan-s-shrinking-population) about 1/4 of the population is over 65.

There aren't many American cars in Japan because the Japanese don't want them. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/09/business/trump-japan-american-cars.html “Of course American cars don’t sell in Japan,” said Mr. Masui, whose admiration for American vehicles does not extend to their manufacturers’ marketing strategies. “American cars have a bad image — they aren’t fuel-efficient, they break down,” he said. “That’s not really true anymore, but dealers don’t make an effort to convince people. I’ve never seen a TV commercial. You go to a car show, they’re not there.” The cars are certainly not on the streets. Of the nearly five million cars and light trucks sold in Japan last year, just 15,000 were American, or 0.3 percent. Toyota sells more vehicles at a single mega-dealership in California.

Pretty much the only American car I've seen on in my trips to Japan are very high end or vintage and hard to get cars. There is basically no American cars in Japan which cost under $90K. Even then it is only a small percentage of that segment. And there are only so many people who can afford cars that expensive.

Agree with Peter. American car companies simply do not produce vehicles the Japanese public want. Probably the biggest reason is how inefficient they are. Gasoline is much more expensive in Japan than it is here in the US. Also SUVs are really too big. Not to mention the fact that Japan has highly efficient mass transit. Until US automakers start making much more efficient vehicles they will not find traction in Japan and many other countries. Huge gas guzzling cars and trucks will never be their preference.

Most reliable ally for 75 years? Australia,Canada,G.B., N.Z. don't come to mind?

Fair point. Okay....how about most reliable non-predominately Anglo ally?

What exactly has Japan ever done for the U.S. to be considered America's "most reliable ally"? Everything Japan does is in its own self-interest. Japan is the only country to have attacked the U.S. mainland by launching the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. The U.S. then spent millions of dollars to rebuild Japan into the modern country it is today. The U.S. even to this day spends millions of dollars to provide for the defense of Japan. Not having to worry about defending itself and the financial drain which comes with it has allowed Japan to pour all its resources to develop and subsidize its industry. It has then used the might of its big corporations to sell Billions of dollars worth of Japanese products to Americans while keeping its own domestic market almost entirely closed to American companies and their products. This has resulted in Japan having an annual trade surplus of 70 Billion dollars with the U.S., which is second only to China's trade surplus with the U.S. Despite this, Japan has repeatedly rejected America's calls to open up the Japanese markets to American products and to create a level playing field for American companies. It continues to have ridiculously high tariff and non-tariff barriers to keep its markets closed to American companies, while taking advantage of the open access which America offers. Does this sound like a reliable ally? As they say, with friends like this, who needs enemies!

I do agree with Japan opening its markets, but to what effect? 25% of its population is over 65 y/o---past the buying stage for most things. Their population is known for being frugal. They save, they are not Americans who spend a lot of frivolous toys. If we want someone to truly open their markets---look to China. But everyone except the CEO's and investor class in America seems to know that is not going to happen. I will give props to the President on that issue.

He's singing them. Trump doesn't have the smarts to write his own tunes. That's where little Stevie Miller, Fox & Fiends, the base' desires, and previously porky Steve Bannon come in.