Going Global in Southern California
Japan
US Trade Rep: Japan’s Key Barriers to U.S. Trade and Investment
May 15th
March 2010. Significant barriers to U.S. trade and investment faced in the last year in Japan, as well as the actions being taken by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to address those barriers.
JAPAN
Barriers to a Level Playing Field in Insurance, Banking, and Express Delivery: U.S. companies face an unlevel playing field in Japan’s insurance, banking, and international express delivery sectors in light of preferential treatment given to Japan Post by the Japanese government. Examples of advantages in the insurance sector include preferential supervisory treatment given to Japan Post Insurance over its private sector competitors, and preferential access for Japan Post Insurance to distribute its products through the Japan Post network. As Japan considers further reforms to Japan Post, while neutral on whether Japan Post should be privatized, the United States continues to urge Japan to fully resolve issues of preferential treatment and establish a level playing field, consistent with its international obligations.
JAPAN AND KOREA
Restricted Market Access for Autos: Market access for U.S. autos is restricted by Japan and Korea through a variety measures, leading to very low market share for U.S. and other imported autos. In the case of Korea, these measures include tariffs, standards, and discriminatory taxes. The pending More >
Implications of US Base Move Issues on Broader US-Japan Relations
May 15th
Japan PM scraps US base move plan
Japan’s Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has said it will not be feasible to entirely remove a controversial US base from the island of Okinawa.
The US Marines’ Futenma base is deeply unpopular with many residents and removing it had been a key election pledge of the prime minister. But on a visit to the island, Mr Hatoyama said “realistically speaking, it is impossible” to fully relocate it. The island is home to over half the 47,000 American troops based in Japan.
Mr Hatoyama, speaking on his first visit to Okinawa since becoming prime minister, said maintaining the base in some form was needed for national security, under Japan’s post-war military alliance with the US. He called on the Japanese people to be “willing to share the burden, because the bases are necessary for national security”.
The US has been staunchly opposed to any renegotiation of the deal, and the row has damaged bilateral ties. It has also undermined support for Japan’s centre-left government. Mr Hatoyama took office in September, promising to steer Japan into a more independent relationship with the US – reassessing Okinawa was a central part of this pledge. Islanders have been angered More >
