The American Chamber of Commerce in Japan urged Tokyo on Tuesday to adequately implement trade agreements with the United States -- especially in areas such as flat glass and insurance -- so as to not politicize the issues during a skyrocketing trade imbalance.
The ACCJ made the request in its biennial white paper on trade, issued Tuesday, which analyzes bilateral trade relations, covering the situation of 38 key industries in the past two years.
In releasing the 1999 U.S.-Japan Trade White Paper, ACCJ President Glen Fukushima noted Japan's rapidly growing global trade surplus and its new record bilateral surplus with the United States.
This "virtually guarantees that, this year, our trade relations are not quiescent. It is likely that trade issues will become further politicized as candidates begin to vie for the U.S. presidency and congressional seats later in the year," Fukushima told a press conference at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo. "Too often, we find agreements in areas such as insurance, flat glass, government procurement, construction, and sea and air transport have produced inadequate results," Fukushima added.
Implementation of the bilateral trade agreements is one of the five key areas where the ACCJ urges Japan to concentrate its efforts in order to pull itself and the rest of Asia out of the current economic crisis.