British Media Assess Japan
On June 8, six journalists from the British media participated in a symposium organized by Keizai Koho Center with the theme "The United Kingdom and Japan Viewed by British Journalists." Here are some points the speakers made:

• Confidence in Japan's economy is high, but dangers lurk, including "a risk of complacency and lack of ambition." Japan shouldn't settle for relatively low growth and productivity.
• Based on recent experience, many observers believe Japan is due for a slowdown. But economies are more stable than they were 40 years ago. Britain is in its 14th straight year of growth, and Japan can similarly continue to expand.
• Taxes must rise to offset unhealthy high levels of debt. Japan should thus continue to keep interest rates very low to stem a recession.
• Some large Japanese firms are returning to their old bad ways, eg, they are reducing profitability by fighting to preserve market share in segments they should give up.
• In today's fast-paced business environment, Japan's traditional long-term approach may not servie it as well as it has in the past.
• Except for the big exporters, much of Japanese business remains inward-looking.
• Japan's scientific institutions are too parochical. There are too few Japanese scientists working overseas, and too few foreign scientists working in Japan.
• The Japanese language will continue to be a major barrier to foreigners settling in Japan and climbing the ladder in Japanese companies.