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North-Holland
Akio Morita
Chairman, Sony Corporation, Tokyo, Japan
2. As all of you are well aware, direct investment in the United States by
Japanese corporations has been increasing rapidly in recent years, influenced
in part by the rise in the value of the yen after the Plaza Agreement of 1985.
As a result, exchanges between Japan and America are in a state of transition
_ we are moving out of a period dominated by trade in raw materials and
manufactured goods into one of closer contact at the personal and cultural
levels through the medium of investment.
This sudden rise of Japanese corporate involvement in the US, however, has
caused fears among certain sectors of the American public about Japanese
business activities and their effects on the local community and has led to an
emotional backlash. The increase in foreign investment is regarded as a threat
to Americas ability to control its economy, to the political process, and even
to national security. (Recently, when Sony announced the purchase of Co-
lumbia Pictures, some even argued that, in addition to declining competitive-
ness in manufacturing and technology, America was in danger of losing its
cultural heritage.)
Because of these concerns reports on foreign investment and bills to control
it have been frequently submitted in the US Congress. On the other hand,
nearly forty US state governments have opened offices in Japan in the hopes
of attracting Japanese investment to improve their local economies. Yet
* The Journal will publish lectures and short papers by renowned administrators, statesmen and
scholars who have influenced economic policy. This paper is one of those series of policy
papers.
114 A. Morita /Japanese investment in the US
despite these efforts, within the US fears about foreign investment, especially
Japanese investment, seem to be growing. This, I believe, is extremely unfor-
tunate for both countries.
promote investments that will benefit both the US and Japan - that is the key
to resolving future economic disputes between the US and Japan.
I hope that todays seminar, sponsored by the Overseas Business Activities
Association in cooperation with the Economic Information Center and NYU,
will be useful in contemplating the future course of economic relations
between Japan and the US.