P.M. BRIEFING : Japan Held Aware of U.S. Worry
TOKYO — Commerce Secretary Robert A. Mosbacher met with Japanese Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu today and said Japan has finally caught on to the depth of U.S. concern over trade issues and appears ready to act.
“I feel that we have definitely gotten their attention,” Mosbacher told United Press International after a 25-minute meeting with Kaifu.
“They now know the President and his Cabinet and the Congress and the American people consider this a high-profile, high-on-the-agenda problem,” Mosbacher said.
President Bush dispatched Mosbacher to Tokyo 10 days after Bush and Kaifu met in Palm Springs in a summit that focused on the festering trade issues.
Kaifu pledged to Bush to make opening Japan’s markets a top priority of his administration, but was criticized in Congress for not providing any specific proposals.
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