This volume contains articles that were prepared as background papers for the Third Japanese-American Assembly held in Shimoda, Japan, in June 1972 (the first two Shimoda assemblies were held in 1967 and 1969), as well as the final report on the Third Assembly. Jointly sponsored by the Japan Center for International Exchange and the American Assembly of Columbia University, the Third Assembly brought together about 70 public figures, professionals, and academics from both nations.
This meeting took place against a background of growing discord in US-Japan relations—the “Nixon shocks” (US President Richard Nixon’s decisions to visit the People’s Republic of China and to discontinue the gold standard, both announced without prior notification to Japan), persisting balance of payments surpluses for Japan, and so on. In this context, the papers in this volume attempt to identify the causes underlying the discord, with special emphasis on the communications gap between the two countries. Accordingly, recommendations have to do with narrowing this gap, particularly via the media and education and exchange programs.
Contents
- 1. Introduction: Conversations at Shimoda
- Henry Rosovsky, Professor of Economics, Harvard University
- 2. American Foreign Policy and Japan
- Graham T. Allison, Associate Professor of Government, Harvard University
- 3. The United States and Japan in Asia
- Dwight H. Perkins, Professor of Modern China Studies and Economics, Harvard University
- 4. Employment, Imports, the Yen, and the Dollar
- Gary R. Saxonhouse, Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Michigan
- 5. A Crisis in Understanding
- George R. Packard, Managing Editor, Philadelphia Bulletin
- 6. US-Japan Communications: Dimensions of the Problem
- Masao Kunihiro, Professor of Anthropology, Kokusai Shoka College
- 7. A Changing Japan in a Changing World
- Isamu Miyazaki, Counsellor, Economic Planning Agency of Japan
- 8. Some Observations on the Perception Gap
- Yonosuke Nagai, Professor of International Relations, Tokyo Institute of Technology
- 9. Japan’s Shifting Image: Reflections from the American Press
- Jun Eto, Associate Professor, Tokyo Institute of Technology
- 10. The American-Japanese Image Gap
- Kinhide Mushakoji, Professor of International Relations, Sophia University
