Toward Better Japan-Europe Economic RelationsHiroya Ichikawa

ASIEN – Nr. 3 (1982) pp. 10–22

The Japanese of the nineteenth century saw Europe as the epitome of progress. Europe was the symbol of political freedom, new technology, and new ways of thinking. Japan and the rest of the world were stagnant and weak. Today, the situation appears to be totally reversed, at least to Japanese eyes. During the coming decade, many in Japan foresee that Western European economic growth rates will be lower than Japan’s. It is not totally surprising to them when they hear that Western Europe will also probably continue to have higher unemployment and inflation than Japan. The volume of international trade is not expected to show any dramatic increase in the near future, and newly industrializing countries (NICs) are becoming a threat to advanced countries.