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Article: Unblocking the yen. (Japan's trade policies)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- November 16, 1991
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1991 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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ONE of the most cherished notions of Japanophobes is that Japan is using its undoubted economic clout in East Asia to forge a regional trade block which will not only rival the free-trade zones in North America and the European Community in terms of size, but also will exclude western companies from some of the world's fastest-growing economies. This is balderdash, according to jeffrey Frankel, a professor at the University of California's Berkeley campus. In an essay* that won this year's Amex Bank Review competition, Mr Frankel shows that there is little evidence that such a block is forming.
Mr Frankel does not dispute that Japanese investment in its Asian ...