Look West! This is the phrase that Japan
has to keep in mind to activate its economy. Under the strong and impressive
leadership of the incumbent president, Korea is increasing its presence in the world market quite rapidly. In contrast, Japan is losing its presence as we see
from the TV business. Neither Panasonic nor Sony is the biggest TV set
manufacturer in the world market. The world leaders are Samsung and LG
Electronics of Korea. Under any circumstances, Japan should not hesitate to
participate in TPP. Look East! This is the phrase that Mahathir
bin Mohamad, Malaysia’s fourth prime minister, used to stimulate the economy of
his country. Times have changed. Now the time Japan has to look west. There is no room to place too much importance on consensus. It is
totally impossible to work out measures equally acceptable to all people
concerned.
