The U.S. working group believes that greater openness in economic and business systems benefits host countries as well as MNCs. In the view of the U.S. group, some of the roots of the economic and financial difficulties that Japan has experienced during its long recession lie in the continuing reluctance to aggressively pursue economic liberalization on a number of domestic fronts.

¹ In addition, two other task forces were organized to explore the issue of technological interdependence in the areas of corporate innovation strategies and engineering education. The results of these task force activities will appear in separate reports.

² “Academy-JSPS Meeting on Scientific and Technological Interdependence: New Challenges for U.S.-Japan Relations,” unpublished joint statement, August 1, 1991, p. 5.