Rebirth 79: I opened a bank in the United States

Chapter 781 The helplessness of a small country

The so-called representative of Japan, 3S style, is considered a joke in this era!
Smiling, Silent, Sometimes Sleeping
This is a kind of ridicule for Japan by the people of the moment, or people in Europe and the United States.It is said that their international representatives are just like outsiders. Whether they hold meetings or organize international activities, they always smile, stay silent, and sometimes sleep.
Last year, the Japanese representative started to sleep in silence with a smile, and became more active?

"Are they... seeking a higher international status?"

Taking a puff of cigarette, Carter spoke his guess.

Just as power is never brought by titles, in international exchanges, that word is often mentioned the most: the right to speak!
You don't even say a word, just smile, stay silent, and sometimes sleep when you come up. You can have a fart right to speak!
You must speak first and let more people listen to you, so that you can say that you have a higher right to speak!
"It seems to be right. Japan's current economic strength and want to seek a higher international status should also be said in this way. Could it be that the Japanese government itself has plans to let the yen appreciate?"

"This possibility cannot be ruled out!"

Jim sighed. Unlike Julian, who is a low-ranking household, Jim, who likes to run around, is relatively more familiar with these things.

"In addition, if the new prime minister comes to power, if Japan's international status can be improved, it is also an achievement for him! Of course, this is superficial. superficial work?"

Smiling and glanced at Carter who wanted to say something, Jim didn't mind mentioning his elementary school brother:
"We don't rule out this possibility, but if you just think this way, you are wrong! It seems that the new Japanese prime minister is a person who disregards the overall situation of Japan's development for self-interest, and the Bank of Japan is like a hero who saves the market. This idea is very incomplete and I will only mention one point, have you ever thought about how big Japan's trade surplus has been over the years?"

trade surplus
Carter was taken aback for a moment, and Rick also showed a pensive expression.

As Americans, they will of course look at this issue from an American perspective.In Japan-US trade, the US has a huge trade deficit. In other words, Japan has a huge trade surplus with the US!

This is not difficult to understand, but in the past, few people would think in this direction!

It's like, what the hell are we all miserable enough, and you still care about whether the "enemy" will be overfed?

Not even just America.
"It must be very big! I mean, very big!! Besides the United States, since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Japan in the 70s, China is now a big consumer of Japanese products!"

Reminiscent of the information he heard from his grandparents and what he saw and heard during his two trips to China, Carter seemed to have a clear understanding
"From household appliances, to industrial equipment, and automobiles. Although China's overall economy is not very good now, its population should be said to be too large for the consumer market! Especially in the import of industrial equipment, China is now engaged in Open, the demand for advanced industrial production equipment is extremely huge! Japan”

Carter thought of the Yantai Synthetic Leather Factory again
Isn't their MDI production equipment imported from Japan? !
"There is nothing to say about the quality of Japanese products. Coupled with the fact that they are geographically closer, this also means that if their products are to be sold in China, no European or American country can compete with them in terms of transportation costs! To put it harshly , right now, it is almost the exclusive market of Japan.”

"I know about the United States and China. I don't know about Europe, so I won't talk about it, but I feel that the surplus brought by the two markets is definitely an extremely huge and exaggerated magnitude!"

"That's right, Japan's trade surplus over the years is undoubtedly an astronomical figure. Then the question arises, how big is Japan?"

How big is Japan? !

This reminder, combined with the inspiration that just seemed to catch a trace of the tail, and combined with the knowledge learned, the negative impact of excessive trade surplus
"Trade friction. No, it's an imbalance in the industrial structure!"

Carter slapped his thigh, he understood, all understood!
Japan is just an island country!
It's just an island country with a land area of ​​37.8 square kilometers!There are only 1.19 million inhabitants on the island!
Not to mention limited domestic demand, resources are also limited!

Among all kinds of resources, the most important, but also the most easily overlooked one is: food!

Take the United States as a comparison. According to the official survey report of the United States, the population has a total of 2.34 million people, but the land area of ​​the United States is 937 million square kilometers!
The population is only twice that of Japan, but the land area is 25 times larger!

The most direct manifestation of this difference is that the United States has a large amount of land that can be used to develop industries, but what about Japan?

For enterprises, why not do business that can make money? !

On the same piece of land, if I run a factory, I can earn hundreds of millions a year.But if I grow food, I can only earn a few hundred dollars a year. Is it because my industrial products can't be sold? !
The larger the trade surplus, the more popular Japanese industrial products are in the global market.This is certainly a good thing, but it is also a worrying thing for Japan.
The more industrial products sold, the more factories there will be in Japan, and more factories means more land for industry and less land for agriculture.
A large amount of land has been used to build factories. What kind of food should be placed? !
Industry is certainly the way to strengthen a country, but food is the foundation of national stability!
"I think I understand what you mean, Jim. Japan's current food self-sufficiency rate should be declining year by year, and it is very likely that it has reached a very dangerous indicator. This has aroused the vigilance of the new Japanese government. So , They also want to suppress the excessive expansion of Japanese companies to provide breathing space for other industries, especially the primary industry such as agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, sideline fishery!"

"Yes! I thought so too!"

Jim heard this and smiled with satisfaction:

"Think about it, now the US-Japan trade friction is getting bigger and bigger. At the same time, Japan's own food self-sufficiency rate is getting lower and lower. If we don't restrain ourselves, it really angers us in the United States. Do you think Japan can bear the consequences?"

"In industry and in the industrial product market, yes, the United States does have a huge deficit. But if you have observed the export of agricultural products in the United States over the years, you may find that in the international trade of agricultural products, especially grain, The share of exports to Japan is getting higher and higher!"

"On the one hand, the excessive development of Japanese industrial enterprises will exacerbate trade frictions and strengthen conflicts. On the other hand, it is food supply, which is increasingly dependent on the United States. If we don't restrain ourselves, we will be forced to do so. We will impose a food embargo on them. In a short time, Not to mention whether they can import enough food from other countries, don't forget the existence of the Seventh Fleet, and blocking the Sea of ​​Japan is not difficult for the Seventh Fleet!"

"Of course, even if you don't talk about such a violent method. A simple economic sanction, such as a substantial increase in import tariffs, is a disaster that is completely unimaginable for Japan! After all, we are now the largest consumer of Japanese products. And they are extremely dependent on external demand, if our market is closed to Japan, the blow will be no less than the food embargo!"

"Remember what we said when we talked about Japan before? Although it is not pleasant, it is reality! This is the helplessness of a small country! Even though their economic aggregate is the second in the world, they still cannot win against us. Make some waves!"

(End of this chapter)