Machinery Exporters Launch

Japan’S Trade On

The High Seas

Message from Mr Shigeru Otsuka, executive director,

Japan Machinery Exporters'

Association: It gives me great pleasure to send my greetings to all the people of the South Pacific Islands through this September issue of PIM. The South Pacific Islands and Japan have had increasingly close relations in recent years as exemplified by joint activities in various fields such as resource development,

regional development, trade,

and tourism, so that now mutual exchange in various fields has become very exten sive.

In addition to trade, Japan is also engaged in various econ omic aid programmes such as

the hydro-electric develop

ment on the Purari River, fisheries development, and for estry operations in Papua New Guinea, and development of the fishing industry in Tonga and Western Samoa. In the

field of personal exchange,

also, more than 20 000 Japanese people visit the South Pacific, including Australia and New Zealand, each year, on business trips and for tour ism, and it appears that this number will grow.

We, the Japan Machinery

Exporters’ Association, are an organisation established in

1952 by some 600 major ma chinery manufacturers and

trading companies in Japan

with the objective of sound

development of Japan’s ma

chinery export, on the basis of the Export and Import Trade Law.

Since its establishment 25 years ago, the association has performed various functions

and activities to foster sound

machinery export practices and

to prevent unfair ones. In 1956, the association designed and built the world’s first “floating fair” ship, sending it to nine South-east Asian countries from December 1956 through

February 1957. not only giving

a strong impression of the high

quality of Japanese machinery

to the people of these coun tries, but also surprising many people all over the world. This was the start of the Japan “floating fair” ship which is still very active.

In the meantime, the idea of the floating fair has been expanded to include all types of Japanese products, and the operation has been transferred to the present Japan Industry Floating Fair Association. But we are proud that this unique concept was originated by our association.

I would like to invite our friends in the South Pacific to take up our proposal to establish links with the Japan Machinery Exporters’ Associ ation for improved mutual

exchanges and the mutually

beneficial development of our trade.

Mr Shigeru Otsuka