The chance for Japan

Pim Opinion

The Japanese initiative is logical and welcome. The Tokyo planners may have taken their time over it as a result of their own internal politicking, but they have now recognised the importance of the South Pacific islands region.

It’s something the Japanese private sector has recognised for some time. For example, Japan has been at the forefront of the development of the tuna fishing industry over the past decade. Indeed, while the American Tunaboat Association was squealing Japan was dealing. The Japanese tuna agreements first with Papua New Guinea and later with others became a benchmark that the Americans, until very recently, couldn’t meet.

Japan is a major exporter of cars and other manufac tures to the region and is a major importer of raw materials.

The foreign policy implications that flow from all that are now, at last, being fully examined and acted upon.

And as Australia’s capacity to provide aid declines, Japan’s increases. Also, Japan is second only to the United States in its abhorrence of Soviet influence in its immediate environs. This, plus a Japanese perception that the "New Zealand disease” might be catching have combined to prompt a major Japanese initiative.

From a purely pragmatic viewpoint, the reasons are less important than the effects, however. Japan has much to offer in terms of technology, training and expertise and, it seems, these will soon be available in more generous quantities than ever before.

And Japan has chosen its time well. The economies of

the larger island nations are on the up. PNG, in particular, is set for a very real resources boom with emerging discoveries of gold, oil and gas. Fiji looks ever more assured of stable growth with developments in manufac turing, mining, agriculture and forestry. The smaller island nations such as Tonga and the Cook Islands are overcoming the problems of size and are trading their way to their rightful places in the world. The atoll states face difficulties peculiar to themselves and Japan is already sympathetic to their problems.

But these nations do not want to be forever Japan’s quarries and gardens. Assistance with some form of “downstream” value added activity is essential.

Now it may be that even the larger island states are too small for viable large scale manufacturing enterprises to be established. Experience certainly points in this direction.

Nevertheless there are opportunities in specialised areas of activity that could and should be developed.

And Japan is in a unique position to assist.

But, as always, there are problems. Japan, it seems, wants to take advantage of Australia’s long experience of providing aid in the South Pacific. Australia, on the other hand, has its own aim of gaining greater access to Japan’s huge domestic market.

Japan won’t swap access to Australia’s experience for Australian market penetration at home. Australia has, therefore, more or less told Japan to go it alone in the islands.

That’s needn’t and probably won’t deter the island leaders from welcoming an increased Japanese aid effort.