Rivals Once, brought together by China

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba inaugurated his Cabinet last month, and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will be inaugurated in January next year.

- AKIHIRO OKADA

Japan and the U.S. became allies after World War II, yet they also engaged in trade friction, which could be called war in the economic field, in the 1980s. Today, the U.S. economy is showing overwhelming strength, while Japan's stagnation is remarkable. How will the new Japanese and U.S. administrations build a cooperative economic relationship going forward?

Michael Crichton, best known as the author of "Jurassic Park," a story about dinosaurs resurrected by biotechnology, also published a mystery novel called "Rising Sun" in 1992, based on Japan-U.S. economic friction.

In the novel, a Japanese company called Nakamoto is holding a party to celebrate the completion of a skyscraper in Los Angeles when the body of a white female model is found inside the building. The story follows an American detective, who is an expert on Japan, as he closes in on the culprit and includes explanations of Japanese culture at various points.

The book opens with a Japanese motto, "Business is war," and concludes with the symbolic words of Akio Morita, a cofounder of Sony: "If you don't want Japan to buy it, don't sell it."

After World War II, the Japanese economy grew to the extent that it was seen as a threat to the United States. Reflecting Americans' feelings toward Japan at the time, the book contains frequent instances of discriminatory expressions toward the Japanese. When a film based on the novel was released, Asian groups expressed concern, saying that the movie portrayed all Japanese people as being black-hearted and lacking in emotion.

When you read this mystery novel now, what catches your eye are the many episodes that show the overwhelming strength of the Japanese economy.