Rising surplus, rising wrath
JAPAN'S trade surplus has been trending upwards for nearly a year. Figures released on March 17th confirmed this awkward development. In the year to February, the surplus was ¥6.7 trillion ($60 billion). In other words, Japan's perennial trade “problem”--that it sells much more than it buys--has not disappeared. As the surplus grows, Americans especially are starting to get cross again.
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Rising surplus, rising wrath”
From the March 22nd 1997 edition
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