Please read up on the history of yen-dollar exchange rates before you make such uninformed posts. Here's a good place to start:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaza_Accord

accords are made to be broken, and if you think they Japanese honor them, I have this bridge.

Read it, for crying out loud, and then try to complain about currency manipulation.

Do you have any idea whatsoever about US-Japan relations and dollar exchange rates? I have been experiencing both first-hand for decades. The value of the Japanese yen vis-a-vis the dollar has increased by a factor of 4 since the yen was made to float in 1971. And the yen's value vis-a-vis the dollar today is still higher than it was when Obama was first elected in November 2008.

Have a nice life.

And now I will click the red X, because I have no interest in defending Japan as you do.




Merry Christmas from me and the UAW.

You accuse me of "believing in Santa Claus", yet you have shown absolutely no interest in knowing what conditions are actually like here in Japan, from an American who is actually living in Japan. Do you have any idea why Japanese companies will accept unions in Japan (did you even click that link? 700,000+ members of the Japan Auto Workers) but aren't particularly enamored of the UAW? Do you have any idea about what was happening in the US in the '70s and '80s with regard to automobiles, both US-made and Japanese? Any idea?

Have you heard about the Chinese guy getting shot and killed in Michigan in the '80s because he was mistaken for a Japanese? Have you heard about all the trouble Sanyo had with the union at its microwave plant in Forrest City, Arkansas, of all places, back in the '80s? It was practically a daily headline in the Arkansas Gazette back then.

The relation between unions and management in the US is basically confrontational. And I can understand that, because I once worked at a factory that had a bunch of managers from Michigan who were real jerks. On the other hand, the relation between unions and management in Japan is much more cooperative, because they both know that they will sink or swim together.

Get a clue, please.

I dunno, the cynic in me ( that came of my observations, not my birth ) wonders if he's as concerned with free trade with China or other parts of SE Asia. I say no because wages are low enough in those nations so as too make outsourcing profitable. Japan, not so much....or not at all.

Japan has been telling us fuck you since the 80's. They import hundreds of thousands of their their shit here, we export bupkus to them.

Corporations are chasing more for cheap labor, than for the "emerging markets".

...it's trade agreements with China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and other ultra-low wage, near zero regulation countries that are a more significant threat to US workers. Japan has a very high standard of living, on par with the US, the EU and Canada. You only save on shipping costs by setting up operations in Japan, nothing more.

On the other hand, I do see his point (Ford CEO). It would be nice for Japan to open it's markets as widely to US manufactured autos as we have to damn near everyone else. He's also right about currency manipulation. Since many of the pieces parts of Japanese cars produced in the US come from Japan (engines, transmissions, etc.), a cheap Yen makes Japanese name plates more competitive vs. the big 3.

Last edited Wed Mar 27, 2013, 09:22 AM - Edit history (2)

please read about the Plaza Accord of 1985.

Please.

Result of the Plaza Accord pushed by Reagan in 1985-- The value of the Japanese yen vis-a-vis the US dollar shot up by around 40%, rising from 260 yen per dollar to 160 yen per dollar in just a matter of months.

The result of the current currency "manipulation" by the Japanese government-- The yen is STILL stronger now (94 yen/$) than it was when Obama was elected in November 2008 (100 yen/$), even after all the billions and billions of dollars in losses that Japan has suffered as a result of the triple disaster of March 2011.

And if you think you know what the Big 3 want, we'd like to hear it.......

There's even one not too far from where I live. If I wanted to, I could buy a Ford car.

http://www.fordibaraki.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/136f1860f98.woa/wa/read/136f18610f3/

But why would I want to spend $25,000+ on a new car, of any make, when I can get a good, dependable, low-mileage, low-upkeep used car for a fraction of that?

Have a great day.....

If I, as an American living in Japan, wouldn't consider plunking down $25,000+++ for a new American car in Japan, what makes you think that the Japanese people would be chomping at the bit to buy an American car? Especially when they can already choose from among dozens and dozens of models made by 8 domestic manufacturers? And given that nearly all of the 60 million ++++ vehicles that are already on the Japanese roads (one for every two people in Japan) are in excellent running condition due to the rigorous inspection system, the car market is already way saturated.