Big U.K. Trade Show Woos Markets in Japan Immediate Career Appointment
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C&EN
OCT. 4, 1965
At Tokyo's Harumi fair grounds last week, the British were having a go at expanding trade with Japan. On hand for a 17-day British trade exhibition were British government officials, scientists, royalty, businessmen, a bagpipe band, one of London's famous double-decker buses, and some $28 million worth of products offered by some 500 British firms. It was the biggest trade fair ever held by Britain in Asia. But increasing British exports to Japan will be "hard slogging," as one British embassy official puts it. Current Anglo-Japanese trade, while significant, accounts for only a small part of either nation's international trade. Britain exported about $163 million worth of goods to Japan last year. That's only about 1.3% of total U.K. exports and 2 . 1 % of Japan's total imports. Japan sold about $205 million worth of products to Great Britain in 1964, some 3.1% of Japan's total exports. British exports to Japan have been rising steadily the past several years, but the trade balance has been consistently negative. Trade this year has slackened because of financial problems in both countries. The main British exports to Japan are nonelectrical machinery, nonferrous metals, and textiles. Exports of chemicals, including plastics and dyestuffs, amounted last year to $14.3 million (8.87c of the total). Japan's chemical exports to Britain amounted to $8.6 million, including plastics. Infiltrate. Says Colin Harris, Britain's commercial counselor in Tokyo: "It would be hard to pinpoint any particular sector in the Japanese market [where Britain can sharply increase trade] . . . . It's not a question of finding gaping holes in Japanese demand. It's a case of finding holes through which we can infiltrate." British chemical firms, apparently seeing few opportunities for any sharp increase in their trade with Japan, had little representation at the exhibition. Imperial Chemical Industries decided at the last minute to "show the flag" and manned a small booth devoted mainly to agricultural chemicals. An ICI representative at the Tokyo stand explained that the firm decided it would be more profitable to concentrate on last month's chemical show in Moscow and its own company show in
Tientsin, China, early this month. British Oxygen was also on hand, but its stand featured cutting equipment and a few consumer products. Nuclear. Manufacturers of nuclear equipment, by contrast, were strongly represented in a large central exhibit organized by the U.K. Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and Nuclear Forum. The nuclear exhibit received a great deal of attention from Japanese at all levels, but especially from engineers and scientists. British nuclear experts have had close contacts with the Japanese for some time. British General Electric is the main contractor for Japan's first power reactor at Tokaimura, a 166,000-kw(e). gascooled, improved Calder Hall-type that's about ready to begin commercial operation. British firms haven't been asked to submit tenders for Japan's second power reactor. The new reactor is to be a 300,000-kw(e). light-water type, and the UKAEA's main effort has been directed toward gas-cooled and fast reactors. Nevertheless, UKAEA authorities at the exhibition see opportunity for selling research reactors to Japanese universities, various processes and techniques (such as hydrostatic extrusion of brittle materials) developed by the UKAEA, and irradiation processing for sterilizing food and other products. Reaction. The crowds at the fair seemed enthusiastic, especially at the food and automobile exhibits. At a higher level, Japanese trade officials seem willing to play the game. But they would like to change some of the rules. Britain and Japan have an open-ended trade treaty which calls for a number of temporary British restrictions (12 items) on imports from Japan as well as voluntary curbs on 64 products by the Japanese. The Japanese would like to see such restrictions lifted. But Britain, with its balance-of-payments troubles, feels somewhat constrained to hold the line. How much success British salesmen will have in Japan isn't at all clear. Trade in machinery and related products will probably continue to rise. Chemical exports, what with Japan's growing chemical industry running into excess capacity problems, aren't likely to show spectacular growth. But if the British find the going rough in some areas, they probably wouldn't have too much trouble selling that double-decker bus, which captured the Japanese fancy.
