345. Editorial Note

The First Meeting of the Joint U.S.-Japan Committee on Trade and Economic Affairs was held at Hakone, Japan, November 2-4, 1961.

Prime Minister Ikeda opened the meeting. Cabinet ministers attending for Japan were Zentaro Kosako, Foreign Affairs; Eisaku Sato, International Trade and Industry; Ichiro Kono, Agriculture and Forestry; Mikio Mizuta, Finance; Aiichiro Fujiyama, Economic Planning; Kenji Fukunaga, Labor; and Masayoshi Ohira, Chief Cabinet Secretary. Ambassador Asakai also attended. Representing the United States were Secretary Rusk; Stewart Udall, Interior; Orville Freeman, Agriculture; Luther Hodges, Commerce; Arthur Goldberg, Labor; Henry Fowler, Treasury Under Secretary; Myer Feldman, Deputy Special Counsel to the President; and Ambassador Reischauer.

Agenda topics included: general survey and outlook for the Japanese and U.S. economies, balance of payments, wage systems and productivity in Japan and the United States, expansion of trade and promotion of economic relations between Japan and the United States, promotion of Japanese and U.S. economic and commercial relations with other parts of the world, economic assistance to less developed countries, proposals for stabilizing primary commodity prices and their relationship to terms of trade, the Sino-Soviet economic offensive, U.S. economic polices towards the Sino-Soviet bloc, and Japanese trade relations with the Sino-Soviet bloc.

Scheduling information, briefing papers, talking papers, and memoranda of conversation are in Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 65 D 366, CF 1981-1988. Despatch 416 from Tokyo, November 13, contains a comprehensive summary of all the sessions of the meeting. (Ibid., Central Files, 411.9441/11-1361) For text of the communique of the meeting, issued November 4, see Department of State Bulletin, November 27, 1961, page 891. Additional information on the meeting is in Documents 346 and 347.