How JapanIndia lobbies the USA for its business interests
breastle:"Agents of Influence--How Japan's Lobbyists in the United States Manipulate America's Political and Economic System" by: Pat Choate (c 1990, Knopf, NY)
"Lobbying" is the technical term for any activities designed to influence, in a specific way, a target audience for specific purposes. This book goes into extensive detail about not only how Japan influences our political system but also how Japan influences the education of orndinary Americans for the purpose of having a favorable opinion of Japan. Considerable documentation is presented about how Japan, with the help of the US government, actually destroyed the US television industry. This includes a sequence of court cases, and industry contacts with offices in our government, over 1-2 decades.
The book repeats a theme which I've heard elsewhere: Japan sells its products in the USA for much less than the same products in Japan. In effect, this is an indirect way of "manipulating" its own currency to benefit its export flow. The book also documents the fact that most of Japanese markets are closed to US exports and that because of this fact, and not compebreastiveness, it is estimated that about half of our trade deficit with Japan is due to their markets being closed to our industry. The short version of Choate's story is that our government has refused to help US industry penetrate Japanese markets but Japanese lobbying has been successful in winning more markets in the USA for Japanese businesses and gaining influence in our political system.
A very important part of the book details how Japanese interests funnel specific messages directly to the US public and that this includes sending to key people and media editors so called "media kits" with background information, study quotes, and sample editorials all written with pro-Japan themes. Target people are also lavished with invitations to parties and social events, given gifts, and even given expense-paid trips to Japan. One needs to read all articles and editorials, and see all programs appearing in our media with the idea that the authors and producers were provided with themes and messages that were pre-prepared to encourage an "understanding" that is favorable to a particular interest.
Choate shows how the Japanese marketing & PR efforts developed over many decades, names the organizations, and how they recruit staff, and where these staff come from. Most of them are former officials of one kind or the other of our own government. Most receive very large salaries and have large staffs of buttistants and researchers, and large budgets for expenses. Hundreds of millions of dollars come from Japan to fund PR, lobbying, and marketing in the USA. The book has several appendices which list Japanese companies, who their "foreign agent" is, and how much money the agents received. The appendices are some 40 pages long, not including another 20 pages of references.
Lobbying is not confined to Japan (most countries have lobbying efforts aimed at developing commercial relationships, FTAs, or political favors, and our own country has a wide variety of industrial or other groups with special interests) and Choate even devoted one page of the book to identifying the US Information Agency as the source of official "American propaganda" and the US CIA as core of the unofficial shaddow efforts to promote US interests around the world, so its not like only "they" are the bad guys and "we" are only the good guys. Also, while our industries received no help from our government in obtaining reciprocal penetration of Japanese markets, it should be remembered that our industries do receive considerable favorable treatment regarding business laws and favors in the USA. Choate has written several other books dealing with the status of US business and international trade. A short Google search indicates that he was running as a possible VP candidate with H. Ross Perot many years ago.
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The above book is important in the context of understaning how India, which has also gotten into the business of intensively lobbying the USA for laws, favors, and anything that will help it get business with the USA (ie. we send them money, and they send us anything they can to get money). See below....
Some of many Google hits for the term "India lobby" are below..... ------------------------- Asia Times Online :: South Asia news, business and economy from ... The India lobby also tries to make itself highly visible on issues touching on ... But there is no indication that the India lobby has succeeded so far in ... www.atimes.com-atimes-SouthAsia-GI13Df01.html - 48k - Sep 22, 2005 - Cached - Similar pages
Asia Times Foreign nations such as India pick their lobbying firm with an eye to extracting ... The two "stars" that lit up India's lobbying efforts in past years were ... www.atimes.com-atimes-SouthAsia-EE08Df06.html - 32k - Cached - Similar pages
India's Lobby on Capitol Hill India Resource Center- Linking local struggles against corporate globalization. www.indiaresource.org-issuesglobalization-2003-indiaslobby.html - 24k - Cached - Similar pages
Pro-India lobby gets vocal again against sanctions H1BJobs.com: Why work for less? Pro-India lobby gets vocal again against sanctions CHIDANAND RAJGHATTA. WASHINGTON, JULY 12: Several influential American ... www.indianexpress.com-ie-daily-20000713-iin13031.html - 19k - Cached - Similar pages
coming from a nation like yours -it is not something for me to get emotional about. No -there is no military or police subsidy paid for by the american taxpayer in India...
Movie Market(UK) - Tarzan Goes to India Lobby-Front of House Sets ... Lobby-Front of House Sets featuring Tarzan Goes to India. www.moviemarket.co.uk-LobbySetsTarzanGoestoIndiaT103372.html - 17k - Cached - Similar pages
Lobbying for India - Indian NRIs in America Lobbying for India with Congress and the media. Indian NRIs in America promoting the interests of India in the United States. www.indiatogether.org-us-lobby.htm - 2k - Cached - Similar pages
India, Pakistan Sign With US Lobby Shops Barbour Griffith & Rogers and officials in the government of India didn't want to talk fees for their new lobbying contract last week. www.washingtonpost.com-wp-dyncontent-article-2005-09-14-AR2005091402612.html - Similar pages
India signs up Washington-based lobby firm: Report I'm surprised to see that India is paying a firm $700000yr to lobby its interests in the US. Out of curiosity I visitied their ... Posted by Senthil ... in.rediff.com-news-2005-sep-16lobby.htm - 25k - Sep 22, 2005 - Cached - Similar pages
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Some of many Google hits for the term "India caucus".....
Indian firm WNS Holdings offers fresh outsourcing investment opportunity. By Grace Wong, CNNMoney.com writer July 23 2006: 2:58 PM EDT NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Investors will...
rediff.com: 'The India Caucus still has a long distance to go' rediff.com: The Vajpayee visit: The idea behind the Congressional Caucus on India was to educate Congress members on the issues concerning India so that the ... www.rediff.com-news-2000-sep-18pmus1.htm - 15k - Cached - Similar pages
USINPAC Organizes First-Ever India Caucus Day; Calls upon the 143 ... The call was issued during the occasion of the first India Caucus Day organized by ... USINPAC organized India Caucus Day to urge the Caucus to develop a ... meaindia.nic.in-bestoftheweb-2003-02-18bow01.htm - 10k - Cached - Similar pages
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On Tue, 24 Jul 2006, Kamal R. Prasad It is pretty clear to me that your "hate...
India caucus gives Dan Burton cold feet Author: Aziz Haniffa, in Washington Publication: Rediff on Net
They were all ready. The Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans. The Indian-American community. US businesses with interests in India. And, of course, the Indian embbutty in Washington.
They were waiting to counter the annual ritual performed by India's bete noire on Capitol Hill, Indiana Republican congressman Dan Burton, who religiously attacked New Delhi on the House floor for alleged human rights violations.
But this time, Burton -- darling of the separatist Council of Khalistan headed by Gurmit Singh Aulakh, the Kashmiri American Council and the pro-Pakistan lobby, who contribute handsomely to his campaign coffers -- backed off.
i won't be reading your book -but if I had to provide a non-partisan explanation, it is something like this:- The country in which you...
In fact, he didn't even table his usual motion in the House of Representatives seeking to slash US developmental buttistance to India until the president certifies that New Delhi has alleviated the human rights situation in Punjab, Kashmir and several other regions of the country.
It was obvious he knew that the humiliation he has suffered over the past few years at the hands of the pro- India lobby -- which repeatedly routed his proposal -- would repeat itself.
By Marcus Courtney Story last modified Fri Jul 21 07:10:22 PDT 2006 Ask IT leaders about the high-tech economy these days, and they'll no doubt tell you about the dramatic nationwide...
In earlier times, Burton's amendment always received considerable support and was even adopted once, though finally not enacted. This was largely because most lawmakers would blindly support any legislation that spoke of human rights violations.
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