Japan must act quickly to change economic policies and make its industries and farmers more competitive, or China's economic strength will lead to a further decline in the importance of the world's second-largest economy, US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said.
Zoellick, a frequent George W. Bush administration critic of Japan, said the country's economy has been in the "doldrums" for more than a decade, and it risks being marginalized.
"Japan's economy is in bad trouble, and it needs structural reforms," he said. "Agriculture's symptomatic of that: It's 2 percent of their GDP, it's 1.8 percent of their population, yet they pour bunches of resources into it. If they don't get a more efficient economy, the Chinese are going to eat their lunch."
Japan's economy grew 0.8 percent in the third quarter of last year, seasonally adjusted, after a second-quarter gain of 0.9 percent. That followed no gain in the first quarter of last year and three quarters of decline in 2001.
Since 1992, Japan's economy has grown on average 1.1 percent per year, about a third that of the US over the same period.
Over the same period, China's economy has grown an average of almost 8 percent per year, and its exports have increased 30-fold.
Zoellick, who was meeting yesterday for the first time with new Japanese Agriculture Minister Tadamori Oshima, said the country should make its industries more competitive.
He said the new round of global market-opening talks under way at the WTO offered a perfect opportunity for the country's officials to change the way they do things.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
SHOT IN THE ARM: The new system can be integrated with Avenger and Stinger missiles to bolster regional air defense capabilities, a defense ministry report said Domestically developed Land Sword II (陸射劍二) missiles were successfully launched and hit target drones during a live-fire exercise at the Jiupeng Military Base in Pingtung County yesterday. The missiles, developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST), were originally scheduled to launch on Tuesday last week, after the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday long weekend, but were postponed to yesterday due to weather conditions. Local residents and military enthusiasts gathered outside the base to watch the missile tests, with the first one launching at 9:10am. The Land Sword II system, which is derived from the Sky Sword II (天劍二) series, was turned