Japanese exports
Sir: Labour's spokesman Mr John Smith, according to Noel Malcolm's article on 'corporatism' (31 March), makes an ex- traordinary factual error when writing ab- out the Japanese Ministry of Trade and Industry. 'The Japanese,' Mr Smith says, 'realised that the market had to be directed and managed within an industrial strategy developed in consultation with govern- ment.'
This is the opposite of what actually happens. In Japan, civil servants and ministers do what industrialists tell them, not the other way round. This is one of the secrets behind Japan's great export suc- cess. Instead of having a Department of Trade and Industry like ours which con- tinually obstructs industry, Japan's MITI rushes eagerly to do its bidding. This helps to explain why the Japanese are so much more successful at exporting than we are. Adrian Berry
The Daily Telegraph, 181 Marsh Wall, London E14
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