Eastern Europe and Japan-U.S. economic relations

Japan will probably benefit from changes in Eastern Europe. The government has offered a $1.9 billion assistance package to Hungary and Poland, its businesses are cautiously concluding joint ventures and investments there, and it is cooperating with Europe and the United States in reconstruction efforts. The effects on Japan-U.S. relations will be small though positive, since cooperative efforts on aid and in relaxing export controls seem to out-weigh risks of confrontation. The perception of an economic threat from Japan, however, is rising as cold war tensions ease.