Premier Tanaka: A New Pitcher

IN explaining what his leadership would mean for Japan, Premier Kakuei Tanaka resorted to some Nixon-like rhetoric. "It's a change of pitchers, not a change of the team," he told TIME Correspondent Herman Nickel. In a 90-minute interview, the new pitcher discussed some of the issues that will be the immediate concern of his team.

CHINA: Since 1949, Japan has followed U.S. policy in withholding recognition, despite strong pro-Chinese agitation from the opposition parties. But since the Peking summit, the government painfully has had to reassess its position. "It is necessary for China and Japan to re-establish diplomatic relations. That is quite natural in view of the ties of 2,000 years of history between the two countries. Since the official entry of China into the United Nations, efforts are being pursued to normalize relations. As for Japan's relations with Taiwan, there is not only a treaty, but geographically and historically we have fairly deep relations. Since President Nixon's visit to China, U.S.-Chinese relations have become closer. I believe the problem can be solved in a reasonable manner in consultations with the U.S."

RELATIONS WITH THE U.S.: Despite Nixon's shokkus, Tanaka insists that "the basic stance of our foreign policy is to deepen U.S.-Japanese relations. It goes without saying that this is the most important and vital thing. It's a relationship that has developed over the past quarter-century, and our people have come to take it for granted, like water and air. But there is a necessity for people to reflect on the necessity of air and water."

JAPAN'S TRADE IMBALANCE: This is clearly a principal irritant to the U.S., which received $7.26 billion in Japanese goods last year, while exporting only $4.05 billion to Japan. "I am prepared to expend all my efforts to solve this problem. One of the major reasons for it was the recession Japan went through last year." This, along with a revaluation of the yen, slowed G.N.P. growth from an average 10% a year to 4.7% in 1971. "We favor a greater effort to export American goods, not only to Japan but elsewhere. There is an old samurai saying that a warrior is disdainful of boasting about his prowess and hence is a poor advertiser of his own merits. But nowadays even an economic giant must advertise to sell."

IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF JAPANESE LIFE: "From now On WC want to increase national income by 7% a year--but no longer by concentration on an 'exports first' policy. Our emphasis from now on will be on the environment, on housing, education, public health, old people's homes, on urban renewal and on the improvement of our transportation system. With such measures we feel we can increase G.N.P. without accentuating problems [primarily trade imbalance] with other countries and at the same time improve the life of our people."

JAPAN'S INFLUENCE: Japan is now the world's third biggest economic power, but its "self-defense forces" are modest (259,000 men). Will Japan opt to increase them? "As far as Japan is concerned, militarily it has only enough forces to defend itself." On the other hand, "Japan is ready to cooperate in sharing the burden the U.S. has been carrying in the economic area. That is why we were able to reach agreement on a monetary settlement in Washington at the end of last year. We committed ourselves to raise government development aid [to underdeveloped countries] to .72% of the G.N.P. by the end of the '70s. That is the equivalent of building up a second Japanese self-defense force."

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