One of the Center's forums has been a series of panel discussions moderated by Professor Robert Kavesh and featuring Nobel Laureate Paul A. Samuelson. Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan Visiting Professor of Political Economy. Joining in the discussion are business leaders from Japan and faculty members from the Stern School. In addition, every March the Sanwa Monograph Selection Committee meets to award a research grant for a monograph on international financial markets. The Committee consists of two Nobel laureates, Merton Miller and James Tobin, and Professors Akiyoshi Horiuchi, Ryuzo Sato, Marti Subrahmanyam, and Richard Zeckhauser. After the meeting the Committee participates in an open panel discussion in which they are joined by the General Manager of the Sanwa Bank, New York.

This concise book on the U.S.-Japan trade friction in the 1980s and the early 1990s focuses on the points of view of the so-called "Japan bashers" to see where the controversies of their points of view rose. In his writing, the author attempts to prove as the main cause of the controversy the inability of the Japan bashers to discern adequately that the differences in their economic practices between the two nations primarily stemmed from the contrasts in the culture of each nation. Starting from the description of the cultural traits of each nation, the book deals with the various aspects of the U.S.- Japan trade relation: each of the controversial trade practices such as notorious Keiretsu or Japanese distribution system; the differences in the role of the bureaucracy of each nation in terms of economic development; the examination of the truth in the Japan bashers' claim of Japan as a protectionist; the myth of free trade; and the prospects of each nation in their trade relationship in the 21st Century. Although concise, the book well portrays the focal points of this volatile issue in the U.S.-Japanese trade relation.

This edited volume examines Japan's increasing links with Latin America from three perspectives. First, the introduction looks at the US role in `mediating' Japan's relations with Latin America. Second, three chapters by Japanese scholars offer their perspectives on the economic, political and cultural links between their country and the Latin American region. Finally, scholars from five Latin American countries - Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Chile and Panama - trace historical, current and future ties between Japan and their respective nations.