Japan-U.S. Economic Relations Group Records, 1979-1981
On May 2, 1979, President Jimmy Carter and Prime Minister Masayoshi Ohira met in Washington, D.C. and agreed to establish the Japan-U.S. Economic Relations Group—informally known as the “Wise Men.” This small group of distinguished persons drawn from private life would submit recommendations to Carter and Ohira for maintaining a healthy bilateral economic relationship between the United States and Japan. Among the issues considered were the role of economic issues in the overall “political-security-cultural relationship,” especially Japan’s emerging position as a world power; Japan’s future comprehensive economic security needs; and its involvement in foreign assistance programs. The Group actively solicited the views of the American public (Congress, business, labor, agriculture, public interest groups) to provide an additional forum for those who wished to be heard. The Group also drew upon research that was currently under way in the two countries and sponsored a modest program of separate independent research.