JAPAN'S CONDESCENSION MUST BOOST U.S. RESOLVE

Trans-Pacific bashing has become something of a pastime lately, with individuals in the United States and Japan engaging in not-always logical chiding of one another over trade practices. The rancor is distressing. Despite legitimate disputes, America and Japan have a significant and reciprocal trade relationship, something harsh rhetoric does not take into account and does much to damage. Still, blatant arrogance can not go uncountered; the Japanese would do well not to let overconfidence be the distinguishing mark of their economic prowess.

American automakers, who have suffered from the effects of Japanese imports and become brokers in the recent wave of bashing, are deserving of some of the grievances leveled at them. In these car companies, management became bloated, products did not indulge consumer wishes and labor did not yield to production efficiencies and new technology. It isn't that American workers are stupid and lazy, as one Japanese politician suggested. The U.S. car industry, however, was slow to recognize an internal complaisance.

Will Japan grow so cocky that it will be lulled into the same mistake? That remains to be seen, but be assured that the United States car builders are awakening to shortcomings that have damaged their industry. Leaner operations, more capable of stemming the tide of imports, are in the offing. Product lines will be thinned, production cycles will be compacted, management will be streamlined and manufacturing costs will come down. Some of the production figures are embarrassing from a corporate perspective: Japanese car manufacturers build their products with about half the factory space of U.S. automakers, and with about half the labor expense. Where Toyota takes about 20 worker-hours to produce a car, General Motors takes about 40.

Despite all the barking done by American auto executives during a recent trip to Japan, and the plaintive calls for governmental intercession on their behalf, U.S. manufacturers are recognizing albeit belatedly that their failings helped open the door for Japan to capture 30 percent of the American car market. The message has been delivered. The Americans are ready to respond.

Japan's mistake would be to discount America's capacity to stage a comeback, to believe too vigorously their bashing of U.S. intellect and work ethic. The auto industry is ever-changing and the United States can position itself for the future. Changes in technology such as electric motors and alternative fuel sources could help automakers become more competitive in this country ... but only with adept planning and provident management. The Japanese shouldn't count out the Americans just yet; condescension from abroad should only make our countrymen hungry.