Powell recalls how Reagan ended debate on Japanese investment

Japan Policy & Politics, June 14, 2004

WASHINGTON, June 6 Kyodo

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell on Sunday reminisced about how the late President Ronald Reagan ended a White House debate on surging Japanese investment in the United States in the late 1980s on a positive note.

As Powell, then Reagan's national security adviser, and other senior officials at the time talked about Japanese purchases of golf courses, buildings and real estate, a smiling Reagan said, ''No, We're not going to do anything about it. I'm glad that they know a good investment when they see one.''

Reagan was ''so proud'' that Japanese and other foreigners could see the United States as a good investment, Powell said, appearing on a CNN program.

''It wasn't just an instinct. He thought about these issues. He studied them,'' Powell said from France, adding Reagan had ''a belief in our economic system and our political system.''

Former Vice President Walter Mondale separately told CNN that he underestimated Reagan when he challenged Reagan in the 1984 presidential election.

''He goes down as a good man and as a successful president,'' said Mondale, a former ambassador to Japan, referring to ''his abilities to instill confidence and optimism among Americans and to establish a stronger sense of American stature in the world.''

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell on Sunday reminisced about how the late President Ronald Reagan ended a White House debate on surging Japanese investment in the United States in the late 1980s on a positive note.

As Powell, then Reagan's national security adviser, and other senior officials at the time talked about Japanese purchases of golf courses, buildings and real estate, a smiling Reagan said, ''No, We're not going to do anything about it. I'm glad that they know a good investment when they see one.''

Reagan was ''so proud'' that Japanese and other foreigners could see the United States as a good investment, Powell said, appearing on a CNN program.

''It wasn't just an instinct. He thought about these issues. He studied them,'' Powell said from France, adding Reagan had ''a belief in our economic system and our political system.''

Former Vice President Walter Mondale separately told CNN that he underestimated Reagan when he challenged Reagan in the 1984 presidential election.

''He goes down as a good man and as a successful president,'' said Mondale, a former ambassador to Japan, referring to ''his abilities to instill confidence and optimism among Americans and to establish a stronger sense of American stature in the world.''