Media Contact: Gail Short205-934-8931[email protected]
"In Japan, there is a sense that their business community is more comfortable with Republican presidents than Democrats," said UAB historian John Van Sant, Ph.D., commenting on the U.S. presidential race. Van Sant lived in Japan for several years, and is the author of a new book, "Pacific Pioneers: Japanese Journeys to America and Hawaii, 1850-1880" published by University of Illinois Press.
"There is a stereotypical image in Japan that a Republican is more keen on economic and international affairs," Van Sant said. "This remains the case even though Gore has been vice president for eight years. He's been a member of the Senate and is knowledgeable about foreign affairs."
To illustrate his point, Van Sant tells the story of the 1988 presidential race between Michael Dukakis and the senior Bush, then the vice president. During that race, the Japanese Ministry of Finance told the major trading houses in Tokyo not to help drive the dollar downward in currency trading, which was the direction the U.S. dollar was headed at the time, said Van Sant.
"The Japanese government, and many in the Japanese business community feared that if the dollar continued to fall in Japan during the month leading up to the November 1988 election, it would make the U.S. economy look worse than it really was and Americans would be more likely to vote for the Democratic candidate, Dukakis. So, Japanese trading firms held the yen-dollar rate at a stable price until the day after the election, which George Bush won. Then the price of dollar dropped substantially in Japan.
"This effort to control the value of the dollar in Japan probably had no effect on the 1988 presidential election, but it demonstrates how Japanese government officials and many Japanese businessmen are more comfortable with Republicans in the White House managing the economy." Call John Van Sant, Ph.D., at 205-975-6520 or e-mail at [email protected].
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