BUSINESS ABROAD: Made Well in Japan

As Japan's biggest customer, the U.S. bought $600 million worth of Japanese goods last year, largely because Japanese cameras, textiles, machinery and electrical goods are among the world's least expensive. Last week many a Japanese businessman was looking in the other direction: toward higher-priced, quality products fitted to compete with the world's best. They argue that Japan actually damages its potential U.S. markets with cheap, often shoddy goods copycatted from U.S. or other foreign manufacturers. To U.S. consumers, the label "Made in Japan" frequently acts as a red light that warns of inferior goods. Now Japan wants to turn...