Japanese, Jewish Leaders Meet to Discuss Japan and Oil Embargo

A delegation of Japan’s Democratic Socialist Party, including two members of Japan’s Parliament, met last night at the home of the Japanese Consul General in New York with Jacob Stein, chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations; Rabbi Israel Miller, vice-chairman; and Yehuda, Hellman. executive director. The Japanese parliamentary leaders stressed the warm and continuing relationships of their political party with Israel and said the Arab oil embargo was “a great shock” to the people of Japan.

They said recent visits by Japanese government leaders to, and offers of, substantial Japanese investment in Arab countries should be viewed as showing a greater interest in countries that supply Japan with oil and not as a change in Japanese-Israel relations. The Japanese political personalities expressed concern over the possibility of an American boycott of Japanese consumer goods;

The Jewish leaders said that in yielding to Arab oil blackmail Japan was following a policy which had historically proven disastrous, that the action of Japan weakened the American initiative for peace in the Middle East and that Japan’s failure to support American foreign policy in the Mideast was losing Japan many friends in this country.

Stein told the Japanese representative that there had been great restraint in any economic reaction to Japan’s actions but that if further capitulation to blackmail occurred Japan could expect a strong reaction from the American public. Stein urged that Japan act in concert with the U.S. and other oil consuming countries in resisting blackmail and in developing new and alternative sources of energy.