Soviet Union and East Europe

Section 5. Soviet Union and East Europe

1. Soviet Union

(1) Internal and External Situation

(a) Domestic Politics

(i) There are sufficient grounds to believe that the Soviet Union completed in 1987 the first phase of the "perestroika" program designed to charter the basic cource of reform. The year focused on "democratization" and economic reform. Among other things, the Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party decided, at its general session in January, on the policy of "democratization." And the June general assembly of the committee decided to enforce a number of "economic reform" measures which included the national enterprise law.

The confrontation of view over the scale and tempo of perestroika came out in the open in the party leadership. The rift ran so deep that in November, First Secretary Voris Yeltsin of the Moscow municipal party was relieved of the post charged of committing a "political error." (He also had to give up his candidacy for the Politburo in February 1988).

Until then, the reshuffling in the Gorbachev regime reflected merely change of hands, from the old to the new. But the dismissal of Yeltsin, the first among new leaders ousted for a "political error," revealed a complicated intraparty situation evolving around perestroika.

(ii) At the Central Committee's general session in June 1987, General Secretary Gorbachev decided to convene the 19th party council in 1988 to review the perestroika program over the past three years and promote democratization within the party. The council, which was held from June 28 to July 1, 1988, decided to reform the Supreme Soviet, create the post of chairman of the Supreme Soviet and introduce a tenure system (up to two five-year terms).

(iii) The Central Committee's general session in January 1987 carried out almost no personnel changes in the Politburo, while major reshuffling took place in the Secretariat. At the general session in June, Secretaries N. Slyunjkov, V. Nikonov and A. Yakovlev were promoted to the Politburo, giving watchers an impression that the Gorbachev regime has strengthened its power base.

Defense Minister S. Sokolov was dismissed in the wake of the May incident in which a West German light plane landed at Red Square to be replaced by Deputy Minister D. Yazov. Yazov was promoted to a candidate for the Politburo in June.

In October, G. Alief, a member of the Politburo, was discharged for reasons of health.

As of July 1988, therefore, eight of the 13 Politburo members, five of the seven Politburo candidates and 10 of the 13 secretaries where those chosen after the start of the Gorbachev regime. Sweeping reshuffling was carried out at the middle level as well.

(iv) As part of de-Stalinization, General Secretary Gorbachev has carried out a review of history steadily, stirring invigorated activities thereof in academic and theatrical circles and mass media. In his address to a gathering commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Russian Revolution in November, Gorbachev somewhat positively acknowledged the achievements of Nikolai Bukharin and proposed to establish a committee to rehabilitate victims of the Stalin era. Nevertheless, his speech was low-key as a whole. (Bukharin was legally rehabilitated in February 1988).

(v) With regard to ethnic problems, a riot broke out in Kazakh in December 1986. Behind General Secretary Gorbachev's policy of democratization and "glasnost" (public offering of information), ethnic consciousness was roused from its long-time slumbers. In July 1987, Crimean-Tatars staged a sitdown demonstration in Red Square demanding return to Crimea. In August, there were anti-Soviet demonstrations in three Baltic republics seeking independence. In 1988, a rash of disturbances broke out in the Armenia and Azerbaijan Republics. In addition, various civil groups sprang up and staged movements. Some of them are the "Pamyat' (Memory)" upholding Russian nationalism, the "Glasnost" demanding the protection of human rights, and the "Democratic Union" calling for the introduction of a multiparty system.

The ethnic problems and the policy of glasnost will remain a focus of attention.

(b) Diplomacy

The top priority of Soviet diplomacy in 1987 was to forge an advantageous relationship with the United States regarding arms reduction and control as well as other areas. Hoping to strengthen its position vis-a-vis the United States, the Soviet Union carried out various diplomatic activities toward not only the U.S. but also West European countries, China and other Asian countries, and Latin American countries. Under the joint venture law which it put into force in January 1987 to vitalize its economy, Moscow is ambitiously pushing for economic cooperation with Western countries.

(i) Relations with U.S. and Western Europe

In July 1987, General Secretary Gorbachev announced that the Soviet Union was prepared to eliminate all INFs including those deployed in Asia. The proposal was followed by a series of talks between U.S. and Soviet foreign ministers. As a result, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed on the total elimination of INF, which had long been demanded by Japan. The agreement was signed when General Secretary Gorbachev visited the United States in early December.

Based on their concurrence at the summit, U.S. President Reagan visited the Soviet Union May 29 through June 2, 1988, for his fourth meeting with Gorbachev.

Through these summits and foreign ministerial talks to prepare for the top-level meetings, the United States and the Soviet Union made some progress as regards arms reduction and control, human rights, regional conflicts and bilateral issues. The results of such progress included the above-mentioned INF agreement and the Geneva accord on the Afghan conflict. (The latter agreement will be referred to later.) But no substantial progress was made in settling other pending issues including a 50% cut in strategic nuclear weapons.

The Soviet Union showed West European countries an attitude indicating affinity with them under its call for a "European common house." Following the conclusion of the INF agreement, Strauss, the Chairman of the Christian Social Union of FRG, visited the Soviet Union in December 1987. Soviet Premier Nikolai Ryzhkov called on Sweden and Norway in January, while Foreign Minister Shevardnadze visited the Federal Republic of Germany and Spain also in January. British Foreign Secretary Howe paid a visit to the Soviet Union in February. On his way home from the United States, Shevardnadze stopped by Portugal in March. In July, FRG's Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher visited the Soviet Union. On these occasions, Moscow stepped up its peace offensive in a bid to denuclearize Europe and drive a wedge between the United States and Europe against the backdrop of the Warsaw Pact's supremacy in conventional weaponry over NATO. At the same time, the Soviet Union is calling for the relaxation of COCOM regulations in order to promote economic cooperation with the West.

(ii) Relations with East Europe

General Secretary Gorbachev held talks with East European leaders on various occasions. For example, he visited Czechoslovakia in April 1987, Romania in May, and Poland in July 1988. There were also other occasions such as a regular session of the Meeting of the political consultative committee of the Warsaw Treaty Member States in Berlin in May 1987, an assembly commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Russian Revolution in Moscow in November, the summit meeting of the Warsaw Pact nations held in Berlin in December in the wake of the signing of the INF agreement, and a regular session of the Meeting of the political consultative committee of the Warsaw Treaty Member States in Warsaw in July 1988. On these occasions, Gorbachev met with East European leaders and sought their understanding of the Soviet's foreign and domestic policies and tried to cement the unity of the Eastern bloc. He also visited Yugoslavia in March 1988 and announced a new declaration reconfirming the principles of the 1955 Belgrad declaration and of the 1956 Moscow declaration.

(iii) Relations with Asia

The relationship between the Soviet Union and China tended to grow in such practical areas as trade and economy as well as cultural and personnel exchanges. In February 1987, deputy ministerial border talks resumed after nine years of interruption. At the second round of talks which took place in Beijing in August, the two governments agreed to set up a working group of experts.

Although General Secretary Gorbachev repeatedly stated the need to hold a summit meeting between the Soviet Union and China, the Chinese government continued rejecting the proposal, sticking to its position that the removal of the "three obstacles," particularly the Cambodian problem, must come first.

In an interview with an Indonesian newspaper in July 1987, Gorbachev reconfirmed Moscow's strong interest in the Asian-Pacific region which was referred to in his speech made in Vladivostok a year earlier.

Reflecting the Soviet's interest in the region, Thai Foreign Minister A.C.M. Siddhi Savetsila visited the Soviet Union in May 1987, followed by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in August, and Australian Prime Minister Robert Hawke in November. In 1988, Indonesian Foreign Minister Mochtar Kusuma-atmaja paid a visit to the Soviet Union in February, followed by Thai Prime Minister Prem Tinsulanonda in May. From the Soviet Union, Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Rogachev visited the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia in March and April. In addition, the Soviet Union exchanged various missions in a bid to strengthen economic and other relations with Asian nations. Expressing its intention to participate in the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council whose role was duly acknowledged by the Soviet, the Soviet Union establishd a committee for the PECC in 1988.

(iv) Relations with Middle East

With regard to the Afghan problem, Foreign Minister Shevardnadze visited Afghanistan in January 1988. General Secretary Gorbachev said the following month that the Soviet Union would start withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan on May 15 if and when the indirect negotiations in Geneva between Pakistan and Afghanistan were concluded. Gorbachev made a statement confirming the decision after his meeting with Najibullah in Tashkent in April.

After these developments, the Foreign Ministers of Pakistan, Afghanistan, the United States and the Soviet Union signed a peace agreement on Afghanistan setting the stage for the withdrawal of Soviet troops starting on May 15.

(v) Relationship with Latin America

In Latin America, the Soviet Union aided Nicaragua and strengthened its ties with Cuba. In addition, Foreign Minister Shevardnadze visited Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay in September-October 1987 to tighten Moscow's relations with those countries. Uruguayan President Julio Maria Sanguinetti paid a visit to the Soviet Union in March 1988.

General Secretary Gorbachev has carried out various reforms, though intermittently, to vitalize the stagnant Soviet economy as his top priority task since he assumed his post. As the enactment of the national enterprise law in 1987 coming as the last of a series of basic reform policies for the time being, the Soviet Union is now entering the phase of fully enforcing such measures.

(i) Trend of Economic Reform

(a) At its general session in June 1988, the party central committee announced its first comprehensive guidelines for reforming the economic management mechanism in such areas as planning, pricing and the supply of capital goods, which is the linchpin of a centralized economy.

The basic course of the reform is laid in the national enterprise law controlling corporate activities. (The law was adopted in June 1987 and began being applied to some 2,500 industrial companies on January 1, 1988.) The law aims to drastically relax the central government's control on businesses and expand their discretionary power. The underlying principle is that companies should fully support themselves and raise funds on their own through profits and bank loans, ending their excessive reliance on the central government.

In addition, the cooperative association law was approved in May 1988 in order to promote co-op activities in the field of agriculture as well as many other areas including production of consumer goods and services.

(b) Attention is being focused on how smoothly and effectively the national enterprise law, the embodiment of the new management mechanism, will be implemented. Another focal point is how widely new production systems, such as cooperatives and sub-contracting, will spread. With regard to the economic reforms, the country is taxed with such intractable problems as the revision of the present pricing system (to be accompanied by an increase in prices of meat, milk, bread and other living necessities) which is said to be the main cause of the structural imbalance of the Soviet economy, and a personnel cut in the central economic management organization. The reform efforts are now reaching a watershed.

(c) It will take a certain period of time before the reform efforts bear fruit. General Secretary Gorbachev, in the meantime, stresses that the questions of foods, consumer goods and services, and housing should be primarily settled as they will directly affect popular consciousness and sentiment about the perestroika program.

(ii) Economic Data for '87

National income increased 2.3%, down from a target of 4.3%. Mining and manufacturing production and agricultural output posted respective gains of 3.8% and 0.2%, down from the targeted 4.4% and 2.2%. The growth of national income was about the same as the postwar low in 1979.

As a whole, the economic performance of the Soviet Union remained sluggish in 1987.

Fuel and energy production (oil output was a record 624 million tons) was brisk along with grain (210 million tons, almost unchanged from 1986), stockbreeding and housing construction. But production was at a low ebb at sectors of machinery and consumer goods, to which the present Soviet regime gives top priority.

(2) Relations with Japan

(a) General View

In general, Russo-Japanese relations have steadily advanced in such practical fields as trade, economy, fishing and culture, but no progress has been made with regard to the northern territorial issue and other basic problems. Although Japan and the Soviet Union are willing to improve their relations, they are divided over how to achieve the goal. To narrow the gap, it is important for the two countries to expand and improve their political dialogues. Among government-to-government talks held between 1987 and 1988 were trade and economic consultation in June 1987, talks related to the United Nations in August, foreign ministerial talks in September, working-level consultations in November 1987 and June 1988, and exchange of views on the Middle East in January 1988. Private-level talks included a joint meeting of the Japan-Soviet and Soviet-Japan Economic Committees in January 1988.

(b) Northern Territorial Issue

(i) In September 1987, then Foreign Minister Kuranari met his Soviet counterpart, Shevardnadze, on the occasion of their attendance at the U.N. General Assembly and stressed that it is the Japanese people's consensus that the northern territorial issue must be resoloved in order to improve Russo-Japanese relations. He also urged the Soviet Union to positively respond to Japan's just demand for the return of all the four northern islands. Foreign Minister Shevardnadze implied there was little change in Moscow's uncompromising stance by stating that Japan's demand is groundless historically and legally.

(ii) At a working-level consultation in Tokyo in November 1987, the Japanese negotiators pointed to Japan's repeated consistent stance that the two countries should settle the northern territorial issue and conclude a peace treaty in order to build stable Japan-Soviet relations. Japan stated that the policy would remain unchanged under the new Takeshita Cabinet. Japan also pointed out that the two countries agreed, when they exchanged the joint communique of 1956 for the reopening of diplomatic relations, that the Soviet Union should return Habomai and Shikotan on concluding a peace treaty, and that the two countries, even after the restoration of diplomatic relations, should continue negotiations on matters including the territorial issue for consumating a peace treaty. Japan also pointed out the confirmation, which was made at a top-level meeting in 1973 when then Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka visited the Soviet Union, that the two countries should settle pending postwar problems, including that of the four northern islands, and conclude a peace treaty. In stating the above Japan called on the Soviet Union to consider these issues seriously.

But the Soviet delegation replied that although Moscow was well aware of Japan's claim with regard to the northern territorial issue, talks on the improvement of bilateral relations would get nowhere if Japan attached a prerequisite. The Soviets also said that although Japan stressed sentiment and feelings, there were popular feelings and sentiment in the Soviet Union as well.

(iii) Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister Rogachev paid a courtesy call on Foreign Minister Uno in November 1987. Uno also received a visit from Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Adamishin (who flew to Japan to explain the contents of the U.S.-Soviet Summit conference). In these talks, Uno stressed anew that the Japanese government and people strongly want the Soviet Union to settle the territorial issue by returning all the four northern islands to Japan and the two countries to conclude a peace treaty in order to improve bilateral relations.

(iv) At a working-level consultation in Moscow in June 1988, Japan again emphasized the importance of the settlement of the territorial issue and the conclusion of a peace treaty and called on the Soviet Union to earnestly deal with these issues. But the Soviet Union repeated its stance as in the past.

(v) In July 1988, former Prime Minister Nakasone visited the Soviet Union and met with General Secretary Gorbachev. Nakasone mentioned historical facts endorsing Japan's position over the northern territorial issue.

The Japan-Soviet joint communique issued in May 1986 when then Japanese Foreign Minister Shintaro Abe visited the Soviet Union noted the agreement that Soviet Foreign Minister Shevardnadze would visit Japan during 1987 to continue the regular foreign ministerial consultation. But Shevardnadze's visit to Japan did not materialize in that year due to his schedule. At talks between former Prime Minister Nakasone and General Secretary Gorbachev in July 1988, however, the Soviet side said Shevardnadze would visit Japan in late 1988. The government intends to formally take up the issue at a foreign ministerial meeting to be held on the occasion of the U.N. General Assembly session in September.

(d) Economic Relations

Trade between Japan and the Soviet Union decreased in 1983 and 1984 but turned upward in 1985, amounting to $5.1 billion in 1986 in two-way trade. In 1987, however, the trade dropped 4% from the previous year to $4.9 billion due to the yen's appreciation, confusion accompanying the reform of the Soviet foreign trade system and the severe winter in the Soviet Union at the beginning of the year. Japan's exports to the Soviet Union in 1987 fell 18.6% from the preceding year due to a steep drop in the first half, while imports scored a 19.3% gain. As a result, Japan's bilateral trade surplus fell to $210 million, less than one-fifth the previous year's level.

Japan's exports of chemicals increased in 1987 but steel and general machinery, major products for exports to the Soviet Union, declined. Imports increased by and large. The import of non-ferrous metals (such as platinum, palladium, nickel and aluminum) registered a sharp gain. Coal and gold import also rose. Timber imports dropped due to a quality question, while those from other countries increased.

(e) Fishery Relations

International environments surrounding Japan's northern-sea fishery are becoming severer year after year due to the 200-mile fishery zone and the principle of giving a mother country primary interests and responsibility concerning anadromous fish which return from the oceans to rivers where they spwan. The difficult situation is true also of Japan-Soviet fishery negotiations.

Japan and the Soviet Union launched negotiations in Moscow in late November 1987 to set 1988's catch quotas in each other's 200-mile zone. After much complication, the two countries agreed on quotas at about the previous year's levels (210,000 tons each without payment and 100,000 tons with payment allocated to Japan). But Japan's fishery payment was set at \1.71 billion, up 33% over 1987.

Bilateral talks on Soviet-bound salmon catches by Japanese fishing boats in 1988 also faced rough going. The talks were suspended in mid-March after the Soviet Union demanded Japan a total ban on Japanese fishing operations in the high seas after 1992. The two countries resumed the talks in late April and decided on Japan's catch quota of 20,826 tons (compared with 24,500 tons for 1987) and payment of \3.7 billion as a fishery cooperation fee (unchanged from the previous year).

(f) Scientific and Technological Cooperation

The Scientific and Technological Cooperation Committee held its meeting in Moscow in December 1987 and formulated plans for cooperation in such fields as agriculture and forestry, nuclear fusion and medicine.

(g) Cultural Exchange

(i) Major cultural events were held in Moscow, such as the first kabuki performance (for a month from late May 1987) in 26 years and the opening of a Japanese garden in July. The events attracted strong attention from the Soviet people, reflecting their growing interest in the Japanese culture. The annual Soviet and Japanese film festivals were respectively held in Japan in June and in the Soviet Union in January-February 1988.

(ii) The Japan-Soviet cultural convention took effect in December 1987, with the two governments exchanging instruments of ratification. The accord has legally laid the groundwork for expanding bilateral cultural exchanges on a reciprocal basis. The Japanese Embassy in the Soviet Union opened a public relations section in December. This was the first time that the Soviet Union had approved opening of a public relations unit in any foreign embassy in the country.

2. East Europe and Yugoslavia

(1) Internal and External Situation

(a) Warsaw Pact Members

(i) The East European countries have been faced with stagnant domestic ecnomies since late 1970s. None of the countries achieved growth targets for 1987, except Hungary which had set a rather low target of 2%. For the East European leaders, the vitalization of domestic economies remains the most important task. Under these circumstances and influenced by Soviet General Secretary Gorbachev's "perestroika," the East European countries launched reforms though in varying degrees. In particular, Hungary and Poland, which had begun economic reforms before Gorbachev's reform, stepped up their efforts to overcome their present economic slump or hardships.

(ii) In Poland where reform programs adopted in 1982 are progressing at a snail's pace, Chairman of the Council of the State Gen. Jaruzelski announced an outline for the second phase of reform in April 1987, showing determination to promote economic reform.

Based on the outline, the Polish government in October revealed reform implementation programs, including the expansion of corporate autonomy and the introduction of proper prices (reduction in subsidies), together with political and social reform programs. In November 1987, the government put these reform programs to a referendum but failed to win support of the majority of voters, who feared that a hike in prices and other effects would lower their living standards. The government was therefore forced to amend the programs. After February 1988, taking into account the result of that referendum, the government raised prices in three steps at rates smaller than initially planned, but popular discontent with dropped living standards led to a series of strikes seeking wage increases in Gdansk and other cities from late April through early May.

(iii) The slump is a serious problem even in Hungary, which has been spearheading economic reforms in the socialist bloc since 1968. The Hungarian government carried out a sweeping reshuffle, including President of the Presidential Council (head of state) and premier, in June 1987. It also decided on an emergency economic reform package in September, including a cut in government subsidies to deficit-ridden companies with the aim of eliminating the federal deficit and introducing new types of taxes such as a sales tax.

(iv) Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria are implementing reforms under the influence of the Soviet "perestroika" as well. Czechoslovakia issued a federal government order for restructuring the economic mechanism but its reform seems to be dragging on. Bulgaria has repeated organizational changes since 1986 as part of its economic reform, but even confused reaction has been observed there.

In the GDR and Romania, there is no sign of economic reforms.

(v) With an advance in "perestroika" in the Soviet Union and economic reforms in the East European countries, the balance of power in the top echelon in some of these nations has turned unstable and leadership changes took place in Czechoslovakia and Hungary, due partly to the aging of their leaders. In Czechoslovakia, General Secretary of the Czechoslovakia Communist Party, Gustav Husak, who had led the country since 1968, stepped down for reasons of health in December 1987 and was succeeded by Jakes. In Hungary, First Secretary Janos Kadar, who had been in power since the Hungarian revolt, resigned against the background of popular discontent with the domestic economic situation. Premier Karoly Grosz was installed as First Secretary.

(vi) The Soviet "perestroika" is affecting national sentiment in the East European countries as well. In GDR, Czechoslovakia and some other countries, youths and intellectuals voiced demand for freedom and democracy, though sporadically. A rock and roll concert in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin (East) led to a demonstration in June 1987, followed by some other demonstrations in early 1988. Demonstrations were also staged in Czechoslovakia, including those by the Charter 77 group in November 1987 and by a religious group in March 1988.

(vii) In the area of foreign policy, the East European nations maintained their close ties with the Soviet Union through the active exchange of visits by leaders. For example, Soviet General Secretary Gorbachev visited Czechoslovakia in April 1987 and Romania the following month. On the other hand, reflecting the improvement of East-West relations such as the signing of the INF agreement, Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria joined the trend to step up their exchange with Western countries, following GDR, Hungary, Poland and some other countries, who had an active exchange with Western countries.

The relations with China, which had become active since 1985 were maintained. Economic ties with the Republic of Korea, with which they have no diplomatic relations were activated.

(b) Yugoslavia

(i) Yugoslavia is striving to overcome its economic difficulties as the top-priority issue. The Yugoslav government has carried out various interventions, such as the freezing of prices and wages, to promote production and exports and curb inflation. But workers are so discontented with such measures that they frequently staged strikes. In May 1988, the government, in cooperation with the IMF, launched a new economic policy with an eye to the market economy, which centered on the liberalization of prices, imports and the foreign currency market. It is also making preparations for a constitutional reform to strengthen the federal authority in economic management so as to implement drastic measures to overcome economic difficulties. The basic principles, such as the federation system and the self-management system, remained unchanged by the constitutional amendments.

(ii) With regard to its foreign policy, it was observed that Yugoslavia concentrated her efforts to emphasize regional cooperation. For example, it took the initiative in holding a meeting of non-aligned Mediterranean nations at the level of foreign ministers in June 1987 and convening of the Conference of the Balkan countries in February 1988. Soviet General Secretary Gorbachev visited Yugoslavia in March 1988 and issued a new statement confirming various principles such as mutual nonintervention and equality.

(2) Relationship with Japan

(a) Warsaw Pact Members

(i) Japan is promoting its relations with the East European nations in the political, economic, cultural and all other fields in order to contribute, as a member of Western world, to the creation of more stable and constructive East-West relations. Among examples are top-level political talks with the Chairman of the Council of State of the Polish People's Republic, Gen. Jaruzelski in June 1987 and foreign ministerial meetings with GDR and Hungary on the occasion of the U.N. General Assembly in September.

(ii) In January 1987, then Japanese Prime Minister Nakasone visited GDR and Poland. Based on a top-level agreement between Japan and Poland reached during the visit, Japan sent a mission to Poland in July to survey environmental pollution there. In November, Japan dispatched a cultural mission to GDR, Poland and Hungary to promote cultural exchanges. In addition, the Japanese government invited 50 youths each from GDR and Poland to Japan from autumn 1987 through 1988 in order to facilitate the exchange of young people.

(iii) Japan's trade with the East European countries totaled $1,188 million in 1987, 16% more than the previous year.

The Japanese government held governmental Economic Mixed Committee meetings in Poland and Czechoslovakia to improve environments for the promotion of economic relations between Japan and the countries concerned. A seminar on the promotion of economic relations between Japan and the East European countries was organized by the Government of Japan.

(b) Yugoslavia

(i) Japan has extended political and economic support to Yugolsavia, which is an important factor for stability in Southern Europe and maintains non-aligned and independent diplomacy.

The Foreign Ministers of the two countries met in New York on the occasion of the U.N. General Assembly in September 1987. At the invitation of the Japanese Government, President of the Federal Executive Council (Prime Minister) Branko Mikulic visited Japan in May 1988 and held political dialogue at the highest level, and Japan's intention was underlined with a view to assisting Yugoslavia's fight against economic hardships.

(ii) In May 1987, Japan sent a mission of government officials and businessmen to Yugoslavia to promote bilateral economic relations. The dispatch was based on a top-level agreement during then Japanese Prime Minister Nakasone's visit to that country in January 1987. The Japanese government also sent a cultural mission to Yugoslavia in November the same year to promote cultural and personnel exchanges and invited 50 Yugoslav youths to Japan from autumn 1987 through 1988.

(iii) Japan's trade with Yugoslavia totaled $106 million in 1987, 10% more than the preceding year.

to table of contents