Watching tables turn on foreign investment

Remember the investments Japan made in the late '80s -- the ones that had us worried about a Japanese invasion? Well, now the tables are turning.

American vulture funds, investment companies that target undervalued properties, have invested about $20 billion in Japan.

In 1993, Japanese investors held over three times this amount: $77 billion worth of U.S. properties.

Japan is reacting with the same xenophobic concern the United States did when Hawaii's hotels and the Mainland's landmarks were being bought up left and right.

Japanese critics' opinions are split on this issue. Some see the investors' actions as a short-term, opportunistic scheme, using Japan's sluggish economy to make a quick buck. Others view it as an invasion, comparing the investments to 19th century gunboat tactics, designed to force open their markets for American exports.

The press, as eager as ever to hype stories in Japan as it was in the United States 10 years ago, is happily contributing to the controversy.

However, the cause for concern is not justified.

True, the United States does control $20 billion in Japanese real estate, but the property cannot be shipped into the United States.

Besides, this is the 20th century. Foreign powers impede on each others economic sovereignty all the time. The United States imports more per capita than any other country in the world.

Who can say that Japan isn't exploiting the conditions of the U.S. market by exporting so much to the U.S. consumer?

The Shukan Post likened Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto to an executioner, turning Japan into an American colony by "selling out" to American negotiators.

This "colony" concept sounds remarkably similar to Waikiki; ours even comes complete with foreign-owned hotels and signs written in Japanese everywhere.

Certainly, the fear of an invasion is understandable, since the U.S. has undergone the same experience less than a decade ago. However, the hysteria associated with Japan's reaction seems unwarranted.

Like having one's cake and eating it too, Japan keeps both the properties and their value. Therefore, they shouldn't worry about who owns their property.

Besides, if the properties weren't bought out by Americans, they'd have been bought by someone else with even more unsavory repercussions.

Considering Japan's long history of difficulties with both Korea and China, a certain measure of relief should accompany these acquisitions.