Country Risk Assessment on Japanese Imports of Drugs :: Economics Politics

Country Risk Assessment on Japanese Imports of Drugs History Japan, being the world’s most dynamically competitive nation, is facing an ironic balance in trade with the U.S. The Japanese economy relies too heavily on exports, especially to the U.S., causing increasing trade surpluses. They have been in a repetitive cycle for the last 25 years in which the government allows the yen to fall against the dollar to boost exports and restrict domestic growth to dampen imports. The Japanese government has set too many trade restrictions on U.S. imports, trying to compete against and keep out American imports. This all began during the postwar period when Japan imposed heavy import barriers. Virtually all products were subject to government quotas, many faced high tariffs, and the Ministry of International and Trade Industry (MITI) had authority over the allocation of foreign exchange that companies needed to pay for any import. These policies were justified at the time by the weakened position of the Japanese industry and the country’s chronic trade deficits. By the late 1950’s, however, they had regained balance and could not justify their payment system. Despite Japan's rather good record on tariffs and quotas, it continued to be the target of complaints and pressure from its trading partners during the 1980s. These complaints revolved around non-tariff barriers other than quotas, which included standards, testing procedures, government procurement, and other policies that were be used to restrain imports. Import Policies In 1984 the United States government initiated intensive talks with Japan on four product areas: forest products, telecommunications equipment and services, electronics, and pharmaceuticals and medical equipment. The Market Oriented Sector Selective (MOSS) talks were aimed at routing out all overt and informal barriers to imports in these areas. The negotiations lasted throughout 1985 and achieved modest success. Supporting the view that Japanese markets remained difficult to penetrate, statistics showed that the level of manufactured imports in Japan as a share of the gross national product was still far below the level in other developed countries during the 1980s. Frustration with the modest results of the MOSS process and similar factors led to provisions in the United States Trade Act of 1988 aimed at Japan. Under the "Super 301" provision, nations were to be named as unfair trading partners and specific products chosen for negotiation, as appropriate, with retaliation against the exports of these nations should negotiations fail to provide satisfactory results.

Ancient Chinese Foot Binding Essay

Woman in living in China during the Song Dynasty believed that they would appear more graceful and beautiful if they had small feet. They used foot binding, a long and painful process of breaking and moving bones, to deform their feet until they were tiny. Foot binding perceived the role of women in Chinese society and Confucian moral values. This practice affected the lives of many women in ways that are unimaginably painful (Bound). One Chinese legend speaks of a time when Lady Huang of the Song Dynasty started this practice and continued it because her prince loved her little feet. He was proud of her ability to dance and walk gracefully. Soon, others took up the idea of foot binding, and copied her idea of delicate feet. The first evidence found of foot binding is from Lady Huang’s tomb. She lived in the Song Dynasty, which was from around 960-1279 AD. In the tomb, the woman’s feet were bound and wearing five and a half inch long shoes (Bound). Another legend states that the first time foot binding was used was when a young concubine bound her feet tightly to be used in a dance routine for the emperor at that time (Ellis-Christensen). By the twelfth century, the practice was greatly used among the upper class, particularly the Han Chinese. During the Qing Dynasty in the mid-seventeenth century, every girl who wished to be married into a wealthy family had to have her feet bound, in order to have a good life (Schiavenza). The reason for this is because men wanted their wives to be delicate. When a girl reached the age of 4-6 years old, her mother would perform foot binding on her. If she was any younger, she would not be able to endure the pain; but, if she were any older, her foot would be too grown to work with this process (Schiavenza). First, her mother would soak the child’s foot in a mix of herbs and blood, to soften it up. Then, she would bend and pull back the girl’s toes, (except her big toe), under her foot toward the arch until her toes broke. The girl’s mother would also break the arch of her foot. Next, she would bind up the child’s foot tightly with a long bandage, until her foot formed a triangle with the arch, toes, and heel (Ellis-Christensen). In other words, the foot created a steep, indenting curve and fold in the center of the sole, while the heel was pushed up, causing the foot to become rounded. The entire process was extremely painful. These feet, called lotus feet, were three to five inches long, and shaped like hooves (Bound). Even though foot binding created social possibilities for Chinese women, it caused many problems and deformity. The practice resulted in a shorter and deformed foot that came from the muscles and bones repositioning. Women had to walk on their heels, using a shuffling gait, seen as graceful (Bound). The bandages were worn all day and night, unless they were being washed, which did not happen very often, causing the feet to stink. This caused many infections and diseases. The women who used foot binding had to bind their feet continuously for their whole lives. They wore tiny shoes to cover up their feet. The condition of their feet affected their mobility. Women in Ancient China at that time could not leave their houses by themselves. They also could not do any work that servants could easily do. It was very difficult to get up from a chair and to sit down (Ellis-Christensen). The last survivors from this period in time, all that remains of a vanished idea, suffer from old age, arthritis, and the diseases that came with the practice of foot binding (Mao). Toward the end of the Qing Dynasty, when western countries had more influence on China, foot binding slowly gained more and more people who wanted to end the practice. Wives of Christian ministers, educated Chinese who had studied abroad in Europe and North America, and many others began to oppose foot binding (Schiavenza). Finally, in 1911, foot binding was officially banned (Bound). By the time Mao Zedong took control of China in 1949, the practice was gone, with the exception of a few remote areas in the mountains of China (Schiavenza). During the end of foot binding, a young woman named Gladys Aylward had a chance to preach the gospel to the Chinese people. She grew up in London, England, but was called to go to China and be a missionary to the villagers there. Aylward learned the language and culture of the Chinese, and later became a citizen. One of the officials appointed her to be a foot inspector after the law was passed to ban foot binding. Traveling from village to village, while the unwrapped peoples’ bandages, she preached the gospel to them, and told Bible stories. Many of these people believed and were saved (Gladys). Foot binding was not a form of torture, but was performed in respect to the Chinese culture and traditions. By making their feet exceedingly shorter, they believed that they were closer to perfection. Foot binding caused many women to suffer in their older ages, though. It is amazing that through suffering and pain, God finds ways to make himself known. Thankfully, foot binding is no longer practiced, due to the successful resistance movements of western influence (Mao). Works Cited â€Å"Bound to Be Beautiful: Foot Binding in Ancient China. † McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture. University of Tennessee Knoxville, 4 June 2005. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. Ellis-Christensen, Tricia. â€Å"Why Did Chinese Women Bind Their Feet?. † wiseGEEK. Ed. O. Wallace. N. p. , 16 Nov. 2013. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. â€Å"Gladys Aylward’s Long Road to China. † Christianity. com. Salem Web Network, 2013. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. Mao, J. â€Å"Foot Binding: Beauty and Torture. † The Internet Journal of Biological Anthropology 1. 2 (2007). Web. 25 Nov. 2013. Schiavenza, Matt. â€Å"The Peculiar History of Foot Binding in China. † The Atlantic. N. p. , 16 Sept. 2013. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.

The Psychology of Adolf Hitler Essay - 1033 Words

The Psychology of Hitler It is no surprise to very few that Adolph Hitler is one of the most infamous humans ever to have been born. To this day, the mention of his name can conjure up emotions deep within us. He is responsible for the deaths of millions of people either directly or indirectly. The fascinating aspect of his life is what was the true motivation behind his prejudice, cruelty, and heartlessness. The next logical speculation for most would be his upbringing or that he was physiologically unstable, more logically it was a combination of the two. However, before that conclusion can be made the history of his environment as well as how heredity could have influenced him. Hitlers father, Alois Schicklgruber, was the†¦show more content†¦In January of 1907, Klara Hitler (Hitlers mother) went to see a doctor about chest pain. The doctor, Bloch who was Jewish, diagnosed her with breast cancer. She had surgery however the cancer was very advanced. Hitler followed the recommendation of Bloch to do a painful and expensive treatment with consisted of applying idoform directly into the ulcerations caused by the cancer. However, the treatments did not work and in late December of that same year, she passed away. Ironically, Bloch had seriously reduced the charges owed for Hitlers mothers medical bills; Hitler had told Bloch that he shall be grateful to you forever. While it is my opinion that the parenting practices of Hitlers youth did influence him somewhat, I am not convinced that they played a big enough role to create the man that Hitler became. Hitler was raised sternly however was doted on by his mother, this seems to be normal for the time period. While his father Alois was legitimate, it was also rather irrelevant. Hitler was not chastised by anyone because of his fathers illegimaticy. He showed a huge interest in war and socialism at a young age, in fact it was one of his fathers books that piqued his interest originally. 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