Is the Minister aware of the very substantial trade imbalance between this country and Japan and of the stated Japanese Government intention to welcome further trade with Ireland? Is he also aware that many large Irish companies who are exporting worldwide are not exporting to Japan and would be consider some form of deliberate new initiative to encourage large flagship Irish enterprises to export to the Far East? If he relies totally on CTT's current programmes, the requirements will not be met.

I share the Deputy's excitement about the possibilities with regard to Japan. The Minister for Industry and Commerce will visit that country in the next couple of months and I hope to lead a trade mission there some time in the autumn. We are targeting on Japan as a major area of opportunity, particularly given their strong situation. The trading houses which have recently been cleared by the EC represent an area that the Japanese understand very well and I hope to have talks with Japanese interests in terms of considering the trading house structure here to see if they can be of help in developing a link between the trading house movement here and the Japanese situation.

Will the Minister agree that people who have been exporting to Japan find they get much more frustrated than excited when they try to get goods into that country? The Japanese system is very adept at keeping out goods they do not wish to be imported into their country. That is what Europe should be addressing — breaking down the resistence of the Japanese to allow goods to be imported into their economy. We cannot do that alone; Europe must do it.

I have no difficulty with that analysis. I am aware of the difficulties of that market and the cultural background and so on.

It is not cultural; it is deliberate policy.