Asia must open up

Asia must open up

SINGAPORE (AP): East Asia must be more open to foreigners if the region is to compete successfully in a global market, a news report Saturday quoted Singapore's political patriarch as saying.

Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew singled out Japan in particular, saying that although the nation led East Asia's industrialization, it must now try to benefit from outside views.

"There has to be a fundamental change in cultural attitudes before Japanese and other East Asians can compete with the Americans," Lee was quoted as saying by The Straits Times newspaper.

The United States is at an advantage because its multi- cultural heritage allows people of different cultures, races and religions to play on the same corporate team, Lee said.

Speaking to the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Singapore, Lee praised Japan's Nissan Motor Co. for accepting a massive cash infusion from France's Renault and inviting "cost- killer" Carlos Ghosn to run its operations.