A senior official of Japan's Ministry of International Trade & Industry took a negative view of any Japanese government official giving testimony on Japan's flat glass market before the US Congress. The official said that Japan had no plans to send Minister of Int Trade & Industry Kaoru Yosano or any other official to the US for congressional testimony, as requested by a US Senate Committee. The Japanese government, instead, will send a letter to try to convince Washington that there are no problems, such as the alleged lack of openness, regarding flat glass trade in Japan, the official said. Acting on increasing domestic criticism of Japan's flat glass market, a sub-committee of the Senate Judicial Committee sent a letter to Yosano calling for a witness represenging the Japanese government to speak on the issue at the subcommittee's public hearing in April.
