We have undertaken the study of "the future of political control of pricing ". Why are things so exoensive in Japan,and what is both the government and individual companies doing to tryand lower prices.

Before the Bubble Economy "burst", Japan was almost proud that it was the most expensive country in the world. However, since the end of the Bubblle Economy, everyone, including individual companies and also the Japanese goverment has become very "cost consious". That relates to for example, very dramatical falling in land prices, and housing prices, and another example could be that many companies have "frozen" or "reduced salaries". But still, compared to the rest of the world, Japan is very expensive for such things as housing, food, and general cost of living, in oyher word, the general price of goods.

This paper will discuss some of the following problems, and we still try to get to some sollutions, where possible.

1. Is the Japanese distribution system part of the problem of high prices in Japan. For example, in oder to buy a particular product in Tokyo, many different "middleman" throughout the distribution system must handle the product. Each time someone handles a product, the price goes up.
   (This is new question. Since Kayo Fujita quit taking this class, we have decided not to do question#4, which she was going to research, but make new question that is in a sense connected with question#1.)
2. Is the personal expenses(or labour cost)part of the problem of high prices in Japan. Since the Bubble Economy "burst", everyone has become "cost consious". Many individual companies have "frozen" or "reduced salaries". And some "lifetime employee" companies have stopped hiring college graduates. To reduce the personal expenses is necessary for companies to reduce the general price of goods in Japan, and to reduce the personal expenses is another way for companies to reduce the general price of goods in Japan(question#1 is another way to reduce the price).However, I think this will cause a serious problem, such as unemployment.
3. As we have already mentioned, it is true that the general price of goods is so high in Japan. There should be some ways to reduce this general price of goods, but is the Japanese government trying to find ways to help it?
4. Generally, when people reduce the trade barriers between countries, that inevitably promotes the competition between countries. And in the end,as a result of the competition, each country(which is involved in the competition) would start to reduce the price of goods in it's cuntry.In that case, can we say that American pressure on reducing the trade barriers between Japan and the United States helped to reduce prices in Japan?
5. In last 5 -10 years, many foreign, especially, American "fast - food" companies and discount stores such as MacDonald and Seven - Eleven have entered Japan. These companies generally have their own distribution methods. What has happened to the small "mom and pop" stores?

After having a discussion on our topic, we have in the end reached to one conclusion. We had been looking at the problems from several different point of views. We had been looking at the government, (individual)companies, American pressure on reducing the trade barriers, and if those have actually helped to reduce the high prices in Japan. We had even looked at what has happened to the small "mom and pop" stores in Japan.

From our research(that we have done so far), we all realized that there are a great deal of importance to reduce the high prices in Japan, and that there are some ways for both the government and the companies to reduce the prices in Japan, each in a different way. Government is trying to reduce the price of goods by lowering the interest rate, for example. It is true that they are trying to reduce the price of goods in Japan, but especially from my opinion, the personal expenses would cause a serious problem such as unemployment, and that still remans to be solved.

Grammatical corrections and comments

Suggested Correction	Short grammatical or logical explanation
We have undertaken the study of "the future of the political control of pricing ". Why are things so expensive in Japan,? What are both the government and individual companies doing to try and lower prices.	"the" required because "political control" is a definite thing. ** expensive was spelled incorrectly. ** You need to separate the sentence "in Japan? What are" into 2 sentences since 2 separate ideas. Also you need to use "are" because "the government and individual companies" are a combined plural subject.
Before the Bubble Economy "burst", Japan was almost proud that it was the most expensive country in the world. However, since the end of the Bubble Economy, everyone, including individual companies and the Japanese government has become very "cost conscious". That relates to (for example), a very dramatic fall in land and housing prices. Additionally, many companies have "frozen" or "reduced salaries". But still, compared to the rest of the world, Japan is very expensive for such things as housing, food, and the general cost of living.	Be careful of your spelling "Bubble".."government" . "conscious". Use the spellcheck feature in MS-WORD. ** You need "a" because you are talking about the fall in prices in a general way...indefinite way. ** "land and housing prices" is simpler and clearer than "in land prices, housing prices"...always simplify simplify!!! ** "Addtionally" is a good start for a new sentence. You need to separate these into 2 sentences. Don't get in the habit of connecting sentences together with "and". It is almost always better to simplify. ** "the" required because "general cost of living" is a definite thing (even if a general statement). The use of "the" here is difficult, I think.
This paper will discuss some of the following problems, and we will try to present some some solutions, where possible.	Use spellcheck in MS-WORD "solutions" ** "will" not "still" ** "present some" means to show some solutions. This is better than "get to some".
Is the Japanese distribution system part of the problem of high prices in Japan. For example, in order to buy a particular product in Tokyo, many different "middleman" throughout the distribution system must handle the product. Each time someone handles a product, the price goes up. (This is new question. Since Kayo Fujita quit taking this class, we have decided not to do question#4, which she was going to research, but make new question that is in a sense connected with question#1.)	Spellcheck "order" ** Since this is a team effort, you should not put anything in your report about any individual (e.g. Kayo Fujita). The entire phrase should be taken out of your "executive report". If you wanted to tell me this information, you should have sent me an e-mail. Do not forget, this executive report is supposed to be read by senior management at a company or the president of the U.S. and they don't want this kind of information.
Are personnel expenses(or labour costs)part of the problem of high prices in Japan? Since the Bubble Economy "burst", everyone has become "cost conscious". Many individual companies have "frozen" or "reduced salaries". Some "lifetime employee" companies have stopped hiring college graduates. Reducing personnel expenses is necessary for companies to lower the general price of goods. However, we think this may cause a serious unemployment problem.	"personnel expenses" is plural so you need "Are". "personnel" and not "personal". Look up the difference in meaning in a dictionary. ** You need a question mark "?" after Japan because you are asking a rhetorical question. ** "Some "lifetime"..." is ok. Do not start sentences with "and" except in very special situations such as you want to emphasize something. ** Separate long sentences connected by "and" into 2 separate sentences. ** "we", is necessary because this is a "teamwork" paper, not a personal "I" paper. ** "may" is better than "will" because you cannot be sure that "unemployment" will come...you only think so. ** "unemployment problem" is clearer than "serious problem, such as unemployment". Simplify!!!
As we have already mentioned, it is true that the general price of goods is so high in Japan. There should be some way to reduce this general price of goods. However, is the Japanese government trying to find ways to help?	"price of goods" singular. Therefore, use "way". "way" to do what..to reduce "the price...". **simplify your structure by creating two sentences starting with "However,"..and you do not need "help it" at the end..only "help" ** Your last sentence is asking a rhetorical question "Is the Japanese government trying to find ways to help?". That is grammatically correct. However, in English, a more positive opinion might be given, such as; "We are not certain that the current government is doing enough to help lower prices." This is written as a statement and not as a question and is a little stronger, which is usually preferable in English.
Generally, when people reduce the trade barriers between countries, that inevitably promotes competition.. In the end, as a result of competition, each country(which is involved in competition) would start to reduce the price of goods in it's country. Therefore, can we say that American pressure on reducing the trade barriers between Japan and the United States helped to reduce prices in Japan?	"competition" has a plural meaning, so does not require "the" and "between countries" is not necessary and is taken out because the meaning is clear without these additional words. **"country"..Spellcheck in MS-WORD ** "In the end" avoids using "and" to start a sentence. ** "In that case" should come out and "Therefore" used. This final sentence is another rhetorical question based on the 2 sentences before it. Therefore, "therefore" is appropriate.
In the last 5 -10 years, many foreign, especially, American "fast - food" companies and discount stores such as MacDonald and Seven - Eleven have entered Japan. These companies generally have their own distribution methods. What has happened to the small "mom and pop" stores?	"the" required for "..5-10 years" because related to time...even though it is plural, in English, we usually use the definite article "the"...WHY? Probably because 5-10 years is a definite span of time. ** You are asking a rhetorical question "What has happened to the small "mom and pop" stores?" Again, in English, it is probably preferable to make a positive statement such as "The small traditional "mom and pop" stores seem to be having a very difficult time because of the chain-store competition".
After having a discussion on our topic, we have in the end reached one conclusion. We have looked at the problems from several different points of views. We looked at the government, (individual)companies, and American pressure on reducing the trade barriers in order to see if they have actually helped to reduce the high prices in Japan. We even looked at what has happened to the small "mom and pop" stores in Japan.	Do not need "to" before "one" ** "points of view" is an idiom. ** use the simple past "have looked" instead of "had looked" because you are still working on your report. ** You need "and" when you list a series of things (e.g. government, companies and ..." ** "in order to see if" is better than "and if"...The phrase beginning with "in order to see if ..." could, actually, start the sentence. But, the way you have written it is ok.
We all realized that there is a great deal of importance in reducing the high prices in Japan. There are some ways for both the government and the companies to reduce the prices in Japan, each in a different way. For example, the government is trying to reduce the price of goods by lowering the interest rate. It is true that they are trying to reduce the price of goods in Japan, but in our opinion, the personnel expenses would cause a serious problem such as unemployment, and that still remains to be solved.	Take out "From our research (that we have done so far)" and just start saying what you want to say with "We" **"a great deal of importance" is singular, therefore "is". ** "in reducing" and not "to reduce" **"Japan. There are" should be 2 sentences. ** "government" requires "the" and "For example" should be at the beginning of the sentence since you are emphasizing this "example". ** again, use "our" when giving an opinion because this is a team effort (even if you did all the work yourself). ** spelling..use MS-Word spellcheck

The following questions and comments should help you to continue and complete your report. If you wish to discuss any of these questions with the instructor, please contact him by e-mail. In addition to the questions listed here, you can, of course, think of your questions to complete you work.

If you use an article from a magazine, newspaper or online (Internet) source, you need to identify where that source came from. We will talk more about "sources of information" in class meetings.

You should develop a statistical table that compares the price of common items used by most people in Japan to the same price for items in several other countries; for example the United States; Britain; Thailand etc. The United Nations keeps this type of statistical information, so researching in this area might be useful.

Are the prices of things in Japan the same throughout the country. For example, is the same item as expensive in Tokyo as in Osako as in some remote village in Tohoku or Shikoku?

When a new "large chain store" such as 7-11 or McDonalds opens for business, sometimes the small "Mom and Pop" stores cannot survive. What happens to the owners of these now-bankrupt "mom and pop" stores?

Is there a Japanese national government organization that is trying to control the price of things in Japan? Or is the control of prices just done on a "case by case basis"....in other words, no government agency is trying to reduce prices, but prices are only reduced due to outside pressure?

What percentage of the average Japanese households' income goes towards buying "common things for living" (e.g. food, clothes, gasoline for cars, fuel for winters,)? Is this percentage higher than that of an average American family? For example, if Sato-san earns 300,000 yen per month and spends 50% on "common things" while Smith-san in California earns $2,000 per month and spends 30% on "common things"....you would want to try and find out why this occurs?

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