ABSTRACT
We have seen how inter-imperialist rivalry has been giving way to cooperation as Japanese transnationals tie-up with their American and European counterparts and shift high-tech production to the advanced countries . But this is producing new contradictions , since Japanese companies are confronting more technically backward capi tal in Asia not as equal partners - they already have those in Europe and America - but with offers to produce low value added products or simply to assemble components brought in from elsewhere .
