ABSTRACT
Relations between the European Community and Japan first came into focus in the 1970s. There was first a process of learning, of taking initial steps at a time when both were heavily engaged in internal development. Post-war Japan had risen from the ashes, a remarkable story based on endeavour, application and intelligent leadership. Attention was focused on new sectors and by the 1970s Japan had largely achieved the shift from products like ceramics and textiles that had characterised exports in the 1930s (though these remained significant), to automobiles, consumer electronics, machine tools and other higher value goods. The structural shifts on the European side were more complex, involving economic and industrial developments as Europe too rebuilt itself and with institutional changes as the European bodies came into existence.
