Obama short-term policy fine for Japan Inc. talk

That's because the policies the president will outline are closer to those of traditional Japan than those of traditional America. The promulgation of such policies may help the president's party in the short term, but isn't optimal for the country's long-term future.

Consider what the president is likely to do. The first thing is bow to a long list of established interest groups. The president is certain to devote time in the speech to flattering organized labor. Labor's political support is all the more critical after the president's health-care setback. You also can bet teachers will get a mention, along with the middle class.

The private sector will get a nod too. The president learned last week that bashing business leads to instant losses in the stock market. So he'll leave it to the Democratic lobbies to call out Goldman Sachs greed.

Instead he will praise an enlightened company or two, as well as its founder or chief executive. There will probably be one old-line outfit ─ say General Electric and Jeff Immelt ─ and a newer company, maybe Microsoft and Bill Gates, or Google and Sergey Brin.

Expect the president to elaborate on the importance of green keiretsu, though he probably won't use that Japanese word. He will talk about how companies can work together with each other and government to achieve greener economic growth.

All this is highly Japanese ─ the idea that the country, and also the economy, is made up of groups, not individuals, and the idea that the nation as a whole benefits most from a harmony of such groups.

Next Obama will talk a little bit about infrastructure, such as the rumored high-speed rail funding for Florida. Word has it that Obama has a plan to create green construction- or technology-related jobs.

To the Japanese this will sound more than familiar. When their economy hit troubles in the early 1990s, they turned to infrastructure spending to stimulate growth. By the end hundreds of billions had been spent. The coast was lined with concrete and Japan had new airports and bridges to nowhere.

But the stock market wasn't back to its old levels, and unemployment more than doubled, from 2.1 percent in 1990 to 4.6 percent in 1999.

Finally there's financial reform. The president will talk about the need to halt risk-taking such as proprietary trading at commercial banks so that depositors won't be hostage to foolhardy derivatives bets. You will hear about safe, federally guaranteed deposits at banks or thrifts.

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