NAKASONE INTERVENES IN MICROCHIP DISPUTE
  Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone
  intervened to try to resolve Japan's escalating dispute with
  the U.S. Over semiconductor trade, government officials said.
      At today's Cabinet meeting, Nakasone told Trade and
  Industry Minister Hajime Tamura to redouble his efforts to calm
  U.S. Anger over what it sees as Japan's unfair trade practices
  in semiconductors.
      Nakasone intervened only two days before a scheduled
  meeting of the Reagan administration's Economic Policy Council
  to consider whether Japan is reneging on its microchip pact
  with the U.S.
      That pact, agreed last year after months of negotiations,
  calls on Japan to stop selling cut-price chips in world markets
  and to raise its imports of U.S. Semiconductors.
      Senior U.S. Officials have accused Tokyo of failing to live
  up to the accord and have threatened retaliatory action.
      Yesterday, Tamura's Ministry of International Trade and
  Industry (MITI) launched a last-ditch attempt to salvage the
  pact by writing letters to U.S. Policy makers setting out
  Japan's case and telling Japanese chip makers to cut output.
      In his letter, the contents of which were released today,
  Tamura said a MITI survey carried out at the beginning of March
  showed Japanese producers were not selling at cut-rate prices
  in Asian markets.
      In a separate letter sent to senior U.S. Officials, MITI
  vice minister for international affairs Makoto Kuroda suggested
  the two countries could conduct a joint investigation into
  allegations of Japanese chip dumping in such markets.
  

