The United States and Japan are waging a behind the scenes battle at this weeks Asian Development Bank meeting over Tokyos attempts to win a greater say in the organization U.S. And Japanese delegates said. Washington is opposing the Japanese efforts because it would mean the end of the long-standing parity between the two nations in the Bank U.S. Officials said. Right now the two countries voting shares are about equal Japan having 12.53 pct and the United States 12.36 pct. The slight difference is due to a temporary delay in the U.S. Subscription to the Bank. Its quite a delicate matter Japanese Finance Ministry deputy director general Fumiya Iwasaki tolds. I dont see the discussion ending soon. The issue is further complicated because other member nations would have to give up some of their power in the Bank if Japan were to increase its influence he said. Tokyo raised the issue at last years annual meeting in Manila arguing that the 3.7 billion dlrs it has contributed to the Banks soft loans fund entitled it to a greater say in the overall organization. The United States has given 1.2 billion dlrs to the Asian Development Fund.
U.S., JAPAN AT ODDS AT ADB MEETING