A further rise would probably force Germany, other European countries and Japan to maintain or raise their interest rates, forcing the dollar down.

The hard-line military leaders had forced Japan into a position from which there was no exit but war."

Through endless and often frustrating negotiations, the Reagan Administration forced Japan to sweep away trade barriers affecting everything from beef and citrus to financial services.

Were these provocations to force Japan into war, or sensible reactions to Japanese aggression in China and elsewhere in Asia?

Financially, crushing the Satsuma Rebellion cost the government greatly, forcing Japan off the gold standard and causing the government to print paper currency.

Two decades after Commodore Matthew Perry forced Japan out of isolation in 1854, the Japanese started playing baseball.

Therefore, Katsura stated that Japan must take steps to prevent Korea from again creating conditions which would force Japan into fighting another foreign war.

The explanation, furnished quickly afterward, is an American "plan to force Japan into war."

Instead, the Administration forced Japan into last summer's agreement to rig prices and buy more American chips.

The fear is that a nuclear-armed North would force Japan, Taiwan and the South to follow the same path, something each is capable of.