INTERNATIONAL TRADE : Critics Say Pickens Crossed Fair Comment Line to Japan-Bashing

T. Boone Pickens, the corporate raider and shareholder rights advocate who staged a high-profile showdown for his right to claim a board seat in a Japanese company, found a receptive audience in Anaheim Tuesday for remarks that some listeners said crossed the line between fair criticism into inflammatory Japan-bashing.

Speaking to the American Electronics Assn.’s national board of directors, Pickens assailed Japan’s “anti-competitive” corporate structure, which he said has prevented his gaining a seat on Tokyo-based Koito Manufacturing Co.’s board. Pickens, who owns a 26% stake in the automotive headlight manufacturer, recounted the story of how he purchased the interest in Koito from Kitaro Watanabe, a Japanese stock speculator.

“I’ve negotiated with the Japanese before. As you all know, the first meeting you exchange gifts and talk about a lot of things that don’t make sense,” he said. “And then you agree to some things that you didn’t agree to. Then you have another meeting to unravel what you did at the last meeting, which was nothing to start with. This wasn’t the case. Mr. Watanabe’s eyes were narrowed down to about the size of BBs.”

Criticizing Koito officials for the treatment he received at the company’s annual meeting last June, Pickens said: “They’re the most biased people I’ve come in contact with in my 62-year career.”

Pickens’ comments drew loud laughter from many of the several hundred people in the audience. One listener who wasn’t happy, however, was Lisa Kitsuta, a second-generation Japanese-American lawyer. Kitsuta specializes in international mergers for the Newport Beack law firm Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth.

She said Pickens had legitimate complaints about the problems of doing business with the Japanese and their refusal to allow him on the Koito board, but she was offended by his delivery.

“It’s pretty insulting,” she said. “In summation, he’s obviously trying to whip up anti-Japanese sentiment, and he had the most receptive audience in the world. Here were people to rally behind him in his cause.”

Mark Helmke, an adviser for Pickens in Washington, said the comments about Watanabe’s “narrowing eyes” were meant to refer only to the intensity of Watanabe’s concentration, a description he said Pickens often uses to depict people of any race during a negotiation.

“We’re aware of the sensitivities involved,” Helmke said. “But it’s frustrating when every time we want to hold a discussion about the Japanese system of capitalism, people call it Japan-bashing.”

Pickens also criticized the Japanese corporate structure, which he said allows interlocking businesses to practice monopolistic controls. And he also blasted the Japanese government for failing to carry its burden in the Persian Gulf War effort, saying Japanese oil tankers should be charged a toll for entering the Gulf.

Kitsuta said such talk could damage U.S.-Japan relations and help to create a backlash against Japanese and others of Asian descent.

“I immediately searched out the nearest person who looked like me and said we better keep our backs to the wall,” she said.