Nor is the American, particularly a top executive, prepared for the process of the careful point-by-point arguments over the detailed provisions of a contract. Once the American has arrived at an agreement in principle, he is used to turning it over to the lawyers and subordinates to work out the details. The Japanese method of leaving the lawyers out of it may well be the better way, for the parties to the transaction eliminates future problems in interpreting the contract because each paragraph has been discussed but again it prolongs the negotiation. Other problems arise from the way Japanese business is structured and the difference in business methods and procedures. First is the fact that the Japanese economy seems to consist of a few very large firms and a great many very small firms. Second is the cross-ownership of the major firms, the banks, and the insurance companies, and the closer relationship and interdependence on each other that this implies. Third is the role of the great trading companies which have no counterpart in our country. Fourth is the group loyalty and the life-long relationship between employee and his company. Partly out of these differences may come the fact that by U. S. standards the Japanese appear to have no respect for the confidentiality of information or discussions. The American in his own country feels that he can negotiate in considerable privacy, that no public announcements will be made without both parties agreeing to the press release, that he can convey confidential information to the other party and that it will not leak out. So it is that he is surprised and often resentful to learn that his negotiations are reported in the news-papers while they are still going on, that his competitors seem to know his every move, and that in Japan he operates in a goldfish bowl.