Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, October 21, 1995                   TAG: 9510230107
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: TOKYO                                LENGTH: Medium

KODAK LEADER TAKES SHOT IN JAPAN

George M.C. Fisher continued to hit hard at his Japanese competition and the government on Friday in a visit to what he called the world's most important market for electronics.

``Kodak is very optimistic about the future of imaging here, if competition is allowed to occur so that consumers have access to innovative products at reasonable prices,'' he said, accenting the ``if.''

But he repeated Kodak's contentions, spelled out in a complaint to U.S. trade officials in May, that Fuji locks up the Japanese film market through price fixing, control of distribution and other practices.

Kodak's campaign has caught wide media coverage in Japan. Fisher acknowledged that the perceived harshness of the moves, though rational, could backfire and hurt sales.

``It is absolutely possible that there could be some negatives from the strength with which we're asserting our case,'' he said. He asked for understanding that ``what we're doing is for the benefit of the population in Japan.''

Fisher, who led Motorola Inc. in largely successful attempts to penetrate the Japanese market, described why Kodak went to U.S. officials rather than the Japanese Fair Trade Commission for redress.

``It has been my personal experience that a U.S. company has very little standing in front of the JFTC,'' he said, accusing it and Japan's trade ministry of tolerating unfair practices by Fuji.

Fuji has sternly replied to Kodak's complaint with its own thick report, contending Kodak uses anti-competitive means such as special rebates to exclude competitors in the United States.

The two companies continued their sparring this week, with Kodak saying Fuji in Japan forces prices up three or more times their level elsewhere, gaining Fuji a war chest of cash. Fuji denied the accusations.

Each company has about 70 percent of the film market at home and about 10 percent in the other's turf, but Fisher scoffed at the assertion there was a ``mirror image.''

``Fuji, if you go throughout the United States, appears in most stores right alongside Kodak film,'' he said. ``We appear in about 15 percent of the retail outlets of this country. If we appeared in as much of the Japanese market as Fuji appears in the U.S. market, we would be doing significantly better.''