(2 of 2)
Trade Without Treaty. Siberian development is only part of the broadening trade between Japanese eager to export consumer goods and know-how and Russians avid for capital and technical advice. Japan's trade with Russia doubled last year to $610 million and reached $500 million for the first seven months of this year. Not even the fact that the two nations, which dispute ownership of small islands lying between northernmost Japan and the Russian-held Kuriles, have still not signed a World War II peace treaty seems to slow down the economic get-together. One reason for this is the Japanese philosophy of Seikei Bunri. That means roughly that economics and politics are separate and should never interfere with each other.