A71 I A 2003 report drawn up by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) outlined the direction and policies that Japan's textile industry should adopt, stating that the industry has some of the world's preeminent strengths in skills and design, and if Japan can significantly reduce wastage in the areas of production and distribution, and can create structures that will enable it to develop, produce and sell high-quality products with good cost-performance ratios by utilizing its skills and strengths in design, the Japanese textile industry will be sufficiently capable of competing on an international basis.

The report was produced because Japanese clothing exports remain low. The correct answer is (a). The value of exports of Japanese clothing is the lowest among the major industrialized countries. In 2000, Japan's clothing exports were one twenty-fifth those of top-ranking Italy, and were valued at only 500 million dollars. Because the rankings have not changed since, METI is pressuring the industry to increase its exports and become more competitive internationally.