José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, has hailed a controversial essay by the incoming Japanese prime minister Yukio Hatoyama that criticised US-style capitalism, as a sign of “converging” visions in Brussels and Tokyo.
The warm European reaction to Mr Hatoyama’s article, which portrayed the European Union as a model for Japanese domestic and regional policies, contrasts sharply with the consternation felt in some Washington circles about the essay’s denunciation of “US-led market fundamentalism” and questioning of the dollar’s future role.
