However, I am not wearing rose colored glasses in many respects. I have countless hundreds of stories of friends (and a few stories of my own) being screwed by dishonest Japanese companies/executives in business deals...just as I have stories (including my own) of successes as well. Caveat emptor. Trust, but verify (EVERYTHING).
In terms of dealing with Japan, enter at your own risk. There are lucrative opportunities, but you can also get screwed by two-faced liars if you are not careful. That is what years of experience have taught me at any rate. All things being equal, it forces you to stay intellectually and perceptively on your toes at all times, for your own sake.
I won't dispute you there, and I'm sure President Bush feels the same way. By the way this is a good time to mention that State Department wonks decided not to purge all the communists from Japanese positions of leadership after the war. Furthermore, there were a number of Hirohito supporters who were allowed to remain in office. Some say that MacArthur failed to root them out because he was so attached to his idea of power transition. I think Japan has a long way to go before it has dealt with all of the problems created by the post war environment. Hopefully it will continue to do so as a strong ally. But we'll verify that every step of the way.