Kodak Chief Presses Unfair Trading Gripe

Acknowledging there could be a backlash, the chairman of Eastman Kodak Co. made his first visit to Japan since lodging an unfair trading complaint against competing Fuji Photo Film Co. Ltd.

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.”

Fisher touted new Kodak products such as computer imaging and multimedia devices, saying the company was increasingly entering the electronics business and therefore wanted to be a strong contender Japan.

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.