Edwin O. Reischauer, University Professor and director of the Japan Institute was a panelist at last night's Cambridge forum on trilateral relations between the U.S., Japan and Western Europe.

The discussion centered on the importance of trilateral relations as opposed to relations between individual members of the trilateral group and developing countries.

Reischauer said the two options are not mutually exclusive, adding that there are strong reasons to consider North America, Japan and Western Europe as a single community, particularly in their interaction with the developing world.

The trilateral group countries are increasingly interdependent in the area of economics and national defense, and already share common attitudes towards democracy and a free market economy, Hiroaki Fuji, another panelist and a fellow of the Center for International Affairs, said in agreement with Reischauer.

"The prosperity of the world as a whole is dependent on the prosperity of the trilateral group" because most of the world's international trade is carried on between the trilateral countries, Reischauer said.

Increased cooperation between North America, Japan and Western Europe will allow for a more comprehensive policy on foreign aid to developing countries, he added.