Story: Asia and New Zealand

By the 1960s New Zealand was trying to expand its trade into growing Asian markets, particularly Japan's prosperous economy. In the early 1970s such efforts became even more important as the UK's move to join the European Economic Community removed the guaranteed market for New Zealand's products. By the late 1970s Japan had become New Zealand's third-largest trading partner. Kinokuniya supermarket, shown in this photograph, was one of Tokyo's biggest.