There already are indications that the commercial dispute between Japan and China will be contained, preventing a wider trade war which could damage economies across Asia. The items now being argued about, though hardly trivial, represent only a minor portion of their mutual business, while such other protection-seekers as Japanese necktie makers are delaying their own quest for tariff help.

It is clear that neither Tokyo nor Beijing wants this dispute, which began when Japan restricted imports of such esoteric Chinese goods as tatami straw, to escalate into a serious and costly row.