Tokyo, Japan White House Statement on the Consultative Group on US-Japan Economic Relations.

President Carter and Prime Minister Ohira agreed today to create a Consultative Group on US-Japan Economic Relations, announcing selection of Robert S. Ingersoll and Nobuhiko Ushiba as Co-Chairmen.

The decision follows agreement at the May 2 summit in Washington to establish a small group of distinguished persons drawn from private life who will submit recommendations to the President and the Prime Minister concerning actions that will help maintain a healthy bilateral economic relationship between the United States and Japan.

Mr. Ingersoll and Mr. Ushiba will recommend to the President and the Prime Minister the names of other people to serve in the Group.

Mr. Ingersoll, a 1937 graduate of Yale University, was formerly Ambassador to Japan (1972-73), Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs (1974), and Deputy Secretary of State (1974-76). At the time of his Ambassadorial appointment he was chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the Borg-Warner Corp. in Chicago, where he had spent the previous 33 of his total of 35 years in industry. Chairman of the Japan Society since September 1978, Mr. Ingersoll has been a member of many international business committees and councils, including the Advisory Council on US-Japan Economic Relations and the Emergency Committee for American Trade. He is also deputy chairman of the board of trustees of the University of Chicago.

Mr. Ushiba, a graduate of the Faculty of Law of Tokyo Imperial University, entered the Foreign Service in 1932. He has served in various capacities abroad and in Tokyo, including Ambassador to Canada (1961—64), Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs ( 1967-70), and Ambassador to the United States (1970-73). Mr. Ushiba was named State Minister for External Economic Relations in November 1977. He has served as Ambassador for the Multilateral Trade Negotiations since December 1978.