Business Notes ECONOMISTS

His employer was delighted when Pat Choate, Washington's premier idea packager, propagated such 1980s political buzz words as "America's decaying infrastructure." But then Choate, TRW's vice president for policy analysis, began an explosive book documenting the network through which Japan and its paid American agents sway U.S. trade policy and public opinion. That was too controversial for TRW, which sells products ranging from seat belts to communication chips and does $400 million in business with Japan. Last week TRW showed Choate the door, apparently for Japan bashing.

In a chirpy press release that made no mention of his upcoming book, Agents of Influence, TRW announced that Choate had resigned to work on his writing. But this was a cover story, insist Choate's friends, who say TRW chairman Joseph Gorman told Choate the company could not resist Japanese pressure to disown the book and its author. Neither Gorman nor Choate was talking, but TRW spokesman Michael Johnson said dryly, "I don't think Pat's leaving should be surprising." Not surprising at all, if you accept Choate's thesis about Japan's influence.