Maybe it is because Northern is considered a US Corp most of the time??

[David Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

        TOKYO (AP) -- Japan plans to turn the tables on U.S. negotiators
by arguing that U.S. government procurement practices in two key
areas are even less open to outsiders than in Japan, media reported
Sunday.
        Quoting unnamed government sources, the Japan Broadcasting Corp.
(NHK) said government research of statistics compiled by the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade showed that the foreign
share of U.S. government purchases of telecommunications and
medical equipment are lower than in Japan.


and


 NHK said the statistics indicated that while Japanese government
purchases of foreign telecommunications equipment were just 0.6
percent of the total in 1991, the corresponding figure in the
United States was even lower at 0.07 percent.