Part II: Waves of Change in Japan.

(From Journal of Japanese Trade & Industry (JJTI))

Byline: Hisatake Masato

This is a story of change - change in Japan. "What," I hear you say, "Japan is changing? I thought it was just continuing to stagnate." Or "Japan changing? Yes, but for the worse."

Yet as I will detail, there are already numerous signs of very positive change, and Japanese corporate strategy and indeed the entire Japanese economic system are irrevocably changing.

That said, it might be admitted that this change has yet to yield striking benefits and Japan is still in the process of gaining a consensus as to whether or not these are all changes for the better. Yet there are numerous companies that are very tough survivors, and many Japanese are working to transform the economic systems to allow greater freedom of action. Adding to this, very serious study is being given to what kind of an economic system should and will result and what kind of economic society we are seeking.

To cite just two examples in the economic realm, one is Japanese corporate strategy in East Asia and the other is the systemic changes in the economy surrounding Japanese corporations.

1. Japanese Corporate Activity and Its Strategy in East Asia Many Japanese companies have achieved good earnings growth by such strategic efforts as developing new markets through differentiation strategies and optimizing the structure of production and division of labor throughout East Asia. Common to all of these corporate strategies is the realization that the expanding East Asian economies offer major opportunities and that companies need to proactively optimize their management structures in order to make the best use of new markets and the highly competitive labor costs of the region.