Shigeyuki Abe

Is "China Fear" Warranted? Perspectives from Japan's Trade and Investment Relationships with China

A fear of Chinas economic growth, particularly with regard to its recent evolution into the factory of the world, is often expressed in the Japanese mass media. This paper reviews the development of trade and investment relations between Japan and China and examines the validity of this China fear, pointing out the ways in which China continues to lag behind Japan on many economic fronts and describing strategies that Japan could use to improve its performance. Japanese firms need to focus on producing more specialized high-tech products. At the same time, to cope with competition from China, they must take more drastic measures to keep costs down in the production of low-tech products. Some Japanese enterprises have already initiated new approaches in management, production, and distribution. The views of three of Japans leading economists are critically reviewed, with a focus on how Japanese firms might draw profitable lessons from Chinas situation, improve their joint ventures with Chinese firms, and benefit from Chinas large market by concentrating more on local conditions.

Motives for Japanese DFI Survey, analysis, and implications in light of the Asian crisis

Abstract This paper assesses the motives for Japanese outward direct foreign investment (DFI), drawing on a comprehensive private-sector survey (Toyo Keizai) of parent companies of foreign subsidiaries. It shows that the motivations behind Japanese DFI outflows are many and varied, with “securing market share” constituting the most salient motivation. DFI as a means of avoiding trade frictions is relevant only in developed countries in five industries, including transportation equipment, machinery, and electronics. Motivations are found to differ between developed and developing host economies, as expected.JEL classification: F2

Global Value Chains in East Asia

This think-piece will sketch GVCs in East Asia through trade statistics and narrative descriptions obtained by factory visits. It will consider such issues as weaknesses arising from the ‘Kanban’ (‘just-in-time’) production system, the impact of third-country (migrant) labor, and the implications of the TPP for East Asian GVCs.

Natural Disasters and Fragile Supply Chains: The Great East Japan Earthquake and the Thai Floods in 2011

Contemporaneous with rising climate change, natural disasters have become increasingly frequent in the world over the years. The highest ever was in 2007, when there were more than 1,000 disasters.1 Natural disasters can be classified into two main categories: (1) severe or extreme weather events, including meteorological events such as storms, hurricanes, and high winds, and hydrological events such as floods, drought, and bushfires; and (2) geophysical events such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions. It is particularly noteworthy that weather-related disasters in particular are increasingly frequent with steeper upward trend than geophysical events.2