[ Nippon Keidanren ] [ Journal ]
Messages from "Economic Trend", September 2003

Japan Growing in the International Arena

Yoichi Morishita
Chairman of the Board of Councillors, Nippon Keidanren
Chairman of the Board, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

These days, it is said that all of Japan is stuck in a prolonged economic malaise. But the status quo presents a mixed, rather than a uniform picture.

Certain manufacturing industries such as the automobile, precision equipment and electronics industries, which have been exposed to global competition for years, are finding their way to new growth on a globally consolidated basis, showing less evidence of being stuck. Other manufacturing industries that focus primarily on the domestic market are struggling with declining demand due to the recession, although some companies with high technical capabilities are growing, even in such adversity. And the service industry that feeds on domestic demand is suffering from declining demand and excessive supply. Approximately 70% of the total workforce is in this sector, and there is a feeling of being stuck. With the above, Japan today looks like a "three-tier structure" comprising three groups of industries that are different in status.

In the meantime, according to the recently announced international balance of payments for fiscal year 2002, Japan's trade surplus increased for the first time in four years since 1998, and the balance for patents and other royalties appears to have moved into the black for the first time ever. Since the postwar period of industrial reconstruction, with the introduction of advanced technologies from the West, Japan's balance for patents and other royalties has always been in the red. Indeed, it is very impressive to witness this turnaround, and therefore worthwhile to think about Japan's growth from the perspective of the international balance of payments.

First of all, the task of global enterprises is to further improve competitiveness with leading-edge technologies and intellectual properties, and contribute to expanding a favorable balance in trade, and also in patents and other royalties. It is also essential to establish a "cycle of growth" by reinvesting what is earned in further R&D and capital expenditures, to help boost domestic demand through the income distribution process, and create new employment. Meanwhile, it is imperative for domestically focused companies to stimulate latent demand, exerting a high level of technical and marketing expertise, and to improve the competitive environment by facilitating deregulation. Also, it is very important to put a lot of work into the tourist industry and attract people from all over the world.

By taking these initiatives, if Japan becomes a "nation unparalleled in the world" that shows a favorable balance in both trade and services including patents royalties and tourism, the entire nation will be able to experience affluence through realizing a positive economic cycle. Then, such feeling of being stuck will become a thing of the past.


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