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  • Essay / Japanese Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) - 1169

    JAPANESE FDIIn the era of globalization, international trade and international investment are growing at exponential rates. Almost all developed countries are involved in foreign direct investment processes, both in the form of outward and inward FDI. Among these developed countries, the case of Japan is different; The Japanese attitude towards FDI has always been, in fact, very cautious. On the one hand, Japanese foreign investment and exports played a fundamental role in the postwar period of economic growth; on the other hand, access to the domestic market for foreign investors, so-called inward FDI, has been very limited. (Paprzycki, Fukao, 2008). Japan is a highly industrialized country, it has a large market size, its workforce is very well educated, and the political situation is much more stable than almost any other country in East Asia. Is the rate of inward foreign direct investment so low in Japan? (Frank, 1975). As a study by Hara and Razafimahefa (2003) points out: “in 1999, inward FDI represented 0.7% of GDP while the ratio reached 9.3%, 9.5%, 11.7% and 23.3 % for Germany. respectively in the United States, France and England. Even if the level of incoming FDI is still very low, from the second half of 1990, its level increases regularly; it actually went from US$3,837 million to US$28,276 million in 2000. (Hara, Razafimahefa, 2003). The Japanese government has promoted some policies to encourage increased inward FDI, such as new legislation making it easier for foreign companies to acquire Japanese companies and the creation of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) (Head, Ries, 2005). Analyzing the Japanese government's attitude towards inward FDI, it may not be paper ......m that allows using stocks instead of cash, and l improvement of legal procedures for the creation of an M&A activity. (Arikawa, Miyajima, 2007). Despite all these government regulations and laws favoring the entry of FDI; in the early 1990s, investment inflows did not increase substantially. The largest growth occurred between 1998 and 1999 and since 2000 it has continued to grow steadily. Yet inflows of foreign investment are clearly much lower than outflows and, despite steady growth in recent years, the ratio of inward FDI to GDP remains very low compared to almost all other industrialized countries. Government action to promote foreign investment is still strong. Indeed, in 2003, the Invest Japan office was established within JETRO and other measures regarding the removal of barriers are still in place. (Suginohara)