Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Figures and Tables
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction
- 2 The Extent and History of Foreign Direct Investment in Japan
- 3 The Surge in Inward Foreign Direct Investment
- 4 Japan's Economic Growth and Foreign Direct Investment
- 5 The Performance of Foreign Firms and the Macroeconomic Impact of Foreign Direct Investment
- 6 The Impact of Foreign Direct Investment in Japan: Case Studies of the Automobile, Finance, and Health Care Industries
- 7 The Prospects for Foreign Direct Investment in Japan
- 8 Conclusion
- References
- Index
8 - Conclusion
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 May 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Figures and Tables
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction
- 2 The Extent and History of Foreign Direct Investment in Japan
- 3 The Surge in Inward Foreign Direct Investment
- 4 Japan's Economic Growth and Foreign Direct Investment
- 5 The Performance of Foreign Firms and the Macroeconomic Impact of Foreign Direct Investment
- 6 The Impact of Foreign Direct Investment in Japan: Case Studies of the Automobile, Finance, and Health Care Industries
- 7 The Prospects for Foreign Direct Investment in Japan
- 8 Conclusion
- References
- Index
Summary
Globalization through the international movement of goods, services, and factors of production is a key force driving economic growth. Japan's own historical experience provides ample illustration of this observation. Foreign direct investment (FDI) played a vital role in the country's early industrialization, providing not only capital but, crucially, also much of the technology, know-how, and managerial skills that underlie the development of the electrical machinery, motor vehicle, and machine tool industries during the first decades of the twentieth century. Similarly, exports (incidentally largely concentrated in these industries) were a main engine of growth in Japan's postwar economic miracle, with imports supplying the necessary raw materials. More recently, the relocation of production through overseas direct investment has helped Japanese firms to bolster their international competitiveness, first as a way to mitigate the impact of rapid yen appreciation during the 1980s and, more recently, as a means to take advantage of lower production costs in China and other parts of the world.
Although Japan has clearly benefited from globalization, the country's attitudes toward economic integration with the rest of the world have always been ambivalent. With the exception of that brief period of relative openness at the beginning of twentieth century, Japan has been reluctant to open its economy to imports and inward FDI, viewing them, in general, as a threat rather than as a boon.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Foreign Direct Investment in JapanMultinationals' Role in Growth and Globalization, pp. 242 - 254Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2008