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Japan

Japanese Economy

Japan is the second largest economy in the world, after the United States, at around U.S. $5 trillion in terms of nominal GDP and third after the United States and China in terms of purchasing power parity. Banking, insurance, real estate, retailing, transportation, telecommunications, and construction are all major industries. Japan has a large industrial capacity and is home to some of the largest leading and most technologically advanced producers of motor vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals, textiles, and processed foods. The service sector accounts for three quarters of the gross domestic product.

Japan's economy rebounded from an extended downturn in 2006, with 2.4 percent growth. Businesses expanded employment and production capacity, stimulating consumption. Like other large industrial economies, growth slowed in 2007 to 2.1 percent, in 2008 to -0.6 percent, with further slowing expected in 2009 (-3.4 percent).

 

Exports from Japan to California

Japan's major exports to California are substantially similar to the exports from Japan to the U.S. as a whole. Japan primarily exports the following products to the U.S.:

  • Vehicles, other than rail way or tramway rolling stock, and parts and accessories thereof
  • Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances, parts thereof
  • Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof, sound recorders and reproducers, television recorders and reproducers, parts and accessories

2009 Exports from California to Japan

                                                                               Source: export.gov

Japanese in the Bay Area

  • In 2004, in the 10 counties of the Bay Area, there were 789 Japanese-affiliated companies and approximately 20 percent were located in San Francisco.
  • Almost half of all Japanese-affiliated firms in the Bay Area have U.S.-incorporated headquarters (49.6 percent) and around 30 percent have U.S.-incorporated branches.
  • Almost 90 percent are newly-established firms and 70 percent are 100 percent owned by a parent company in Japan.
  • Japanese-affiliated firms have an average of 71 employees per company, with 67 hired locally and four transferred from Japan.
  • 63.2 percent report positive earnings and seven percent report large profits.
  • Over 80 percent said they provide coverage for employees and their families. 40.7 percent stated that they cover their employees 100 percent, while a majority of 33.2 percent said that they provide more than 80 percent of health care coverage.
  • The number of companies worried about poor business performance by the Japanese parent company decreased from 23.1 percent (2002) to 15 percent (2004).
  • The concentration of industry (40.5 percent) was the greatest attraction to the Bay Area for Japanese-affiliated companies. This may be viewed as a reflection of the Bay Area's active IT and biotechnology industries. Furthermore, many firms also cited market size (36.4 percent) and climate (33.6 percent) as attractions.
  • With regard to NAFTA's preferential tariffs, approximately 40 percent of the Japanese manufactures based in the U.S. receive preferential tariffs on almost all items.