Japan fascinates with its coexistence of old, sometimes archaic companies and extremely modern high-tech. It is the result of a deliberate attempt to defy Schumpeter’s theory of destruction and creation – so far with success. Japan has a reputation of being one of the innovation and high-tech power houses of the world. It certainly deserves this image well. Hybrid cars, […]
by Kazushi Arima, General Manager, Mobility at TÜV Rheinland Japan Research on electric cars In 2011, TÜV Rheinland organized a global opinion survey about electric cars. The result showed that people are generally positive in their acceptance of and expectations toward so-called e-mobility. More than half of the people surveyed in 10 out of the 12 countries studied expressed […]
This article series tries to shed light on the characteristics of Japan’s Science and Technology system. We begin with a historical view to see how science and technology developed, the implications for the current Science and Technology system and especially the transfer of knowledge from science into industry. A very basic characteristic of Japan is its ability to learn from […]
These days, news are full of multinational companies accused of shifting their profits to low tax jurisdictions. But with a corporate income tax rate of 36%, Japan is not really a location where companies want to artificially transfer their profits to. More often than not it will take time and patience to break even and make profits in Japan. This […]
The CxO’s Headache In March 2006, I was in a meeting room with a local CFO of a leading European company. My colleague and I were invited to discuss how they can increase their profit by improving the way they buy things. There were two issues causing a headache to the firms CFO. First, no one in the procurement team […]
Japan is better prepared for the next industrial revolution than it seems at first sight. But the companies have to embrace change to stay in the race. Do you know the Borg, the cyborgs from the science-fiction universe Star Trek, who assimilate civilization after civilization? For years the German industry warns its colleagues abroad, that the dawn of the Internet […]
Tokyo – Japan Rubber Weekly (Gomu Hochi Shimbun) is launching an online edition in English today. This is the first time that a newspaper covering the Japanese rubber, tire and plastics industries makes its service available to international readers. “Today marks a new chapter in our history. Globalization makes the world a smaller place. Local audiences become global audiences. We […]
It is no secret that many small and medium-sized enterprises (SME’s) in Japan often have excellent technologies at their command. Yet many are focusing more or less on their domestic market. But as promotion by the government or private initiatives is stepping up, they attract higher attention from overseas. And as they become increasingly open themselves, foreign companies have more […]
As one result of a globalized economy and a declining population the “war for talents” has reached Japan. The first generation of baby-boomers also is going into retirement and the rate of unemployment, 3.6% as of January 2015, is shrinking. Together this leads to a shortage of manpower. A low birth rate and an over-aged society will play its part […]
Updated Feb. 8. 2026. Japan has one of the most important rubber industries in the world. The figures alone are notable. With almost 1.67 million tons per year, it is the third largest consumer of the versatile material worldwide behind China and the United States. In terms of production, the country’s total value of rubber goods shipments stood at around […]
Updated Feb. 8, 2026. The Japanese chemical industry is the country’s second largest manufacturing industry behind transportation machinery. In its broader definition, which also includes plastic and rubber products, it made up over 14 percent of all output value in Japanese manufacturing. With around 930,000 people, it employs around 10-11 percent of Japan’s manufacturing-related workforce. Transportation machinery includes Japan’s most […]
