Australia: Doing business in Japan(1)

            Economic climate
            The Japanese Government has spent several hundred trillion yen on
            economic stimulus packages in an effort to spur a recovery. However,
            the success of these packages is still in doubt as stagnation
            continues and Japan's banks continue to hold large non-performing
            loans.
            Changes that are evidence of the 'new economy' emerging in Japanese
            business practices include:
            High interest in IT-based solutions
            Demand for innovative cost effective business solutions which can
            include imported product and services
            Breakdown of traditional interlinked (keiretsu) business
            relationships
            Introduction of business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer
            (B2C) e-commerce ventures
            Speeding up of the business decision making processes
            Introduction of Western management practices
            The prolonged economic slow-down  is causing fundamental changes in
            Japanese business practice, which will ultimately have a positive
            impact on demand for Australian goods and services. These changes
            are evidence of a 'new economy' emerging in Japan where companies
            are being forced by market pressures, including government
            deregulation measures, to change traditional business practices.
            Despite economic growth stagnation, the sheer tremendous size of the
            Japan economy and its regional markets will always present
            opportunity for Australia.
            Key economic indicators and statistics for 2008:
            GDP ?US$4,844.4 billion
            GPD per capita ?US$37,940
            Real GDP growth ?  -0.3 per cent
            Inflation ?1.9 per cent
            Political climate
            Although the Japanese Government has little direct involvement in
            the operation of the private sector, through its ministerial
            bureaucracies it maintains tight supervision of firms via regulation
            and mandatory administrative guidance. It manages industrial policy
            by directing various sectors into suggested areas of enterprise and
            facilitating their entry by providing seed money and research,
            technical and regulatory support.
            Under the revised post-war Constitution of 1947, Japan adopted a
            Westminster form of government. The Diet (Parliament) consists of a
            popularly elected House of Representatives (Lower House 500 seats)
            and a House of Councillors (Upper House 252 seats).
            There are three tiers of government ?National, Prefectural (State)
            and Local. The key political parties are the:
            Liberal Democratic Party
            New Komeito
            New Conservative Party
            Democratic Party of Japan
            Social Democratic Party of Japan
            Japanese Communist Party
            Trade relations and statistics
            As a world economic power, second only to the USA, Japan remains an
            important and influential player in global and regional affairs.
            Japan's foreign policy is administered by the Ministry of Foreign
            Affairs.