FDI Into Japan Reaches Record High for Second Straight Year in 2008

GDP comparison of Japan with other major economic regions (US$ billion, 2007)
Source: Prepared based on "World Economic Outlook Database" (April, 2008), IMF

GDP comparison of Japan's regions with some countries (US$ billion)
Note: 2005 data is used for Japan; 2007 data is used for all other countries. Exchange rates based on IMF period-average rates.Source: "World Economic Outlook Database" (April, 2008), IMF; "Prefectural Economic Almanac" (February, 2008), Economic and Social Research Institute, Cabinet Office

"..Net FDI into Japan (balance of payment basis) reached a record high for the second consecutive year in 2008, reaching US$24.5 billion, up 10.7% from US$22.1 billion recorded the previous year. This is on a gross capital inflow of US$73.2 billion, a record, and a gross capital outflow of US$48.6 billion, which is not far behind the
US$52.5 billion recorded in 2006. The high inflow was led by additional investments made by financial institutions and companies seeking to boost the capital of their Japanese subsidiaries, while deteriorating economic conditions in industrialized nations may have played a factor in the high outflow figure..."

The seeds of Koizumi-san efforts are flourishing, namely, the launching on the Asian Gateway initiative and Invest in Japan - the Foreign Investment Agency.

For me, it is very odd and shortsighted that European leadership is not paying the suitable attention on the social and economic developments in Japan.

I heard the most outstanding remark made by a former European Minister of Finance:

“…Japan is not a transparent society because………because they speak and write in Japanese…”

Deep thought, so desu ne?

See: 10 Advantages to Investing in Japan