International economic relations of Japan

Japan is a prime example of a country that is very active in the international geographic division of labor. It is characterized by the development of all types of foreign economic relations, and they largely determine its role in the world economy and ensure its economic security. But the significance of certain types of such connections has changed over time. At the first and second stages of the country's development, they were reduced mainly to foreign trade. But then Japan managed to gain a fairly strong position in such activities as the export of capital, production, scientific and technical and other ties.

Let's try to characterize foreign tradeJapan in three main indicators: turnover, structure and geographical distribution.

By the size of foreign trade turnover($ 1225 billion) modern Japan ranks fourth in the world after Germany, the USA and China. Its share in the world export of goods exceeds 5.5%, and in the world import of goods - 4.5%. In terms of the export of services, it is second only to the USA, Germany and Great Britain, and in terms of their import - to the USA and Germany. The country's trade balance traditionally has a positive balance: in 2006, the excess of exports over imports reached $ 70 billion.However, in terms of the level of openness of its economy, Japan is inferior to most Western European countries, since its export quota is only 14% of total GDP.

Against the background of a constant trend towards an increase in foreign trade turnover, its structureby no means remained unchanged. As already mentioned, the well-known journalist V.V. Ovchinnikov somehow compared the Japanese economy at the first stage of its development with a huge processing plant, which imports almost all the necessary raw materials, and then, having processed it, sends it to the world market already in the form of finished products. ... It is not surprising that at this stage Japan has become the world's largest importer of mineral raw materials and fuels and an exporter of ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, shipbuilding and petrochemical products. Then, cars, consumer electronics, and even later, various types of science-intensive products began to play an increasing role in the country's export structure.

In the 1990s. Japanese exports by 3/4 consisted of mechanical engineering products (automobiles, ships, televisions, cameras, computers, integrated circuits, optical and other devices), and the export of some industries reached 50–70% or more (Fig. 125). The rest of the export fell on synthetic fibers, automobile tires, cast iron, steel, etc. As for imports, Japan was still heavily dependent on the import of many types of fuel and raw materials (Fig. 125). Moreover, it turned out to be the world's largest buyer of some of them (coal, iron ore, non-ferrous metal ores). In terms of annual oil imports (over 200 million tons), it was second only to the United States. Later, this structure underwent new changes. In 2006, the first place in exports was occupied by vehicles (21%), cars and electronics (17% each), followed by chemical and electrochemical products, cast iron and steel, office equipment. And in imports, oil remained in first place (18%), in second - electronics (13%), in third - agricultural products (9%); followed by chemical products, machinery, electrical engineering, metals and their ores.

Geographic distributionjapan's foreign trade has a number of features that distinguish it from Western Europe and the United States. The first is the increased role of developing countries in this trade. This applies to its export, and to an even greater extent to its import, which is explained primarily by the country's raw material needs. The second feature lies in the special foreign trade interests that Japan has in the Asia-Pacific region, where the bulk of its exports are sent and from where the bulk of raw materials and food products come from.

Giving a more detailed description of the geographical distribution japanese imports,it can be added that the first place in it is occupied by the countries of East and South-East Asia. Here, the largest import contractors of Japan are China (21% of all imports, first place), the Republic of Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan. From the countries of this sub-region, Japan imports fuel and raw materials: oil, timber, as well as liquefied natural gas, ferrous and non-ferrous metal ores, various products of tropical agriculture, textiles.

Figure: 125.Imports and exports of Japan (early 1990s)

The second place in Japan's imports is occupied by the United States, and in particular the regions of their Pacific coast (California), from where both finished products and coal, cotton, wheat (Fig. 126), timber, phosphorites, pharmaceuticals, and computers come from. In the 1990s. the importance of the United States in Japanese imports has increased even more, primarily due to machinery and equipment. The share of foreign Europe is also quite large (10%, Germany in first place). The share of the countries of South-West Asia peaked in 1980, which was associated with a sharp increase in oil prices, but then it declined, although it still stands at 11% (Saudi Arabia, UAE). On the other hand, Australia's share is growing all the time. This country now accounts for about 1/2 of all Japanese imports of coal and iron ore, a significant part of imports of wool (Fig. 126). In Japan's imports from Russia, the first place belongs to wood, the second - to coal, the third - to fish and other products of the marine industry. Oil and LNG should be added to this list.

Approximately the same features are characteristic of the geographical distribution. japanese exports.If we consider these exports by region, then East Asia comes out on top as a part of China, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong (35%), the second is North America (23%), the third is foreign Europe (15%) and the fourth is Southeast Asia (8%). If we look at it for other countries, then the leading three will include the United States, China and the Republic of Korea. But in general, Japanese industrial exports cover all major regions of the world. This primarily applies to the export of engineering products.

Figure: 126.Japan's imports of raw materials, fuels and food

Of the other forms of foreign economic relations, the greatest importance in Japan has acquired, perhaps, export of capital.It has a direct connection with the growth of Japan's foreign exchange reserves (until recently the first and now the second in the world after China - 865 billion dollars in 2006), the concentration of the largest banks in the world, which made the Land of the Rising Sun truly a “country of the rising yen” ... Both the state and the monopolies are involved in the export of capital from Japan. It is produced mainly in the form of loan capital - the so-called yen-loans provided on concessional terms and various grants, but also in the form of direct investment abroad. In the mid-1980s. in terms of total capital exports, Japan came out on top in the world and held it for a long time. But after the Asian financial crisis of 1997-1998. the volume of these exports has decreased significantly.

From a geographical point of view, it is of the greatest interest to consider foreign direct investment in Japan.They began back in the 1970s, but their volume was insignificant at that time. Japanese TNCs invested capital mainly in enterprises for the extraction of raw materials and for the sale of their products. But by the end of the 1980s. Japan has become one of the world's largest exporters of foreign direct investment, and in the second half of the 1990s. according to this indicator, it reached the level of $ 23-26 billion per year. As a result, in 2006 the total amount of direct investments accumulated abroad was already 460 billion dollars, according to this indicator it ranks tenth in the world.

At the same time, the geography of investments also changed. Until the mid-1980s. they were sent mainly to the neighboring countries of East and Southeast Asia (Republic of Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore), but then their exports to the “second wave” NIS - such as Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines - increased. It also increased significantly in the United States, Western Europe, Latin America. In the late 1990s. More than 40% of Japan's total foreign direct investment went to the United States, 25 to other Asian countries, 15 to Western Europe and about 10% to Latin America. It is important to note that now the bulk of foreign direct investment is no longer channeled to the mining industry, as it was in the 1970s, but to the “upper floors” and non-production sectors.

To what has been said, we can add that Japan is also the leader in the world in terms of the amount of financial aid provided to other countries annually (over $ 10 billion). For many of them, it has become the main donor country. Examples include the countries of Asia (China, India, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines), Africa (Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania), Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Chile), and the CIS countries (Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan). Japan also allocates significant funds to the fund of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

The growth of foreign direct investment, in turn, contributed to the emergence of foreign productionas a kind of "second economy" of Japan. In the late 1990s. the share of such production in the country's total output has already reached 1/4. And its geography is determined by three main regions.

Firstly, these are the newly industrialized countries of Asia (the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, as well as the "second wave" NIS), where Japanese TNCs back in the 1980s. began to transfer part of their enterprises for the production of consumer electronics, thereby creating an opportunity for enterprises in their country to switch to the production of more complex and expensive science-intensive products. Secondly, this is Western Europe and the United States, where Japan began to create, first of all, automobile factories (first, assembly, "screwdriver", and then, so to speak, a complete automobile cycle), but also enterprises of some science-intensive industries. Figure 127 gives a clear idea of \u200b\u200bthe network of such enterprises in Western Europe. And in the United States, automobile plants built by subsidiary Japanese companies form a quite distinct "corridor" stretching from the border with Canada to Florida, with the main clusters in the states of Ohio, Tennessee and Kentucky. ...

Since the 1980s. Japan is increasingly participating in scientific and technical cooperation.The main form of its participation in it is large-scale long-term programs. An example is the national program “Human Borders”. Japan imports all technologies from the developed countries of the West, and exports them roughly equally to developed and developing countries.

Trade turnover between Russia and Japan in the 1990s was at the level of 3.5-4.5 billion dollars per year, which was 40 times less than the trade turnover between Japan and the United States and 20 times less than the trade turnover between Japan and China. Russian exports to Japan are purely raw materials and consist of metals, timber and timber products, coal with the addition of some food products. And in Russian imports from Japan, 3/4 falls on engineering products. In particular, in the Russian market, Japan firmly holds an important place in the sale of electrical household appliances, especially of such well-known companies as Sony and Panasonic. In addition, Russia and Japan entered into several general agreements related to attracting Japanese capital in the development of coal, oil (Sakhalin-1, Sakhalin-2), forest and other resources of the Russian Far East and Transbaikalia, as well as with the reconstruction of offshore ports (Vostochny, Vanino). Some experts believe that in the future, the share of machinery and chemical products, as well as licenses and know-how, may well increase in Russian exports to Japan.

Figure: 127.Japanese industrial enterprises in Western Europe (by the early 1990s)

There are practically no natural resources throughout Japan, so the country is forced to import raw materials, energy resources, as well as numerous goods from foreign countries. The Japanese import structure is represented by machinery and equipment, various chemical products, products and raw materials.

The country only uses about 15% of the land for agricultural work, which explains the fact that Japan imports half of the grain and forage crops, excluding rice. The country is in one of the leading places in the world for the import of wheat. And in 2014 it is going to exceed these purchases by another 4 million tons.

A significant part of the meat consumed by the Japanese is also imported, mainly beef.

The imported raw material is represented by natural fuel. Japan's oil is supplied mainly by the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

Foreign trade balance deficit

Despite the large volumes of exports, Japan has had a foreign trade deficit for the third year already. This is because the country has significantly increased its energy imports. This is due to the closure of nuclear power units after the explosion at Fukushima in 2011, as well as natural disasters - a large-scale earthquake and tsunami.

Previously, nuclear power plants accounted for 30% of electricity production. High dependence on oil and gas supplies led to the fact that their imports increased by 18% - in the amount of $ 133 billion. Liquefied natural gas purchases accounted for a third of its global production. Gas is used for thermal power plants, as well as fuel for cars. Today, the country's imports exceed exports.

In order to reduce fuel purchases, Japan is going to resume operation of 10 power units of nuclear power plants.

In addition to energy resources, Japan in 2013 increased imports and purchases of wood by 20%. The country has deposits of minerals, but is poor in metals. 100% of copper, aluminum and iron ore are imported from abroad.

In the first place in imports of Japan are the states of southeast Asia, the countries of the European Union, the share of imports of goods from Australia and Russia is increasing. But the United States has remained Japan's main trading partner for many years - about 30% of Japanese exports are sold on the American market and 20% of imports are provided.

Japanese trade is a type of value-added trade. It consists in the import of raw materials by Japan and the export of manufactured goods. During the existence of the Japanese Empire, the country mainly imported raw materials for the textile industry, and exported textile goods. The trade was focused on light industry items. After World War II, fuel became the main item of Japanese imports, while mechanical engineering products, automobiles, high-precision equipment and semiconductors became the main article of Japanese imports. Trade was reoriented to goods of the heavy and chemical industries.

As a result of rapid economic development in the second half of the 20th century, Japan has taken one of the leading places in international economic relations. In the early 1990s, it became the second largest in the world in terms of total foreign direct investment (15% of the global total). Foreign trade was the leading form of economic relations. In 1994-95. in terms of exports, Japan was second only to the United States and Germany, accounting for 9-10% of world exports.

In terms of the size of the export quota, it can be classified as a semi-open economy. 10-13% of GDP is sold abroad. A number of industries are almost entirely export-oriented. Since 1980, the country has had a permanent trade surplus - sales outnumber purchases. Because of this, trade conflicts between Japan and the United States have repeatedly erupted. In the 1990s, Japanese manufacturing plants relocated a significant portion of their factories to Asian countries. The products of these enterprises are partially imported to Japan.

At the beginning of the 21st century, the main Japanese imports were oil, liquefied natural gas, textiles, simple microcircuits, computers, fish and seafood. The main export commodities were cars, complex microcircuits, steel, chemical and mechanical engineering products. As of 2010, the amount of imports and exports of goods was about USD 1.402 trillion.

In 2008-2009, the trade surplus increased 6 times: in September 2008 it amounted to 90 billion yen ($ 1 billion) in September 2009 - 529.6 billion yen ($ 5.7 billion). Compared to September 2008, in 2009 the surplus in trade with Russia was replaced by a deficit and amounted to 52.65 billion yen ($ 580 million).

As of 2010, the amount of goods for export amounted to 765.2 billion US dollars. The main partners of Japan in 2009 were: China - 18.88% in exports, USA - 16.42%, Republic of Korea - 8.13%, Taiwan - 6.27%, Hong Kong - 5.49%. As of 2010, the amount of goods imported was US $ 636.8 billion. The main partners of Japan in 2009 were: China - 22.2% share in imports, USA - 10.96%, Australia - 6.29%, Saudi Arabia - 5.29%, UAE - 4.12%, Republic of Korea - 3.98%, Indonesia 3.95%.

Due to the strong earthquake in March 2011, exports from Japan temporarily decreased, while imports increased. However, by the end of 2011, Japan had almost completely restored its position in the world market.

Development and structure of Japan's foreign trade

Over the past 50 years, the physical volume of Japan's exports has increased more than 70 times, almost twice as fast as the growth in world exports.

The success of Japanese companies in world markets is based on the competitiveness of products, which is formed due to high quality, the latest technology, personnel policy, and the authority of the company. Japanese firms are known for their effectively developed system of comprehensive and consistent control and management of product quality, which is primarily associated with the nature of production organization. The rhythm and flexibility of the production process, its ability to readjust and release new products, the supply of components and raw materials on time, significantly increase the quality of products and the efficiency of enterprises. The growth of the level of automation and robotization, the use of equipment quality control systems, and a high level of standardization of technological limits also make it possible to significantly improve the quality of manufactured goods. The principle of production autonomy assumes the release of the final product with complete quality control and guarantees of defect-freeness.

One way Japanese firms compete is to change models quickly. They have a shorter development period for new products than in the United States.

With all the importance of the above factors of the high competitiveness of Japanese goods on world markets, it should be borne in mind that the cost of labor per unit of output in Japan was lower than in the United States and a number of other industrialized countries. The cost component compensated for the lag of Japanese companies in one of the most important factors of competitiveness - labor productivity. According to the estimates of some Japanese research organizations, Japan is 1/3 behind the United States in terms of labor productivity in the manufacturing industry. The gap in this indicator has narrowed (1975 - 50%), but remains significant. The lag in the level of labor productivity is largely due to the strategy of a large number of Japanese firms, which prioritize not profits, but their market share. The general state of affairs is also influenced by the fact that labor productivity in small and medium-sized enterprises is significantly inferior to those of large enterprises, accounting for 40% of the level of large enterprises. This is holding back the overall performance of the entire industry. A high level of labor productivity has been achieved in the ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, the chemical industry, where it significantly exceeds the American indicators. All other industries lag behind, even in the automotive and electrical industries, where Japanese companies are highly competitive. There the productivity level is 78 and 85% of the American one.

Japan has long been a leader in the competitiveness of its products in world markets. As a result of the weakening of the price factor, it dropped to third place in 1993 after Singapore and the United States. There has been a significant increase in the cost of labor from about 60% in the late 1980s to 70% of value added in 1994 (45% in 1960).

In the postwar period, the export structure underwent significant changes. Until the 1960s, it was dominated by consumer goods: radios, televisions, textiles. Then the leading positions were taken by ferrous metallurgy products, ships, cars - over 60% of exports. The 1980s saw a new shift in the structure of Japanese exports. With an increase in the share of cars and household electrical appliances, the export of capital funds began to go ahead. The share of products of general mechanical engineering (13.9 and 24.1%), electrical engineering (9.9 and 25.6%), scientific equipment, optics (3.7 and 4.5% in 1980-1995) increased significantly.

For certain types of products, Japanese companies account for a significant part of export supplies in the world: semiconductors - 50%, cars - 22, office and telecommunications equipment - 22.6, steel - 17.4%. The transformation of Japan into one of the world's main exporters of mechanical engineering and high technology products was the result of its industrial, scientific and technological development.

The structure of imports reflects the processes of international specialization of industry, the internationalization of the economy and the poverty of the domestic mineral base. Japan is distinguished by the lowest degree of self-sufficiency in raw materials and fuel among industrialized countries; the country is almost entirely dependent on the import of many types of mineral and agricultural raw materials. For many types of mineral raw materials, it is a major buyer on world markets. It accounts for over 30% of world imports of iron ore, over 19% of non-ferrous metal ores, coal, cotton and wool.

At the first stages of economic development, the structure of production predetermined Japan's great dependence on developing countries - about half of its exports and over 40% of imports. Southeast Asia and the countries of the Persian Gulf are still the main market for the sale and supply of energy raw materials. In recent decades, supplies of ore and chemical raw materials have been localized in industrialized countries - Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

An important feature of the geographic structure of foreign trade relations is their concentration on the United States. Until now, the American market has sold 29% of Japanese exports and provides 22% of imports. In turn, Japan accounts for over 11% of American exports, including almost 20% of agricultural sales.

Japan is the main trading partner for a number of countries in East and Southeast Asia. It provides Indonesia with 37% of its exports and 24% of its imports, for Malaysia - 26% of its imports and 16% of its exports, for Singapore - 21% of its imports and 17% of its exports, for South Korea - 26% of its imports. Japan is also the main export and import market of the PRC (15-16%).

The trade turnover is reduced with a huge positive balance, which increased 6 times over 1981-1995. and exceeded 130 billion dollars. 40% of its volume is formed in trade with the United States. The surplus is developing with all regions except the Middle East and in the 1990s - with Eastern Europe. Trade relations with industrialized countries are accompanied by outbreaks of trade wars, pressure on Japan, the establishment of "voluntary restrictions" on its exports. The United States is particularly successful in this.

Technology exchange

Since the 1980s, Japan has made efforts to expand bilateral and multilateral cooperation in science and technology. Multilateral scientific and technical ties are based on the implementation of international research projects. In 1986, Japan launched a large-scale program called Human Frontiers, which the Japanese themselves compare with the American SDI and European Eureka, aiming to raise the country's prestige, close the gap with other Western countries in the field of fundamental research, and to secure a leading position in the most promising areas of scientific and technological progress, in particular the mechanism of living organisms.At the same time, it is assumed that this direction will become a key factor in the creation of fundamentally new materials, mechanisms and technologies capable of overcoming the currently difficult problems of natural resources energy, harmonious relationships between people and new technological means The program is designed for 20 years, during which it is supposed to spend 6-7 billion dollars, half of them at the expense of Japan.

There have been significant changes in the country's technological payment balance. Since the 1970s, the export of Japanese technology began to grow. True, Japan's place in trade in technology contrasted sharply with the exchange of commodity products. Until 1992, payments for technology exceeded exports. At the same time, the volume of Japanese receipts ($ 3-3.6 billion) was 6-7 times lower than the American one. In terms of the cost of technological imports, Japan surpasses the leading Western European countries. It should be borne in mind that the overall deficit in the technological balance was largely determined by the legacy of previous periods when the country was completely dependent on the import of technology. This is due to the fact that the balance of the technological balance includes both receipts and payments under newly concluded contracts, and payments of royalties under old contracts, which can cover a period of up to 10-15 years. The balance of payments on newly concluded contracts, starting from 1972, is reduced to a positive balance. In 1993, a positive balance was achieved in the exchange of technology as a whole.

Japan has a unique place in the global technology movement. It imports all technology from industrialized countries and exports nearly half to industrialized and developing countries. 40% of the total export of technology is exported to Asian countries. Japanese companies are expanding scientific and technical cooperation and the development of industrial cooperation with East and Southeast Asia, striving to transfer the production of products of medium complexity to neighboring countries, and they themselves focus on the development and development of technologically complex products. As a result, features of the Japanese-centric model of scientific, technical and industrial interaction are visible in the Asian part of the world.

The technology-sharing relationship with the United States is characterized by cooperation and conflict. Japan remains highly dependent on technology imports from the United States (69% of its imports). In the early 1990s, the ratio between exports and imports was about 2: 1 in favor of the United States, but in electronics it is 5: 1, in machine tools it is 7: 1. The United States is stepping up efforts to protect American technology as trade and economic relations escalate.

The organizational structure of the international management system is distinguished by a large number of intermediary firms, which, along with banking institutions, industrial companies and the apparatus of state regulation, have become one of the most important components of the mechanism for implementing its internal and external economic relations. The largest role in the organization and implementation of international activities belongs to nine universal trade intermediary companies (sogo shosha). They form an oligopolistic system for the regulation and implementation of international and domestic trade activities. These are the trading houses Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Itchu, Marubeni, Sumitomo, Nisse Iwai, Toyo menka, Kanematsu gose, Nichimen. They account for about 45% of exports and 77% of imports. Their common functions include the implementation of export and import operations, the implementation of formalities for the provision of foreign trade, the organization of foreign exchange, consulting on logistics. In recent years, new functions have appeared - investing capital abroad, promoting scientific and technical research and development.

The combination of large universal trade and small and medium-sized specialized firms in the general structure of subjects of domestic and foreign economic activity creates a dual structure of an intermediary network, forms the basis of the high efficiency of the circulation system and largely predetermines the country's success in foreign economic relations. This structure of governance and regulation is a serious obstacle to the entry of competitors into the Japanese market. The penetration rate of imports (the share of imports in domestic consumption) is 1.5-3 times less than in other leading countries (1975 - 4.9%, 1987 - 4.4, 1995 - 10.1%) ...

Export - import of capital. Its characteristic features

The 1980s saw a reorientation of Japan from exporting goods to exporting capital. In the second half of the 1980s, it ranked first in the export of direct investment. Average annual export volume in 1981-1985 equaled 5, in 1986-1990. - 32, in 1991-1993. - $ 20 billion. In the early 1990s, Japanese companies in the export of capital gave way to American and French TNCs. In terms of the cumulative volume of foreign direct investment, Japanese companies, as noted above, ranked second after the United States. Eight Japanese companies in terms of the volume of foreign assets are among the 50 largest investors in the world (Hitachi, Matsushita, Toyota, Sony, Nisso Iwai, etc.).

In the 1960s and 70s, the export of capital in the form of direct investment was largely aimed at servicing the sale of goods and creating a network of extractive enterprises abroad. Subsequently, due to the increase in the cost of labor, the exchange rate of the yen, Japanese companies began to create enterprises in labor-intensive industries. Companies with Japanese capital make about 15% of US car production. However, until now the main investments are concentrated in the credit sector (42.4%), in trade (11.3%), real estate (11.1%). If in the USA and the Federal Republic of Germany 30% and 20% of industrial production, respectively, were taken out of their territory, in Japan - only 11%. In the manufacturing industry, foreign investments are concentrated in electrical engineering, chemistry, and transport engineering.

The main market for the application of Japanese capital is North America, where there is a noticeable tendency for the introduction of high technology companies, which are striving to use the American experience and eliminate their lag in such areas as computers, mobile communications, and computer graphics. They not only form joint ventures with American companies, but also create their own. Next in the priorities of Japanese companies is Western Europe, where they are concentrated in Britain and the Netherlands. In Asia, the main centers of attraction for Japanese capital are Indonesia (24%), China (over 20%), and in South America - Panama (40%).

There is a geographic shift in priorities. Since the mid-1980s, after the conclusion of the Plaza currency agreement by the leading Western countries, a massive introduction of Japanese capital into the countries of East and Southeast Asia began. Their volume almost quadrupled, reaching $ 9.3 billion in 1994 and twice the level of American direct investment. A consequence of the change in the policy of Japanese companies was the transformation of the western part of the Asia-Pacific region into one of the main centers for the production and export of color televisions, tape recorders, air conditioners.

Japanese investment in the area has fostered a relationship of diversified and complex industrial specialization between local and Japanese businesses and local businesses and their partners from neighboring countries. The relations of production specialization contribute to the fact that one or several countries become the main suppliers of certain types of products: electrical parts and electronic circuit elements - Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand; machine tools and production equipment - Taiwan, South Korea; household electrical goods - Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand.

Foreign Japanese enterprises in East and Southeast Asia send the bulk of their exports to Japan - over 40%. It is obvious that the formerly overwhelmingly high degree of dependence on the US market is gradually losing ground, which creates prerequisites for regional economic integration at the micro level or integration carried out by foreign investments. Japanese shipments of manufacturing products to East and Southeast Asia exceeded the corresponding exports there from North America and Western Europe.

Japanese overseas companies usually have low profit margins. In manufacturing enterprises, it is 0.9%. In Asian countries, it is quite high - 4.8%, and in North America and Western Europe it is often negative. In other words, enterprises controlled by Japanese capital there are unprofitable. Usually these are branches and subsidiaries that are relatively new in terms of time, when their priority goal is to expand the scale of their activities, rather than making a profit.

Japan is not a big target for strange capital. Although the importance of foreign direct investment is increasing, their inflow is insignificant, yielding to the corresponding Japanese export by 10-20 times. In the leading Western European countries, this ratio is within 1-2.2 times.

In the past, foreign capital in the form of loans and borrowings and portfolio investments was widely used. In 1950-1960. its share in gross capital investment did not exceed 2.5%. In 1950-1975. nearly 32 billion dollars were attracted. In new industries, foreign capital played a more significant role. Credits and loans were provided to Japan by the US Export-Import Bank.

Japan's economic development has radically changed the nature of its currency position. The increase in the competitiveness of Japanese goods in world markets has led, since the mid-1960s, to a sharp increase in the surplus on all items of external payments. Having become one of the poles of attraction for international means of payment, Japan has become one of the largest creditors. It plays an important role in the provision of government development assistance, becoming the largest donor (1995 - 24.5%), although in terms of the share of government assistance in GDP, Japan is inferior to many countries - 0.20% of GDP.

A significant part of aid is traditionally directed to the Asian region (over 60%). The most significant part of it is received by China, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Bangladesh. There have been changes in the geographic focus of aid. In the 1970s, South Korea, Pakistan, and India were among its largest recipients. In the 1980s, Japan increased its attention to countries in Africa (12.2%) and Latin America (9.1% of economic aid in 1992), but in Asian countries it provides half of all aid to Western countries, and Latin America - 18 %. Unlike the United States and Western European countries, more than half of bilateral aid comes in the form of low-interest yen loans. They are mostly unrelated, which also differs from the assistance of a number of Western countries. Approximately 12% of all aid goes to technical cooperation, which is below the level of the US, France and Germany. The central place in it is occupied by the admission of foreign students and interns with a relatively small number of Japanese specialists sent abroad (5 thousand foreign students in 1990).

As of 2010, Japan ranked second in the world after China in capital exports. Capital export is currently the main form of foreign economic activity. Most of the Japanese capital works in the USA (42.2%), Asian countries (24.2%), Western Europe (15.3%), Latin America (9.3%).

The Japanese government intends to allocate more than $ 300 million for the development of solar energy in dozens of developing countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The main goal of the investment is to capture the global market by Japanese solar panel manufacturers. Japan will provide and install equipment free of charge as part of a new anti-crisis program. According to the Japanese government, the ongoing efforts will help improve the competitiveness of the national industry. Japan is one of the leaders in the solar energy market in terms of capacity commissioning and installed capacity. By 2020, Japan's solar energy capacity will be 37 GW, 26 times the 2005 level.

Meanwhile, Japan is actively attracting foreign investment. Tokyo plans to bring the volume of investments from abroad in the country's economy to 5% of the gross domestic product. By the end of 2008, this figure approached 3.6% of GDP.

Tokyo - Japan's global financial center

Tokyo is one of the world's three financial centers, along with New York and London. Also, Tokyo is one of the most economically developed metropolitan areas in the world. According to research by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Tokyo metropolitan area (Tokyo, Kanagawa and Chiba prefectures together, 35.2 million people) has a total of $ 1.191 trillion in 2005 GDP (purchasing power parity) and ranks first among the largest metropolitan areas in the world. by GDP. In 2008, 47 Fortune Global 500 companies were based in Tokyo.

Tokyo is a major international financial center and the headquarters of some of the world's largest investment banks and insurance companies, as well as serving as a hub for the transportation, publishing and broadcasting industries in Japan. In the course of the centralized growth of the Japanese economy after World War II, many large companies moved their headquarters from cities such as Osaka (the historic financial capital) to Tokyo in an attempt to take advantage of wider access to power. In recent years, this trend has declined due to the continued population growth in Tokyo and the high cost of living there. Tokyo was ranked by The Economist magazine as the most expensive (highest cost of living) city in the world for 14 consecutive years, until 2006.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange in Japan is the largest stock exchange, as well as the second largest in the world by market capitalization and the fourth largest share in turnover.

According to the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Tokyo had 20,900 hectares of agricultural land in 2003, ranking last among the country's prefectures. Perishable foods such as vegetables, fruits and flowers are supplied to markets in the eastern part of the county. Chinese cabbage (komatsuna) and spinach are the most important foods produced. Tokyo Bay has been one of the main sources of fish. Currently, most of Tokyo's fish products come from outlying islands such as Izuoshima and Hachijoujima. The main oceanic product is tuna. Tourism in Tokyo also contributes to the economy.

Japan is a very highly developed country all over the world. Highly developed industry and GDP allowed the country to take the third place in world production.

Much attention is paid to the development of high technologies, which are the main part of exports. Online store development , high precision instruments and much more is well debugged in this country. Nevertheless, some of Japan's goods are imported from other countries.
Goods that Japan brings from overseas.
Most of the country has practically no natural resources, so they have to be imported from other countries. These resources and raw materials include energy resources and a large list of other important goods. Basically, machinery and equipment, products of the chemical and textile industries, as well as their raw materials are subject to import.
Due to its geographical location, the ability to use land for agriculture is only 15% of the total land area. This is the reason for the import into the country of most of the grain and forage crops, with the exception of rice. Japan holds a leading position in the import of wheat around the world. This figure will increase in 2014 by four million tons.
It is imported and most of all meat consumed, mainly beef.
The imported raw materials are mainly natural fuels. Oil is sold to the country mainly by the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
Disadvantages of foreign trade
once upon a time, nuclear power plants accounted for 30% of all electricity produced. Significant dependence on imports of oil and gas was reflected in the import of imported raw materials, which was increased by 18% - in terms of money equivalent, the amount was $ 133 billion. Liquefied natural gas imports accounted for almost a third of the world's total production. Naturally, the main fuel for the operation of thermal power plants and cars is gas. At the moment, the amount of gas imported from abroad has exceeded its export.
In addition to the imported raw materials for energy resources, the country exceeded imports of diamonds by 20%, and also concerns the timber imported to Japan. The island is rich in deposits of natural minerals, but poor in metals. The entire volume of supplied metal such as copper, aluminum and iron ore is entirely imported by other countries.
The main partners for the sale of raw materials to Japan are the countries of southeast Asia, as well as the countries of the European Union. The percentage of imported raw materials and goods from Australia and Russia has increased. Undoubtedly, the USA has been Japan's main trade and business partner for a long time. More than 30% of the goods imported from Japan are sold on the market of this country, and only 20% is provided by imports.

Japan's economy is one of the most developed economies in the world. In terms of GDP, which is $ 5 458 billion, and the volume of industrial production, Japan ranks third among countries in the world, after the United States and China. High technologies (electronics and robotics) have been developed. Transport engineering is also developed, including automotive and shipbuilding, machine tool construction. The fishing fleet accounts for 15% of the world. Agriculture is subsidized by the state, but 55% of food (in calorie equivalent) is imported. There is a network of Shinkansen high-speed railways and expressways.

Banking, insurance, real estate, retail, transportation and telecommunications are the main industries in the Japanese economy. Japan has great manufacturing potential and is home to some of the largest and most technically advanced manufacturers of automobiles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and non-ferrous metals, ships, chemicals, textiles and food. Construction has long been one of Japan's largest industries, thanks to billions of dollars in government contracts in the private sector.

Export structure: transport vehicles, automobiles, motorcycles, electronics, electrical engineering, chemicals.

Import structure: machinery and equipment, fuel, foodstuffs, chemicals, raw materials.

At the end of the twentieth century. in Japan, foreign exchange reserves grew rapidly. The government introduced a system of measures to liberalize the export of Japanese capital abroad. It is now the most powerful banking center and international lender. Its share in international loans increased from 5% in 1980 to 20.6% in 1990. Capital export is the main form of foreign economic activity. Most of the Japanese capital works in the USA (42.2%), Asian countries (24.2%), Western Europe (15.3%), Latin America (9.3%).

Japanese trade is a type of value-added trade. It consists in the import of raw materials by Japan and the export of manufactured goods. During the existence of the Japanese Empire, the country mainly imported raw materials for the textile industry, and exported textile goods. The trade was focused on light industry items. After World War II, fuel became the main item of Japanese imports, while mechanical engineering products, automobiles, high-precision equipment and semiconductors became the main article of Japanese imports. Trade was reoriented to heavy and chemical goods. Since 1980, the country has had a permanent trade surplus - sales exceed purchases. Because of this, trade conflicts between Japan and the United States have repeatedly erupted. In the 1990s, Japanese manufacturing enterprises relocated a significant portion of their factories to Asian countries. The products of these enterprises are also imported to Japan.

In the early 21st century, the main Japanese imports were oil, liquefied natural gas, textiles, simple microcircuits, computers, fish and seafood. The main export commodities were cars, complex microcircuits, steel, chemical and mechanical engineering products. As of 2010, the foreign trade turnover amounted to about USD 1.402 trillion.

The main trade partners of Japan are the USA, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of China, Saudi Arabia, and Australia.

Between 2008 and 2009, the trade surplus grew 6 times: in September 2008 it amounted to 90 billion yen ($ 1 billion) in September 2009 - 529.6 billion yen ($ 5.7 billion). Compared to September 2008, in 2009 the surplus in trade with Russia was replaced by a deficit and amounted to 52.65 billion yen ($ 580 million).

The country, poor in natural resources, has been able to very successfully integrate into the world economy in recent years. Initially, Japan turned into a world center of the manufacturing industry, after which knowledge-intensive industries developed. Today Japan is one of the most significant trading powers in the modern economy. The Japanese economy is largely tied to the import of fuel and industrial raw materials. To date, the structure of imports has changed significantly: the priority is placed on the import of more finished products than on the import of raw materials. It should be noted that Japan at all stages of its development was characterized by a positive trade balance. However, Japan's foreign trade surplus, which has provided an inflow of finance to the country's economy for many years, has a downward trend. Over the past fiscal year, Japan's economy grew 2.3%.

The Japanese economy is aimed at creating favorable foreign economic relations with the aim of developing and creating a competitive state. The country's economy is characterized by a foreign trade orientation. The foreign trade indicator per capita in Japan (in 2010 - 12189.37 US dollars) cannot be called large due to the fact that the volume of trade turnover is high, and in terms of population, Japan occupies the tenth place in the world.

Table 1

Dynamics of development of Japan's foreign trade in 2002 - 2010.

Source: Monthly Bulletin of Statistics Online INTERNATIONAL MERCHANDISE TRADE. Table # 34. Total imports and exports by regions and countries or areas. (www.unstats.un.org)

Between 2002 and 2010, Japan's foreign trade almost doubled, but growth was unstable. This is especially noticeable in 2003 and 2004. The volume of foreign trade first fell from 858,718 billion US dollars in 2002 to 752,805 billion US dollars in 2003, and then was fixed at around 753,939 billion US dollars in 2004. both exports and imports of Japan over the years. Japan was able to overcome the 2002 indicator only in 2006. Subsequently, the indicator of foreign trade turnover increased in the period from 2006 to 2010. It should be noted that throughout the development of Japan's foreign trade, the coverage ratio exceeded 100%, which indicates that exports exceeded the values \u200b\u200bof imports. But at the same time, the value of the coverage ratio was gradually decreasing, in 2002 the figure was 126.3%, and in 2009 it was 114.5%, which undoubtedly indicates an increase in the role of imports in the Japanese economy. In 2010, the coverage ratio was 103.1%, in connection with which it can be noted that in the near future, it is possible that imports in Japan's foreign trade turnover will dominate. The country's share in world exports in the time period from 2002 to 2010 gradually decreased, at the same time the export volume itself increased. The same thing happened with Japanese imports. From this it should be noted that Japan, despite its gradual growth, is losing its dominant position, countries such as China are increasingly strengthening their positions and gaining a foothold in the modern economy.

The growth in the value of imports before the onset of the global financial and economic crisis was due to the presence of effective demand in the domestic market, but at the same time a very large sector was occupied by trade in the foreign market. Record quantitative indicators of export-import activities were achieved by the country in the past 2011 (1595.5 billion US dollars). Despite the economic crisis, Japan has been successfully developing its economy since 2006. The main items for imported goods are machinery and equipment, fuel, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, ores and other raw materials. It is the reduction in demand in the domestic markets of the country for these categories of products, especially for machinery and equipment, that formed the bulk of the decreased volume of imports in the period from 2003 to 2004.

The record quantitative indicators of export-import activity, achieved in recent years, cannot be regarded as unambiguously positive, since negative aspects associated with foreign trade persist, and some of them have even intensified. In particular, the decrease in the role of Japan in comparison with a number of other countries. At the same time, Japanese products are characterized by high competitiveness. The main positive quality of Japanese products is the fact that the number of rejects is no more than 0.01% of manufactured products. The outstripping growth in labor productivity, significantly lower losses of working time in the event of certain conflicts, the highest level of private savings also play an important role in strengthening Japan's position in the modern world economy.

The extremely high concentration of Japan's imports on a narrow group of fuel and raw materials and materials makes the country's economy very sensitive to fluctuations in the global environment and limits the possibilities of effective participation in the international division of labor. Every year the Japanese economy is becoming more and more dependent on world prices for energy resources (primarily oil) is becoming an ever greater threat to socio-economic stability in the country. The same thing happens with the import of raw materials; the import of products for the manufacturing industry in Japan plays a very significant role.

One of the favorable features of Japan's manufacturing exports is that most of them are high-tech products.

Japan recorded a trade deficit for the first time in more than 30 years. The reasons for this were the natural disasters that hit the country, the growth of the national currency, as well as the decrease in demand for Japanese goods.

According to the Ministry of Finance of Japan, the trade deficit in 2011 amounted to 2.49 trillion yen (32.3 billion dollars). Japan's exports fell 2.7% to a total of 65.55 trillion yen ($ 851 billion), while imports soared 12% to 68 trillion yen ($ 883 billion), ITAR-TASS reported. This is the first time this situation has been observed in the country since 1980.

"In 2012, Japan may again face a trade deficit"

The Ministry of Finance named the main reason for this after the earthquake and tsunami that occurred in March 2011. As a result, factories of such giants as Toyota Motor and Sony suffered. It is already difficult for companies to compete with competitors from South Korea and other developing countries.

Floods in Thailand, the main base for many Japanese manufacturers, have also caused exporters' problems. In addition, the yen continues to rise, which is driving up the price of Japanese goods. This negatively affects Japan's export-oriented economy. The Japanese currency has become a haven for foreign exchange traders despite the fundamental weakness of the economy.

As of 2010, the amount of goods for export amounted to USD 765.2 billion. The main partners of Japan in 2009 were:

PRC 18.88%, USA 16.42%, South Korea 8.13%, Republic of China 6.27%, Hong Kong 5.49%.

table 2

Commodity structure of Japan's exports in 2000 - 2011.

Source: International Trade Statistics Yearbook. Vol /, New-York, UN, 2000, 2008 online. (www.comtrade.un.org)

Japan's main exports are machinery, equipment and vehicles. However, despite the fact that its share in 2010 is more than sixty percent of the country's total exports, it can be seen that this figure has decreased compared to 2000. Moreover, the average annual growth rate of this export item is low (104.98%) and is inferior to most of Japan's export items. This is primarily due to the global economic crisis, which marked a drop in demand for durable goods, in particular for cars. During periods of economic growth, the population begins to actively buy such products. At the same time, it is on it that people save money when the market situation worsens, which is what we observe at this stage.

Judging by the indicators of the average annual growth rate, the most dynamically developing items of export are non-food raw materials (except for fuel) and goods and transactions not concluded in the corresponding sections of the IMTK, although their share in total Japanese exports remains relatively low.

As of 2010, the amount of goods for import amounted to USD 636.8 billion. The main partners of Japan in 2009 were: PRC 22.2%, USA 10.96%, Australia 6.29%, Saudi Arabia 5.29%,

UAE 4.12%, South Korea 3.98%, Indonesia 3.95%.

Table 3

Commodity structure of imports of Japan in 2000 and 2010.