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Japanese Manufacturer's boost output at home
Yomiuri Shimbun
There have been conspicuous moves among Japanese manufacturers to beef up their domestic production.
Increased demand abroad for high-quality “made in Japan” products is believed to have contributed to this trend, along with diminishing benefits of overseas production, due to rising wages in the emerging economies of Asia.
However, it is difficult to foresee how far this “reshoring” phenomenon will spread.
At Yamagata Casio Co., which is based in Higashine, Yamagata Prefecture, and a domestic base for Casio Computer Co., the assembly of watches in a popular price range that used to be done manually has been automated since last August.
Production capacity is now 100,000 units a month, and per-worker production efficiency has tripled. Popularly called “cheap Casios,” the wristwatches, to be sold at around $20 each, are being exported to such destinations as the Middle East, where the “Made in Japan” brand enjoys a good reputation.
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The Yomiuri Shimbun
There are also plans to transfer a portion of Yamagata Casio’s production base from countries like China and Thailand to Yamagata Prefecture in a few years.
The trend of Japanese manufacturers shifting their production bases back to Japan from overseas, or boosting their production at home, can be seen in a wide range of industries.
In the aftermath of the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008, Japanese manufacturers accelerated their transfer of production bases overseas, as they were beset with the so-called sextuple burdens, (see below) which included the yen’s sharp appreciation. In the years that followed, a depreciation of the yen took hold, thanks to monetary easing by the Bank of Japan, while the corporate tax rate was lowered and the power shortages after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake were alleviated.
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http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0005635339