EXCLUSIVE: Japan’s New Growth Strategy to Promote Overseas Investment

Tokyo, June 4 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government’s new growth strategy, due to be adopted this summer, will feature a plan to promote overseas investment by the country’s public and private sectors, Jiji Press learned Thursday. The government will position foreign direct investment as a core policy instrument to facilitate exports. It will seek to establish economic blocs with reliable partners by leveraging Japan’s goods and services under global trade rules and economic security cooperation frameworks. In recent years, the government has been urged by some to prioritize domestic investment over foreign investment and to return more benefits from foreign investment to Japan, although the industry ministry maintains that Japan’s exports to its investment partner countries and regions are increasing and that domestic returns from its foreign investment are not lower than in Europe and the United States. Meanwhile, the United States and China are actively using foreign direct investment to boost their presence in rapidly growing Southeast Asia, pressuring Japan to advance its own strategy. The new growth strategy will encourage global investment for crisis management and growth as part of efforts to strengthen Japan’s technological competitiveness. The strategy will call for expanding exports of goods and services in which Japan has developed technological advantages through active investments in the 17 fields, including artificial intelligence, semiconductors and aerospace. It will expect capturing overseas demand to lead to greater business profits, stronger industrial foundations and stable foreign exchange rates. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]