Mergers and acquisitions in Japan and conclusion
Another alternative to starting from scratch and establishing a company is to acquire a Japanese company. The Japanese government does not prohibit the acquisition of Japanese firms by foreigners, but there are few acquisitions by either foreigners or Japanese. There are several cultural reasons cited for the lack of acquisitions in Japan, but the lifetime employment system of many companies and the large degree of cross-share holding are perhaps two of the biggest reasons.
However, foreign acquisitions of Japanese firms almost tripled from 13 in 1991 to 36 in 1992, and this trend may be expected to continue because of continuing asset deflation in Japan.
To sum up, I hope I've shown you that entering the Japanese market whether through a trading company, joint venture, branch office or wholly owned subsidiary is not very difficult. At least the procedure for simply establishing a branch or company is not very difficult.
However, the tough part comes when you try to find cheap but adequate office space, qualified personnel and then try to sell your goods in Japan. Those things are much more difficult, and are addressed in subsequent tapes in this series.
Thanks again for investing your time and money in this tape, and remember that with persistence and effort, you can make it in the Japanese market.