ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates the activities of the Japanese electrical machinery industry in Asia. It examines when and where firms started their operations, the distribution pattern of factories and how this pattern has affected regional trade of electrical products. Compared with American and European firms, a higher proportion of the activities of Japanese firms are concentrated in Asia. The chapter shows that the industry's division of labour and organisational structure before it began to invest actively abroad have had a significant impact on its international division of labour and overseas business strategies, affecting the location of plants and patterns of intrafirm trade. It provides a brief overview of the division of labour in the electrical machinery industry, contrasting it with the case of the automobile industry. The foreign operations of Japanese firms in the electrical machinery industry have changed considerably. The chapter discusses three firms: Matsushita, Sanyo and Sony.
