ABSTRACT

This context constitutes an extremely good base – one of the best in the world – in which to expand business. This is especially so given that the Japanese market is becoming increasingly open to foreign enterprise. Finance is a good example. The picking up by Merrill Lynch of a large part of the retail side of big four brokerage Yamaichi in 1998, and the 25 per cent purchase of another of Japan’s big four brokers, Nikko¯ Securities, by Travelers Group Inc. of the US, were ground-breaking examples of foreign penetration into Japan’s (lucrative) financial arena. Ford’s move to managerial control of Mazda, and GE Capitol’s purchase in early 1999 of Japan Leasing, with other large foreign investments also in progress started to make the world of business a smaller place. In the 1980s Westerners had lamented the buying up of their assets by the Japanese – but now Japanese business has become much more available to foreigners.