ABSTRACT
Every time Toyota builds or operates a factory in Japan, it pays more than its foreign competitors for the cement in the building, for all the steel, rubber, plastic and glass that go into its cars, even the electricity to run the plant. Utility rates a third higher than those in the U.S. subsidize domestic oil refiners and construction firms.2 It has to pay 50 percent more than its American competitors to ship its cars and its showrooms are paying 60 percent higher commercial rents. It also has to pay higher wages because food and other consumer items cost twice as much as in the U.S. (Figure 3.2).
