ABSTRACT
A regional division of labour is formed between finished goods production and Integrated Circuit (IC) production. The Japanese machinery industry can be viewed in terms of: the distribution of factories, persons engaged and output; and the regional shares of research and development, production, distribution, information and subcontracting. In addition, Seiko, the biggest watch manufacturer in Japan and the world, established a microelectronics-based printer and computer manufacturing department in 1965 making ICs for its own requirements. Looking at the distribution of robot manufacturing factories, 53 factories, or 85 per cent, are located in three main regions of Kanto, Kinki and Chukyo and are connected both with Research and Development (R & D) functions and with the supply of many kinds of parts. Enterprises concentrated in the Tokyo region also enjoy the advantages of contacts with, and getting quick information from, universities, national research facilities, think-tanks and the other related R & D functions of the metal and chemical industries.
