ABSTRACT
The variety of participants from European and Japanese business, from academia, politics and governmental circles, both from Europe and Japan, guaranteed a wide spectrum of issues for discussion. The 'internationalisation' is commonly used in the context of 'interaction and exchange' between different nations. Apart from semantic connotations, internationalisation seems to have a distinct meaning in the eyes of the Japanese government. All efforts to internationalise the economy and society and improve relations implicitly intend to demonstrate to the outside world that Japan seriously wants to participate in the international community as a responsible nation. A systematic feedback on their operations and performance in comparison to local companies could yield the information for a proper assessment of their investment. Therefore, an appeal for cooperation and joint research seems to be in place.
