ABSTRACT
The internationalization of Japanese companies, mainly achieved at the end of the 1980s and beginning of the 1990s through the creation of wholly owned subsidiaries and joint ventures, as well as through the acquisition of foreign companies, changed qualitatively at the end of the 1990s. In the late 1980s, Japanese corporations seemed to buy everything that was precious and expensive. In 1988, Bridgestone bought its rival Firestone for about JPY333 billion, Sony purchased Columbia at JPY644 billion, and Matsushita joined the bandwagon by acquiring MCA for the remarkable price of JPY780 billion. Some 15 years later, however, the picture had changed significantly, and foreign firms instead went shopping in Japan. US financial giant Citigroup announced a tender offer for Nikko Cordial, Swedish AB Volvo bought Nissan Diesel. Some time before that, GE Capital purchased Hera, a subsidiary of Fuji Bank, and Renault was buying stakes in Nissan, followed by DaimlerChrysler investing in Mitsubishi Motors (Recof 2003).2
