Japanese Companies and Employees

Characteristics of Corporations:
Distinguishing characteristics of the Japanese economy include the cooperation of manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, and banks in closely-knit groups called "keiretsu"; the powerful enterprise unions and "shuntō"; cozy relations with government bureaucrats, and the guarantee of lifetime employment in big corporations and highly unionized blue-collar factories. Recently, Japanese companies have begun to abandon some of these norms in an attempt to increase profitability.

Economic Relations:
Japan is both a major trading nation and one of the largest international investors in the world. In many respects, international trade is the lifeblood of Japan's economy. Imports and exports totaling the equivalent of nearly US$522 billion in 1990 meant that Japan was the world's third largest trading nation subsequent to the United States and the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany). Trade was once the primary form of Japan's international economic relationships, but in the 1980s its rapidly rising foreign investments added a new and increasingly important dimension, broadening the horizons of Japanese businesses and giving Japan prominence.

No. of Enterprises and Employees

(thousand) 2001

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Prefecture Rank	Enterprises	Number of Employees	Male	Female
Total	6350	60186	34905	25281
1. Tokyo	724	8608	5352	3255
2. Osaka	483	4801	2870	1931
3. Aichi	360	3689	2200	1489
4. Kanagawa	309	3374	2001	1373
5. Hokkaido	270	2585	1484	1100
6. Saitama	266	2556	1448	1108
7. Hyogo	252	2329	1320	1009
8. Fukuoka	242	2255	1259	995
9. Shizuoka	207	1887	1088	799
10. Chiba	206	2132	1184	948
11. Hiroshima	145	1358	786	571
12. Niigata	142	1178	674	504
13. Kyoto	142	1207	693	513
14. Ibaraki	135	1303	762	541
15. Nagano	128	1077	623	453
16. Gifu	122	976	543	432
17. Miyagi	115	1106	650	455
18 .Fukushima	109	959	548	411
19. Gunma	109	985	581	403
20. Tochigi	103	943	552	391
21. Mie	93	851	480	371
22. Okayama	92	868	493	375
23. Kagoshima	91	745	413	331
24. Kumamoto	86	768	417	350
25. Ehime	80	661	368	293
26. Yamaguchi	78	686	382	304
27. Nagasaki	76	630	345	284
28. Aomori	74	633	350	282
29. Okinawa	73	533	288	244
30. Ishikawa	72	601	335	265
31. Iwate	72	629	356	272
32. Yamagata	70	569	421	248
33. Oita	65	542	299	242
34. Akita	65	522	294	228
35. Toyama	64	578	321	257
36. Shiga	61	610	353	257
37. Miyazaki	61	495	267	227
38. Wakayama	58	424	237	186
39. Kagawa	57	486	273	212
40. Nara	53	469	257	212
41. Fukui	52	422	236	185
42. Yamaguchi	52	411	235	175
43. Kochi	46	347	181	166
44. Tokushima	45	355	194	160
45. Shimane	45	352	199	152
46. Saga	44	387	211	176
47. Tottori	31	280	155	124