Our Market

Below provides a profile of the Asia / Pacific regional market overall, and interesting facts and information about issues important to both Japan and foreign executives working in Tokyo.

Boyden Japan covers all the major industries and its businesses for the whole nation.

The land of Industry, the land of Technology, the land of Wealth, the land of Tradition...

Japan is known as one of the most industrialized countries (until very recently, the 2^nd highest GNP globally), one which belongs neither to the Western world nor a pure Asian one. It commands the 10^th largest population in the world, comprising of four big islands and over 7 thousand smaller isles with the world’s 6^th longest coast line, while the total land area is 61^st in the world.

Geographically facing China beyond the East Asian Sea, the Sea of Japan separates our West Coast from Korea, and we neighbor Russia across the Sea of Okhotsk, and our East Coast views the United States far across the Pacific Ocean. This independent country has a traceable history of over 2000 years, and has all the major industry lines and businesses including global leading enterprises, e.g., Toyota, Honda, SONY, Panasonic, Toshiba, NEC, together with a large number of smaller but high-end technology firms. There are also a handful of smaller but very active firms with over 1000 years of history.

National wealth (net assets) amounts to approximately 2,800 trillion yen (US$33 trillion), of which private monetary assets (i.e., deposits) account for 1,500 trillion yen (US$17 trillion) and 340 trillion yen (US$4 trillion) for enterprises’ net assets at global leading levels.

Japan is also one of the most developed and advanced country in terms of scientific and technological intelligence, e.g., the number of international patent applications accounts for its 2^nd ranking globally after the USA.

Geography

Land area
378,000 square kilometers (146,000 square miles), 61^st in the world.

Population
127.81 million (2005), 10^th in the world. 30% of the national population is concentrated in the Greater Tokyo area, which makes Tokyo the highest populated city globally. 2^nd largest city: Yokohama (3.5 million), 3^rd Osaka (2.6 million) and 4^th Nagoya (2.2 million)

Social, Cultural, Civil Background

Language
Japanese (sole, independent language group)

Political structure
Constitutional Democracy with Constitutional Monarchy (Imperial House)

Crime Incidence Ratio
Lowest group in the world

Civilization
One of the 8 groups in the world (Western, Eastern Orthodox, Latin America, China, Japan, Hindu, Islam, African according to Samuel Phillips Huntington)

Industrial, Business

Known as one of the most advanced, industrialized countries in the world, Japan contains almost all lines of industry and businesses, including global leading enterprises, e.g., Toyota, Honda, SONY, Panasonic, Toshiba, NEC, together with a majority number of the smaller but high-end technology firms.