| Budget Amount *help |
¥1,800,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,800,000)
Fiscal Year 1997: ¥700,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000)
Fiscal Year 1996: ¥1,100,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000)
|
|---|
| Research Abstract |
Massive outflow of direct investments abroad and the extended depression after the bubble burst has stirred the fear of de-industrialization of Japan. Meanwhile, the Japanese government and the business world have failed to understand the true nature of today's economic crisis in their structural adjustment policy, in which they neglect the important role of industrial districts in Japan's rapid economic growth and over-appreciate the potential and the sustainability of Asian economic development. In such context, this study project tries to find the alternative way of industrial reconstruction through examining the affection of the extended depression on Japan's two major industrial districts. One is Nishimikawa, Aichi Prefecture, which is the home of Toyota and one of the largest auto production centers in the world. The other is Ohta, Tokyo Metropolitan Prefecture, which has a huge agglomeration of high quality metal working small factories and has contributed to Japan's machinery p
… More
roduction and innovation as a national technopolis.
Major findings are the following three :
First, massive outflow of direct investment abroad in manufacturing and the extended depression have severely affected major industrial districts and are disaggregating cooperative production networks. In Nishimikawa, diversification from monocultural auto production and growing out of over dependency on Toyota are two major trends in supporting industries. However, those are extremely difficult for smaller companies below second tire suppliers who do not have sufficient capital accumulation because of strict cost reduction requirements in "Keiretsu" production system. In Ohta, selection and shrinkage in the number of working factories has been accelerated. Difficulty of starting up new factories and instability of middle standing companies are especially severe. As a results, Ohta's cooperative production network of high quality metal working small shops faces the crisis of disaggregation, which means the disruption of technological foundation. The fear of de-industrialization is not fictitious.
Second, to prevent the disruption of technological foundation, urgent is rebuilding social structure of production, namely the regional system of flexibly technological adjustment, cost reduction, product quality improvement and process innovation based on a regional and related agglomeration of industries and basic amenities. However, the central government role in industrial development has become less and less important because of globalization of economy.
Third and finally, therefore, the role of local governments and community is naturally important in achieving the above-stated task. However, local industrial policies, which have been practiced impartially to the general public, also stand at the crossroads. This is even true for Sumida, Tokyo Metropolitan prefecture, which has practiced innovative local industrial policies like the 3M movement. Therefore, we need to establish a demand generating support system to promote local capital circulation by connecting local industries to community development projects. Less
|
