| Research Abstract |
Evolution of socio-cultural milieu and globalization of local industrial area in Japan
Professor Dr.Yasuo Miyakawa
Graduate School of Social and-Cultural Studies
Kyushu University
The oil crisis and adoption of floating system of yen in 1973 gave a great shock on the Japanese industry, especially its local industry. Largely due to the rapid rise of yen, most of local industries suffered from the imported goods from foreign companies and then Japanese companies set up in overseas countries, especially in Asia. Asian countries have similar socio-cultural background, which smoothed the transfer of skill, design and technologies from Japan.
The mutation of local industrial areas has been accelerated after the agreement of the Plaza in 1985, which burst the rise of yen again and the rise of land price, especially in the metropolitan areas. Coping with this serious situation, local industries and local industrial areas themselves endeavcured together to promote the restructuring of industrial and
… More
regional structure.
Concerned with the restructuring, the leading industry in an each local area playd a great role not only for its survival but also for the survival of local industrial area as a whole. Usually, overseas factories of the leading industry, especially in Asia supplied the basic demand, which enabled the rejuvenation of high class demand in the domestic market and also in the export market. Largely thanks to this high class demand, local artisans could produce high quality goods and develop their skill, design and technologies. We may quote several examples of this kind of industrial structure such as the Tendou Shougi (Japanese chase) production area supported by the factory of Tendou Shougi in the northern part of China and the Nagoya Frame production area backed up by the factory of Japan Frame Industry in Malaysia.
The hosting environment of local industrial area exerted a great influence for the sustainable development. It exerted a great influence on the agglomeration of distinguished artisans, designers and engineers. And the hosting environment and open-milieu of socio-culture playd an important role for the innovation of skills, know-how and technologies as is seen in the redevelopment of Tobe traditional pottery productuion area. This sort of milieu has been encouraged by the aformentioned leading companies at the each stage of development and by the local societies which were established by the local industrial associations, local schools, local industrial institutes for R&D activities and local society itself.
Under the keen competition in the world market, most of Japanese locl industries still survive on the global scene, largely owing to the innovation of technologies, machines and new materials and to the development of new designs and management know-how. In Japan, thanks to the agglomeration of local industrial areas in the large metropolitan areas helped a lot of exchanges of latest technologies and know-how for the innovation and the development. The Sanshu roof industrial area is one of the typical example. It could exchange the latest technologies, designs and know-how with modern ceramic industry, textile machines industry and automobile industry in the Nagoya metropolitan are. As a result of the exchange, the Sanshu roof tile industrial area always could develop latest kilns, machines, materials, designs and management know-how accumulated in the same socio-cultural milieu generated by the automobile industry centerd at Toyota Motor. Less
|
