바이오인

Because I was born in Japan to missionary parents and lived there until college, a goal of mine was to find a bridge between my past in Japan and my professional career at the U.S. Department of Commerce. I completed a temporary detail in the spring of 2007 to Japan that helped me to fulfill this goal.When I decided to do a detail to the U.S. Embassy in Japan, I explored possible areas of research in U.S.–Japan trade policy. After my consultations with ITA senior staff members, investigating Japan’s manufacturing competitiveness strategy seemed like a needed project. Because I had worked on the Department of Commerce’s recent Manufacturing Strategy Initiative, I was keen to learn more about Japan’s approach to competitiveness, especially in light of Japan’s emergence from a period of lengthy economic stagnation.1 How is Japan organizing itself to move to the next level of manufacturing technology and competitiveness to offset growth from China and the rest of Asia? Does the Japanese government have a roadmap for staying ahead of global competition? Does the private sector have a manufacturing strategy of its own? Would I hear something different from successful U.S. companies in Japan? Was there a pattern tosuccessful business models for foreign firms in the Japanese market? If we ask those questions to a variety of industry and government insiders, a clearer picture of Japan’s reformulated competitive strategy should emerge. This project was not intended to be a thorough survey of Japanese industry or government agencies. Within a mere four weeks, just a snapshot-or glimpse-of what is happening in the manufacturing arena emerged. Drawing from close to 100 pages of my handwritten notes taken during interviews, I have presented only a sampling of case studies. What is summarized here is based, however, on what I heard and was redrafted from my extensive notes. The concepts are not mine, but they are conveyed through the interviews.
Jane Corwin Director, Office of Trade Policy Analysis, Manufacturing and Services, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C.