This book examines Japanese Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the world economy over more than five decades. It provides a unique focus on the internationalisation experience of selected industries, such as forestry, textiles, electronics, motor vehicles, steel and services as well as case studies of individual firms. Roger Farrell considers the theoretical explanations for Japanese FDI and particular motivations which have been an ongoing rationale for FDI, including: * energy and resource security * the theme of retaining market access * the relocation of manufacturing to retain international competitiveness * withdrawal after the bubble economy * the new phase of investment in the 2000s. Japanese Investment in the World Economy is distinctive in that it examines overseas investment by firms in the primary, manufacturing and services sectors over the period in which the Japanese economy became the second largest in the world. The book provides a succinct overview of Japanese FDI of interest to professionals and students of business, economics, international relations, politics and Japanese culture.

Japanese overseas investment in real estate has been little analysed, until now, despite its economic scale and political impact. This unique book explores the political economy of Japanese foreign direct investment in real estate in the United States, Australia and other countries from the mid-1980s onwards. In the period between 1985 and 1994, there was a remarkable rise and decline in Japanese real estate investment abroad. The author explains that this experience was important because real estate investment became a focal point of international tension between Japan and other countries. What this book achieves is an understanding of the speed of the advance and the retreat of Japanese real estate FDI. The author also explains its principal causes as well as its impact on host economies and communities. It will be an important new reference source for political economists and international business scholars as well as for scholars of Japanese studies.