Before World War Two, Japan was an isolated and insular country that was in many ways closed to the outside world. After the extreme damage inflicted on Japan in 1945 Japan began a period of modernization and industrial expansion that has seen its economic influence spread across the globe. Taking the model of western companies and corporations and adapting them to a unique Japanese version has seen Japanese companies become household names internationally.
In the area of automobile manufacturing Japan has become a global giant. The major Japanese multinational corporations who manufacture automobiles or who offer automotive parts and servicing are Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mazda, Suzuki, Denso, Bridgestone and Aisin Seiki. Japanese cares are known for their fuel-efficiency and consistently high quality. The largest Japanese carmaker is Toyota Motor Company. In fact, it is one of the world’s top 10 multinational companies based on annual revenues as of publication.
Japan is almost synonymous with excellence and output in consumer electronics. Many industry leading developments in this field have come from Japan and Japanese companies dominate many sectors of this market. The leading Japanese multinational players in this category are Panasonic, Sony, Toshiba, Hitachi, Sanyo, Matsushita, Sharp, Mitsubishi and Sumitomo.
Like electronic consumer goods Japan has shown an incredible capacity for innovation in the field of computing and associated technologies. Companies such as Canon, Sony, NEC, Ricoh and Fujitsu are leading brands throughout the world and make the Fortune 500 list of leading multinationals.
After the destruction wrought by World War Two, Japan underwent and enormous reconstruction period during which time many Japanese engineering and construction firms rose to international prominence. A lack of natural resources and a relatively small domestic market has forced Japanese companies in this field to innovate and expand. Some of the leading names in Japanese industry in this sector internationally are Takenaka, Shimizu, Kajima, Obeyashi, Komatsu, Taisei, Nippon Steel and Kobe Steel.
