Like many other Japanese investors, Hiroo Sato got burned a decade ago when this nation's speculative bubble burst. Today, he's finally getting some of his money back in a rebounding stock market.
But the 71-year-old retired bank executive is also putting more than a fifth of his money into a foreign investment -- low-risk variable annuities from the US insurer Hartford Life.
Overseas investments, long shunned, are giving this country's latest economic recovery a greater likelihood of success than its past, abortive comebacks.
"In the bubble days, Japanese companies didn't care about new ideas from foreign companies," said Debbie Howard, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan. "The prolonged economic slump has forced Japanese busi-nesses to look at new and different ways of doing things."
That includes letting foreigners invest in and manage Japanese firms.
Japanese stocks held by foreign investors reached a record high in the fiscal year ended March 31, at 22 percent, as the main index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange surged 46 percent, rallying from a 20-year low hit in April last year.
Foreign direct investments in Japan totaled 2.1 trillion yen (US$19 billion) for fiscal 2003, more than quadrupling from a decade ago, according to government data, although that's still a fraction of foreign investments in the US or Europe.
Among the recent high-profile investments are French automaker Renault in Nissan Motor Co, Wal-Mart Stores in the Seiyu retail chain and Vodafone in a Japanese carrier that now has the British mobile giant's name.
Individual investors are also embracing the idea, buying alternatives like Hartford Life's annuities.
Sato said he learned the hard way the superiority of American financial services to Japanese investments.
Now, "I think this time the recovery is for real," he said.
Analysts agree that the recovery could last, in contrast to the last two "phantom" upturns during the last decade, which fizzled out almost as quickly as they came.
For the quarter from January through March, the economy grew at an annual 6.1 percent as solid exports to the US and Asia combined with a boost in consumer spending in Japan for the best showing in a decade.
Last month, the central bank issued its most upbeat assessment of the economy since the bubble, noting that growth was gathering momentum from improved employment and industrial production.
The optimism about the economy is also coming from Japanese companies whose gadgets are in high demand at home and abroad.
Top companies such as Toyota Motor Corp and Sony Corp are increasingly counting on overseas revenue to propel earnings.
Still, the improvement in the economy could not be happening without foreign help, and many Japanese are grateful.
"The old aversion about takeovers has faded," said Kohei Shiino of the government-backed Japan External Trade Organiza-tion, which promotes trade and investments.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
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The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued a sea alert for Typhoon Fung-wong (鳳凰) as it threatened vessels operating in waters off the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島), the Bashi Channel and south of the Taiwan Strait. A land alert is expected to be announced some time between late last night and early this morning, the CWA said. As of press time last night, Taoyuan, as well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties had declared today a typhoon day, canceling work and classes. Except for a few select districts in Taipei and New Taipei City, all other areas and city
VIOLATION OF NORMS: China’s CCTV broadcast claimed that Beijing could use Interpol to issue arrest warrants, which the MAC slammed as an affront to order The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday condemned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for attempts to intimidate Taiwanese through “transnational repression.” The council issued the remarks after state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) yesterday during a news broadcast aired a video targeting Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋), threatening him with “cross-border repression” and saying: “Stop now, or you will be next,” in what Taipei officials said was an attempt to intimidate not only Shen, but also the broader Taiwanese public. The MAC in a statement condemned the threat, accusing Beijing of trying to instill fear and self-censorship among Taiwanese and
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