With the weaker yen and soaring overseas labor costs, Japanese companies are moving to return to Japan one after another.


A long-established Fukuoka company that manufactures and sells mentaiko, a Hakata specialty, has decided to transfer part of the production process, which has been carried out in Asia for about 40 years, to Japan. It has spread to a wide range of industries, including related industries.

Yamaya Communications, headquartered in Fukuoka City, has been in business for 48 years and manufactures and sells processed foods such as mentaiko.

Nearly 30,000 tons of mentaiko are consumed annually in Japan.



In fact, most of the eggs of Alaska pollack, which is the raw material, are produced overseas.



The industry group "National Karashi Mentaiko Food Fair Trade Council" states that 50% to 60% of Alaska Pollock eggs are produced in Russia, 30% to 40% in the United States, and 5% to 10% in Japan. That's what I'm saying.



"Yamaya Communications" mainly uses Alaska pollock from Russia as a raw material.



The fishing grounds for Alaska pollock are the Bering Sea between Russia and the United States.



“Yamaya” transports these eggs from the port of Busan to Vietnam, where they are made into salted cod roe at a local factory to which the production is outsourced.

However, wages continue to rise in Vietnam, where economic growth is remarkable, and the depreciation of the yen has progressed. That's it.



For this reason, we have decided to transfer production for domestic sales to a factory equipped with an automated system that will be newly established in Sasaguri-cho, Fukuoka Prefecture next April.



This decision was also supported by the fact that the company faced the risk of delays in the delivery of processed products due to the global logistics turmoil caused by the corona crisis.



Over the past 40 years, the company has moved production bases from South Korea to China and then to Vietnam.

Masahide Yamamoto, president of Yamaya Communications, said, "Many food companies have been producing overseas in search of lower labor costs, but the difference in labor costs has narrowed in the past 20 years. I think more companies will switch to production," he said.

The movement of “returning to Japan” METI also supports with subsidies

Among Japanese companies, due to the rise in overseas manufacturing costs due to the weak yen, etc., and the disruption of supply chains due to the corona crisis, there is a series of movements to return production bases to Japan.



Of these, Yaskawa Electric, a major industrial robot manufacturer, plans to build a new factory in Fukuoka Prefecture and double the current ratio of domestic production in order to avoid the risk of supply delays for parts such as air conditioners.



In addition, the audio equipment manufacturer "JVC Kenwood" has moved the production of car navigation systems for the domestic market, which was manufactured in Indonesia, to a factory in Nagano Prefecture from this year.



Household goods maker Iris Ohyama has also decided to transfer the production of about 50 types of products it produces in China to domestic factories.



In addition, apparel maker "World" has decided to switch production of high-priced products for department stores to domestic factories in response to soaring labor costs and logistics costs in Asia and elsewhere.



In an effort to encourage these movements, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is providing subsidies to companies that establish domestic production bases in order to strengthen their supply chains.



In the face of various issues such as supply chain disruptions due to the corona crisis, rising overseas manufacturing costs due to the weak yen, etc., and economic security issues, Japanese companies are trying to improve their production bases and supply chains. There is a series of movements to review the