Society

Foreign firms investment in Japan at record high

Nov 28 (NHK) - Executives at firms around the world increasingly see Japan as a lucrative place to do business. Investment in the country in 2018 has set a new record for a fifth year.

Japan External Trade Organization officials say foreign corporate investment climbed to 30.7 trillion yen. That's about 280 billion dollars and an increase of 6.2 percent on 2017.

Companies spent big on the electronics and transportation sectors. They also invested heavily in the chemical and medical industries.

JETRO officials say municipal governments have been working hard to attract more money from overseas.

They add that tensions between the US and China have benefited Japan by making it look like a relatively safe place to do business.

The US was the top investor with 6.5 trillion yen, followed by the Netherlands with 4.6 trillion yen, then France with 3.7 trillion yen.

Foreign corporate investment has risen 50 percent over the past decade. A big factor has been cuts to Japan's corporate tax rate.

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