IS S U E 68 Switzerland Newsletter D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 4 External Trade Organization

“Japan offers a lot of untapped business potential” Interview with Roger Zbinden, Head of Swiss Business Hub Inside this Roger Zbinden has been living in have soared. All off this has re- issue for almost twelve years. sulted in the regular Japanese Since February 2011 he serves as person effectively having less “Japan offers a 1 lot of un- counsellor for trade and com- disposable income. Therefore tapped busi- merce and head of Swiss Business private consumption, the main ness potential” Hub at the Embassy of Switzer- factor of the GDP, is stalling. Interview with Roger Zbin- land in Japan. He kindly accepted Vested interests of various eco- den, Head of to answer the questions of JETRO nomic sectors block effective de- Swiss Business Hub Switzerland Newsletter at the Swiss regulation activity and delay the Embassy in Tokyo. negotiations on several free trade Japan’s cur- 3 agreements (TPP, EU). rent economic “I came to Japan by coincidence. I situation resigned as CEO from a very ex- Nevertheless, I am very positive citing company in Zurich and about the economic development Update of 3 Roger Zbinden, regional infor- wanted to take a break. Then by Head of Swiss Business Hub Japan in the next five, six years, at least mation on for Greater Tokyo Area. A recent JETRO’s sheer coincidence I saw a job ad Website in the local business daily, a Swiss of immigration and a low par- business confidence survey organization looking for a direc- ticipation rate of female labour among foreign companies sup- promo- 3 tion event tor in Japan. I spoke a little Japa- leaves a lot of jobs unfilled. ports this view. took place in nese at that time, but was far Companies sit tight on their Zurich from proficient. I discussed it cash, rather than investing in What are the most attractive Toyota intro- 4 with my Japanese wife who was equipment or paying higher economic sectors for Swiss duced a new not that fond of returning to Ja- salaries. The economic policy of companies in Japan? What is hydrogen- powered car pan as she was in an education the Abe government, dubbed your message to Swiss compa- program to become a nutrition “Abenomics” is based on three nies? consultant. Initially, we agreed to elements, or arrows. Monetary There are many interesting sec- move to Tokyo for three years, policy (first arrow) and fiscal tors in healthcare/beauty, auto- but as we both find the Tokyo policy (second arrow) have motives, machine tooling and lifestyle very appealing, we ended shown mostly positive effects so other industries. Every third vehi- up staying. Almost four years ago far, but the third arrow, struc- cle produced anywhere on the I got the chance of running the tural policy has not yet taken off planet is made by a Japanese Swiss Business Hub and this has for good. Combined with the OEM. Most of the technical deci- proved to be a very interesting increase of the VAT in April, the sions are taken in Japan. This 会見 job”, Roger Zbinden said. lack of deregulation efforts has obviously represents a tremen-

INTERVIEW pushed the economy back in a dous market. At the core of al- What is your opinion about the slight recession. Furthermore, most any production process you current and future economic the aggressive monetary policy have a machine tool. There too lie situation in Japan? has weakend the Japanese Yen important business opportuni- The major problem of Japan is the substantially. Exports do not ties. rapidly aging population. A lack seem to react, but import prices (Continued on page 2)

Page 2 JETRO Switzerland Newsletter

“Japan offers a lot of untapped business potential” Interview with Roger Zbinden, Head of Swiss Business Hub This goes along with a high price. matic relations in Japan? What 会見 This is not a problem with durable have been the milestone events

INTERVIEW industrial products with a long life organized to celebrate it? cycle. Japanese industrial clients By the end of the anniversary year understand the trade off between (March 2015) our embassy will initial investment and running cost. have been involved in about 300 projects. Milestone projects in- What is the impact of the strong cluded the Swissdays public events value of the Swiss franc? and the Anniversary Gala in Febru- It is actually not the strong Swiss ary attended by the President of Franc, but the weak Yen! Since the the Swiss Confederation, Didier SNB defends the Euro-CHF rate, Burkhalter. Another milestone was there is no disadvantage compared the economic delegation headed by (Continued from page 1) with the European competition. Federal Councillor Schneider- At a recent machine tool fair here in Amman and a large Innovation Tokyo (JIMTOF) we had 94 Swiss What are the main challenges Forum in July. In the cultural field, exhibitors and most of them report faced by Swiss companies to en- I would mention large exhibitions a much higher order pipeline than ter the Japanese market? of the works of Valloton, Balthus, two years ago. Healthcare and Most of the hurdles are related to Hodler or the very prestigious col- beauty is another hot sector where import regulations. In addition, lection of the Kunsthaus Zürich we had many successful projects in any company, both Japanese and which attracts 4000 visitors every the last two years. Unlike in China foreign, is confronted with ex- day. and Hongkong, the luxury market tremely demanding customers, not in Japan is very stable and growing. only regarding product quality, but What are your wishes for Swiss It is important however to under- also after-sales services. The proc- companies and for Swiss- stand that the client base is chang- ess of setting up a business is fairly Japanese relations in 2015? ing from domestic clients to visi- easy and not costly, but finding I hope that the relations between tors. In that respect, Japan is in the good, internationally minded staff the two countries will stay as pros- process of becoming a destination is sometimes a problem. Every perous as they are now. Our cul- market. Swiss company setting up a sub- tures are very different, but at the sisiairy in Japan must accept that core of it, both the Swiss and the What are the strengths of Swiss the business culture is very differ- Japanese share a lot of common companies in Japan? ent, and this quite often leads to values. This is the foundation of a Swiss Made stands for high quality misunderstandings. I usually say sustainable business relation. in both products and services. The that if you make it in Japan, you can reputation of our country is a very make it everywhere. Besides, Japan What are your personal hobbies, good one and a lot of Swiss corpo- is a very good launching platform to leisure activities in Japan? rations benefit from this tackle the huge ASEAN market Japan is a year-round diving para- “Swissness”. with more than 600 million con- dise, so I dive a lot. In addition I sumers. They regard Japan as the train in martial arts. On the more What is the reputation of Swiss leader in Asia-Pacific. intellectual side, I hold a teaching companies in Japan? position as a lecturer at a Graduate Again, Swiss Made is a promise for How successful was the celebra- School at Hosei University here in the highest quality and reliability. tion of 150 th anniversary of diplo- Tokyo.

Issue 68 Page 3

Japan’s current economic situation According to the Cabinet Office, 8.5% and to Western Europe by “The Japanese economy is on a 6.0%. moderate recovery, while weakness However, the domestic demand can be seen in private consump- has continued to decline. The av- tion” (November economic re- erage of monthly consumption port). expenditures per household for The leading index of business con- October 2014 was ¥ 288,579 yen, ditions slightly increased from down 0.7% in nominal terms and 104.4 in August to 105.6 in Septem- down 4.0% in real terms from the ber (2010=100, see graph). previous year. Nevertheless, the Japan’s exports rose 9.6% in value consumer price index for Japan in October 2014 from the previous was 103.6 in October 2014 year, showing an increase to Asia (2010=100), and up 2.9% over the Leading index of business conditions by 10.5%, to North America by year. Cabinet Office

Update of regional information on JETRO’s Website English version of JETRO Web- logistics and residence. pages on regional investment has You can also subscribe to the been updated. Newsletter: “Success in Regions”. It provides accurate information related to industrial clusters (such The Webpage is available at: as biotechnology, food, energy in- https://www.jetro.go.jp/en/invest/ dustries), business situation in region/ each prefecture or each major city, Screenshot of JETRO’s Website

Gifu promotion event took place in Zurich About 100 people took part at the of Gifu Prefec- They tasted Nigori-sake and had 行事 “Gifu Heartland of Japan” event on ture Hajime Furuta and by Japa- the opportunity to buy sake, rice November 11, 2014. nese Ambassador to Switzerland, bowls, paper crafts, lanterns and EVENT Participants were welcomed by H.E. Ryuhei Maeda. knives.

Hajime Furuta, Governor of Gifu Pre- H.E. Ryuhei Maeda, Japa- is renowned fecture in Japan nese Ambassador to Switzerland for its knives Issue 68 Page 4

Toyota introduced a new hydrogen-powered car 革新 Toyota’s new hydrogen fuel-cell car Mirai has been showcased in INNOVATION Odaiba (artificial island in Tokyo bay) on November 18, 2014 (see picture). Its name comes from a Japanese word that means “future”. It will be launched in Japan from December 15, 2014. And it is sched- uled to be put on the US and Euro- pean markets in summer 2015. The four-seat car Mirai has an out- put power of more than 100 kW and an autonomy of 650 km. It can be refueled in only three minutes. Mirai launch event in Odaiba, Tokyo (November 18, 2014) It will be sold in Japan at ¥ 7.24 © Toyota (Toyota Europe Newsroom) million (approx. CHF 51,000). technology: the thermoplastic car- In a crash test at 150km/h on No- Toyota / Toray technology bon-fiber reinforced plastic vember 7, hydrogen tank has re- (CFRP). CFRP is a stack frame mained intact. Mirai hydrogen-powered car will that protects fuel cell. It is made use a Toyota/Toray co-developed up of carbon fibers in polyamide.

Agenda ✓ 11 th Dec.: Japan’s world of innovation, technology and culture Organized by the Canton of Vaud and the DEV (Economic Development of Vaud), in collaboration with the 日程 Embassy of Japan in Switzerland and the Consulate of Japan in Geneva. AGENDA 12:30—17:00, IMD, Lausanne Registration and further information are available on our Website.

✓ 12 th Feb.: Japan — healthcare and medical devices market 1.15 pm—7.15 pm, Bern, Hotel Schweizerhof, Bahnofplatz 11

JETRO is a government-related organization that works to promote mutual trade and investment between Japan and the rest of the world. Originally established in 1958 to promote Japanese exports abroad, JETRO’s core focus in the 21st century has shifted toward promoting foreign direct investment into Japan and helping small to medium size Japanese firms maximize their global export potential.

JETRO Geneva The JETRO Switzerland Newsletter can also be viewed and/or downloaded online: 80, Rue de Lausanne http://www.jetro.go.jp/switzerland/newsletter 1202 Geneva Phone: 022/732 13 04 Fax: 022/732 07 72 E-mail: [email protected]

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