Doing Business in Japan 2012 the EEPC INDIA ‘DOING BUSINESS’ SERIES
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Doing Business in Japan 2012 THE EEPC INDIA ‘DOING BUSINESS’ SERIES THE EEPC INDIA ‘DOING BUSINESS’ SERIES Doing Business in Japan 2012 A leap of faith to bring countries together Where love is deep, much will be accomplished. – Shinichi Suzuki ENTURING into a country which is technologically far superior Vis a leap of faith in the best of circumstances. Trade Promotion organizations should, however, encourage such daring. EEPC India, which is one such trade and investment promotion organization dedicated to the engineering sector, does. Under the “India Show” umbrella of the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, EEPC India has been instrumental in taking a large contingent of Indian engineering companies to Turkey in February 2011 and to Canada in October 2011. A view of Tokyo Doing Business in Japan 2012 The avowed objective was not only to promote Brand India which began in 1958. Japanese companies, such as Sony, in the engineering sector but also to encourage bilateral trade Toyota, and Honda, have manufacturing facilities in India, and and investments since intra-industry is today the bedrock of with the growth of the Indian economy, India is a big market for 6 globalization that leads to mutual welfare gains among nations. Japanese firms. Japanese firms were, in fact, some of the first Continuing with this unique method of joining nations firms to invest in India. The most prominent Japanese company together, EEPC India, which is a Trade and Investment to have an investment in India is automobiles giant Suzuki, Promotion organization under the Indian Ministry of Commerce which is in partnership with Indian automobiles company Maruti & Industry, will be participating with its member companies Suzuki, the largest car manufacturer in India and a subsidiary of at the M-Tech 2012 show in Tokyo, Japan between 20 the Japanese company. and 22 June 2012. M-Tech is an engineering trade show In December 2006, Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan that encompasses Fluid Power, Motion Technology, Tools, Singh’s visit to Japan culminated in the signing of the “Joint Fasteners, Mechanical parts, Testing & Measuring equipments, Statement towards Japan-India Strategic and Global Partnership” etc. This participation, is, once again, under the India Show and which gave a further fillip to economic co-operation between banner and is a major move by India’s engineering industry to the two countries. The Comprehensive Economic Partnership develop synergies with its counterparts in Japan. Agreement signed in 2011 has given a fresh thrust to economic When entrepreneurs and corporates draw up business plans integration and the India Show at M-Tech 2012 in June this year to move into newer markets and try to get underway, the first will be a major initiative to activate the CEPA in a substantive hurdles they face, among others, is the lack of adequate and manner. The India Show at M-Tech 2012 will focus on certain reliable information with regard to aspects concerning business thrust products, where India has the potential to make a practices, trade agreements between the two countries or breakthrough in a comprehensive manner. regions, laws and regulations, quality standards, social customs, Doing Business with Japan is a mine of information for India’s business ethics and etiquettes, patterns of trade and investment business and industry. We hope this publication, prepared after flows, relevant points of trade and business contacts, language extensive research will give the adequate confidence level for barriers, or even seemingly mundane information like hotels and our companies to join EEPC India at M-Tech 2012 given the restaurants, to name just a few. tremendous prospects it has for Indian companies. Doing Business with Japan is therefore, an attempt to provide such multifaceted information in a cogent fashion in a single publication for those entrepreneurs, corporates or visitors to Japan wishing to join EEPC India at M-Tech 2012. Japan has been a dedicated friend of India. Throughout history, India-Japan relations have been strong. For centuries, AMAN CHADHA India and Japan have engaged in cultural exchanges, primarily as Chairman, EEPC India a result of Buddhism which spread indirectly from India to China and then to Japan. Since India’s independence, it has also been the largest recipient of Official Development Assistance (ODA) (Right) A sensoji gate in Tokyo Contents A brief profile of Japan 10 Japanese visa regulations 12 Do’s and don’ts of doing business with Japan 14 India and Japan 16 The India-Japan CEPA 24 Useful contacts 28 Some useful information 32 Doing Business in Japan 2012 A brief profile of Japan 10 Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands. The four largest islands are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, together accounting for ninety-seven percent of Japan’s land area. Japan has the world’s tenth-largest population, with over 127 million people. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents. Official Name: Japan Capital: Tokyo Area: 377,915 sq km Major cities: Tokyo, Osaka-Kobe, Nagoya, Fukuoka-Kitaky- ushu, Sapporo Head of State and key figures Emperor: Akihito Prime Minister: Yoshihiko Noda Deputy Prime Minister: Katsuya Okada Minister of Economy, Trade, & Industry: Yukio Edano Minister of Finance: Jun Azumi Minister of Foreign Affairs: Koichiro Gemba Major universities • University of Tokyo • Kyoto University APAN is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific • Osaka University JOcean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North • Tokyo Institute of Technology Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of • Tohoku University Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the • Keio University south. The characters that make up Japan’s name mean “sun- • Kyushu University origin”, which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the • Nagoya University “Land of the Rising Sun”. • Hokkaido University Doing Business in Japan 2012 • Tsukuba University Business information • Kobe University Climate Varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north Key demographic indicators Office hours & timings Monday-Friday, 09:00 am to 05:00 pm Population 126,475,664 (July 2011 est.) India’s time difference Japan is 3 ½ hours ahead of India Country comparison to the world: 10 with the country Age structure 0-14 years: 13.1% (male 8,521,571/female 8,076,173) 15-64 years: 64% (male 40,815,840/female 40,128,235) Public holidays in Japan 65 years and over: 22.9% (male 12,275,829/female January 1 New Year's Day 16,658,016) (2011 est.) January 9 Coming of Age Day Median age 44.8 years (2011 est.) (total) February 11 National Foundation Day March 20 Vernal Equinox Population -0.278% (2011 est.) growth rate April 29 Showa Day Literacy 99% May 3 Constitution Memorial Day Language Japanese May 4 Greenery Day May 5 Children's Day Key economic indicators July 16 Marine Day Inflation rate 0.4% (2011 est.) September 20 Respect for the Aged Day GDP (Official $5.855 trillion (2011 est.) September 23 Autumnal Equinox Exchange October 8 Sports Day rate) November 3 Culture Day GDP (per $34,300 (2011 est.) November 23 Labour Thanksgiving Day capita-PPP) December 23 Birthday of the Emperor Exports $800.8 billion (2011 est.) Export transport equipment, motor vehicles, semiconductors, commodities electrical machinery, chemicals Air connectivity to Japan Delhi – Tokyo – Delhi Air India, Japan Airlines Imports $794.7 billion (2011 est.) Mumbai – Tokyo – All Nippon Airways Import machinery and equipment, fuels, foodstuffs, chemicals, Mumbai commodities textiles, raw materials Bangalore – Tokyo – Thai Airways, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Exchange 79.67 (2011 est.) Bangalore Airlines rate (yen– 11 JPY–per US$) Kolkata – Tokyo – Thai Airways, Singapore Airlines Kolkata Ports & Chiba, Kawasaki, Kobe, Mizushima, Moji, Nagoya, Chennai – Tokyo – Thai Airways, Cathay Pacific, Singapore terminals Osaka, Tokyo, Tomakomai, Yokohama Chennai Airlines Doing Business in Japan 2012 Japanese visa regulations 12 The new Tokyo international airport Short-term visa 1. Application with photo; 2. Passport; 3. Travel booking (travel (A stay of up to 90 days for tourism, business, attending confer- itinerary and hotel booking); 4. Document to prove ability to ence, visiting friends, etc, that does not include paid activities.) pay for travel expenses – (a) Latest Income Tax return; (b) Bank statements of the last six months (1) Tourist visa: required documents Self-arranged visit (2) Visiting friends/acquaintance: Required documents Doing Business in Japan 2012 1. Application with photo; 2. Passport; 3. Travel booking (travel (b) When an individual is extending an invitation, submit the itinerary and hotel booking); 4. Document to prove ability to Certificate of Employment in lieu of a copy of the incorporation pay for travel expenses – (a) Latest Income Tax return; (b) Bank register or an overview of the company/organization. statements of the last six months Documents to be provided from Japan Visa fees 1. Letter of reason for invitation in original; 2. List of visa appli- Single or multiple entry visa: Rs430 cants; 3. When the gurantor is to shoulder the above mentioned Transit visa: Rs40 travel expenses – (a) Letter of guarantee; (b) Any one of the (Payable at the time of collection of passport in cash) following document: (*) Certificate of Income, or (*) Certificate