Switzerland Newsletter N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 5 Japan External Trade Organization

IS S U E 79 Switzerland Newsletter N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 5 Japan External Trade Organization

Inside this 会見 issue INTERVIEW u-blox has 1 opened a sec- + u-blox has opened a second office in Japan ond office in 2 Japan Headquartered in Thalwil strong despite the high value of (Canton Zurich) and founded in the Swiss Franc compared to the Japan’s cur- 2 1997, u-blox is a supplier of wire- Euro. rent economic situation less and positioning semiconduc- tors and modules. u-blox entered Opening an office in Tokyo Japan to devel- 3 op a standard the Japanese market in 2002 and on now has offices in Tokyo and u-blox started to operate busi- “Omotenashi” Osaka. ness in Japan in 2002. “Initially JETRO’s sur- 3 Thomas Seiler, u-blox CEO, grad- we needed to prove to the indus- vey on Trans- uated from the Swiss Federal In- trial community that we are a Pacific Part- stitutes of Technology in Zurich competent supplier and that our nership (ETHZ) and in Lausanne (EPFL) products are leading technology – List of Japa- 3 in the field of mechanical engi- we had no reference at all. We nese restaurants available neering. He completed his MBA Thomas Seiler, CEO, u-blox used academic people to build on Internet at INSEAD (France). our reputation. They found our MRJ first 4 “I served three technology compa- nectivity, which uses Wi-Fi and products interesting, and they flight test nies before joining u-blox; for all Bluetooth to connect devices. It recommended them to their col- of them, Japan is a major market. supplies its products to custom- leagues in the industry,” ex- For over 20 years I have been vis- ers in the automotive, mobile plained Mr. Seiler. iting Japan several times per year. device and infrastructure indus- After building its reputation, u- I have a good appreciation for tries. Employing a total of 675 blox opened a sales office in To- Japan and its culture, which is a people, u-blox has a global pres- kyo in 2007, where it now em- very rich one,” Thomas Seiler said. ence with offices in 23 locations ploys 10 staff. in Europe, Asia and the USA. When asking about the reasons u-blox global business u-blox revenues amounted to for opening an office in Japan, CHF 161.9 million in the first Thomas Seiler explained: “We u-blox is involved in three mar- half of 2015, showing a growth saw the business potentials of the kets: (1) cellular connectivity, of 33.1% compared to the same Japanese market. We also wanted which provides communication period in the preceding year. to learn from Japanese technology via mobile phone networks; (2) Furthermore, its net profit in- developments”. positioning connectivity, which is creased by 3.9% to CHF 15.0 based on information provided by million in the first half of 2015. Continued on page two satellites; and (3) short range con- The financial results remain

Page 2 JETRO Switzerland Newsletter

u-blox has opened a second office in Japan 会見 Continued from page one are now expanding our business in ager of u-blox Japan said: “Since the Japan with the opening of an office foundation of u-blox Japan eight INTERVIEW Expanding from Osaka in Osaka,” Mr. Seiler said. years ago, we have supported the Osaka’s office, with initially two Southern-Central region from To- “u-blox business in Asia is growing employees, provides sales and tech- kyo, including Osaka. With the strongly, now accounting for about nical support. continued expansion of the busi- 50% of our sales. And Japan is our When this office opened on June 1, ness in the Kansai region, we want number two market in Asia. We 2015, Tesshu Naka, Country Man- to move closer to our customers”.

Japan’s current economic situation 動向 According to the Bank of Japan, “Japan's economy has continued to

SITUATION recover moderately, although exports and production have been affected by the slowdown in emerging economies” (November issue). Japan’s GDP shrank at an annualized pace of 0.8% in the third quarter of 2015 (July- September). Since the GDP declined 0.7% in the second quarter, it marks a fall of Japan into reces- Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications sion. in Asia, but up 4.7% in Western from 3.4% in September to 3.1%. Japan’s exports slightly declined Europe and 5.9% in North America. Japan records lowest unemploy- 2.2% in October from the previous On the domestic market, unem- ment rate since July 1995. year to ¥ 6,542 billion, down 3.6% ployment rate declined sharply

Japan to develop a standard on “Omotenashi” 政策 When looking in a dictionary, you and Industry has announced that it order to increase its potentials un- will see that the Japanese word will establish a Study Group on the der the Abenomics, it appears es- POLICY “Omotenashi” is quite difficult to Omotenashi Standard Certification sential to improve both productivi- translate into other languages: it (provisional name). Its objective ty and profitability in the service means hospitality, treatment, re- will be to elaborate a system for industry. Omotenashi will contrib- ception, service. Its complexity is appropriately assess high quality ute to provide a compensation that due to the fact that it also refers to services with the aim of raising correspond to the quality of a ser- a unique Japanese notion based on standards in Japan’s service indus- vice that is not necessarily been a highly demanding conception of try as a whole. paid, by evaluating appropriately the service. The service industry accounts for the quality of the service. The Ministry of Economy, Trade three fourths of Japan’s GDP. In

Issue 79 Page 3

JETRO’s survey on Trans-Pacific Partnership From September 11, 2015 through 2014) and 76% of Japanese compa- More than 40% of respondents 分析 October 16, 2015 JETRO conducted nies operating in Canada (against were considering utilization of the a survey on Japanese-affiliated 74.4% in 2014) expect their busi- TPP, upon conclusion, both in im- ANALYSIS firms in the US and in Canada. nesses to mark a profit. ports and exports with Japan 639 valid replies were received (45.3% for import and 42.9% for from firms in the US (a 56.2% re- High expectations for Trans- export). Regarding imports from sponse rate) out of 1,137 to whom Pacific Partnership Vietnam and Malaysia, the rate at we sent questionnaires, while 130 which firms consider utilization of replies were received for the Cana- Utilization rates of many FTAs the TPP exceeded 50%. da survey (a 62.5% response rate) have risen compared to those of the Regarding concrete effects of the out of 208. previous year. The rates are particu- TPP, a large number of respondents larly high in trade with Canada and showed their expectations that the 81.4% to expect profit in 2015 Mexico. The FTA with Korea TPP will facilitate customs and (KORUS) was also frequently uti- trade of goods as well as market In 2015, 81.4% of respondents oper- lized both in import (52.9%) and access for goods. ating in the US (against 82.3% in export (34.5%).

List of Japanese restaurants available on Internet • Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, explanations of typical Japa- Please visit Taste of Japan’s Web- 活動 Forestry and Fisheries of Japan nese food like rice or site at: http://www.tasteofjapan.jp/ (MAFF) has created a Website "wagyu" (Japanese beef). ACTIVITY "Taste of Japan" to supply various information about Japanese cuisine. The website aims to bring closer to the audience the Japanese cuisine. It includes — among others — • Information on Japanese restaurants in different countries ; with respect to Switzerland, a visitor can search by Canton, type of restaurant or category of Japanese cuisine (Traditional, Sushi, Ramen…); • Easy recipes for Japanese meals, such as shabu shabu, miso soup and Japanese-style beef; © Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Issue 79 Page 4

MRJ first flight test 革新 The first flight test of the MRJ on November 11, 2015 marks the re- INNOVATION turn of Japan in the aviation industry. The last previous passenger plane built in Japan was the NAMC YS-11 in 1965.

Test flight on November 11

The MRJ has been developed by the Mitsubishi Aircraft Corpora- tion and built by the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. It took off from Nagoya airfield and flew over the Pacific coast for one © Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation (with permission) hour and a half. “The MRJ successfully took to sky Energy-efficiency and cabin seat width of 0.47 m and a cabin today thanks to ongoing coopera- comfort height of 2.03 m. It provides only tion and support from all members aisle and window seats— no mid- involved”, said Hiromichi Morimo- The MRJ is a 88-seats jet intended dle seats. to, President, Mitsubishi Aircraft for short or middle range routes. A total of 223 orders with an addi- Corporation. Based on an optimized aircraft tional 184 options and purchase “Operational performance of the shape by a sophisticated aerody- rights have been made so far, main- MRJ was far better than expected. namic design and Geared Turbo- ly by US regional airlines. We had a significantly comfortable fan TM engine technology, it uses Several additional flight tests will flight,” said Pilot Yasumura. 20% less fuel than comparable be conducted, with a scheduled commercial jets. delivery in the second quarter of It produces spacious cabins with a 2017.

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]