Japan's electronics sector in race against time

i think they still have an outstanding advantage in terms of technology especially home appliances. the problem is that given current world economy, people tend to choose cheaper rather than technologically advanced.

They're all about to go bankrupt.

Hey, America had an electronic mega companies before too...where did they go? Japan wiped them off the map. It all comes around.

Its already too late.

Hey, America had an electronic mega companies before too...where did they go? Japan wiped them off the map. It all comes around.

You mean Apple?

not apple. RCA, zenith, etc

If most of these Japanese electronics are already made outside Japan with lower labor costs, isn't it possible to sell them at a lower price to be more competitive in the global market? I doubt the yen will get considerably weaker anytime soon.

in the past it was walk over for the Japanese companies but now they have to face china Russia India Brazil and some other countries the most worse thing for the Japanese companies and the Japanese people is that politicians and bureaucrats refuse to bring any changes they do not want to accept young and cheaper talented people from abroad instead they are dragging old people and housewives to the work field and they want competition with the rest of the world

Japan's problem is the value of the YEN. South Korea is cleaning their clock because of the inflated value. It's being propped up by hedge funds and other opportunistic players in the FX markets that have found various creative ways to profit off keeping the YEN high. I also wouldn't be surprised if opportunistic players pick up some choice Japanese companies on the cheap when this is all said and done. Japan has often been seen as a very insular market that shuns western companies that want to play merger and acquisition games. The forthcoming bankruptcies may force the hands of Japanese business.

“Japanese electronics makers had managed to get by through relying heavily on the domestic market so it’s no wonder they’ve reached an impasse in line with that declining market,” said Mitsushige Akino, an analyst at Ichiyoshi Investment Management in Tokyo.

“Before, they succeeded in selling things in developed nations by merely copying what they sold at home—and they didn’t take developing economies very seriously at first,” he added.

Bingo. The Japan Inc model, relying on a protected home market and thus creating a world-renowned Galapagos Effect, is coming home to roost. Leaders of supposedly multi-national companies have for decades been chosen for how well they contribute to the all-important Wa, and how well they make-nice with the dozens of other directors, partners and suppliers in Japan, rather than based on accomplishments, especially overseas. Sorry, IMO, the horse has left the barn for the Japanese electronics firms, and they are heading for a slow and agonizing death that is going to simply waste a lot of government and financial resources trying to keep them afloat.

The main problem is that production costs are too high in Japan and most of the big Japanese electronics makers have far too much production in Japan to be globally competitive.

First - Japan needs to lower the cost of production or go outsource crazy. Either get the yen under control, turn back on the nuclear power plants and get energy costs down, or straight up move the factories to Indonesia.

There are also a lot of secondary problems. One major problem I feel major Japanese companies have is a lack of strategic focus. Some of the companies are just trying to be too big. Let's take Toshiba for example. They make everything from laptops to nuclear reactors.

I think Yamaha is another company that does the same thing. Makes ATV's guitars, drums, and a ton of other stuff. Most of the stuff is pretty nice but seriously how long can you really compete being a jack of all trades?

Like others have said I believe that the Japanese business culture is to blame the most. They don't want to get with the times. The hierarchy garbage, everything team based, long hours of "working" but not producing anything of value.

These tech companies have been followers for years.

Isn't it strange that Japan has no OS's?