A Record 10% of Japanese Manufacturers Plan to Cut Production Abroad, Survey Shows

Workers assemble electric vehicle battery packs on May 19 on a Mitsubishi Motors production line in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. Photo: VCG

(Nikkei Asia) — About one in 10 Japanese companies plan to scale back production overseas over the next five years, a government survey shows, amid a growing focus on supply chain risks and readiness for a global economic slowdown.

Roughly 11% of companies in the Cabinet Office’s annual survey for fiscal 2022 expect to reduce their share of production handled outside Japan, the highest reading since the survey began in fiscal 1987 and a jump of 7 percentage points from a decade earlier. The percentage looking to expand has dropped off drastically over that period, falling 23 points to 37%.