Is Japan the least attractive country?

A college student communicating with her friends via LINE while commuting to school; a businessperson looking at an iPhone at Starbucks; a couple looking for a wedding ring at Tiffany; a mom shopping at SEIYU... Even though we have less occasions to go out these days due to the spread of the new coronavirus, these are scenes that we have seen before. What they have in common is that all these service providers are foreign-owned firms. Indeed, it is now common to see the services provided by foreign-owned firms in daily life.

According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), in 2019, the stock of inward foreign direct investment (FDI) relative to GDP in Japan was 4.4%, the lowest among 201 countries in the world ranking (UNCTAD, 2020). Inward FDI stock means the stock of the investment by foreign-owned firms. This lowest ratio means that the presence of foreign-owned firms in Japan is the lowest in the world. This suggests that Japan is the most closed and/or the least attractive country in the world for foreign-owned firms, controlling for the size of the economy. Of course, a higher ratio does not necessarily mean a better economy. Also, it can be said that Japanese firms are able to provide sufficient volume and quality of products and services and reasonable prices. Nevertheless, the lowest rank sounds unusual for an advanced country like Japan. Note that the 200th place is North Korea. This is a surprising result.

To read the full text
https://www.rieti.go.jp/en/columns/s21_0008.html

"Overview of the new EBPM program in RIETI's Fifth Medium-Term Plan Policy Evaluation Program: Evidence-Based Policy Making"
by KAWAGUCHI Daiji (Faculty Fellow, RIETI)
https://www.rieti.go.jp/en/special/policy-update/091.html

"Commuting zones in Japan"
by ADACHI Daisuke (Visiting Scholar, RIETI) / FUKAI Taiyo (Project Researcher, Department of Economics, University of Tokyo) / KAWAGUCHI Daiji (Faculty Fellow, RIETI) / SAITO Yukiko (Senior Fellow (Specially Appointed), RIETI)
https://www.rieti.go.jp/en/columns/v01_0152.html

"Resolving ESG Challenges Unique to Japan
—Proposal for a "Trinity" Model of Management"
by NAKAGAMI Yasunori (Consulting Fellow, RIETI)
https://www.rieti.go.jp/en/columns/s21_0001.html

"Ｈow Will Covid-19 Reshape Cities in Japan?"
by KONDO Keisuke (Senior Fellow, RIETI)
https://www.rieti.go.jp/en/papers/contribution/kondo-keisuke/01.html

"New Year Special Column: Predicting the Japanese Economy in 2021 Third Wave of COVID-19 and the Prospects for the Japanese Economy"
by OGURO Kazumasa (Consulting fellow, RIETI)
https://www.rieti.go.jp/en/columns/a01_0623.html

"Getting America back in the Game: A Multilateral Perspective"
by WATANABE Tetsuya (Vice President, RIETI)
https://www.rieti.go.jp/en/special/policy-update/090.html

"Don't Forget Lessons of the ‘Great Inflation’ Decade"
by Willem THORBECKE (Senior Fellow, RIETI)
https://www.rieti.go.jp/en/papers/contribution/willem-thorbecke/14.html

"Help Americans to quit jobs in zombie companies"
by Willem THORBECKE (Senior Fellow, RIETI)
https://www.rieti.go.jp/en/papers/contribution/willem-thorbecke/13.html

"Will the Arrival of a Biden Administration Lead to a Better U.S.-China Relationship?
—Toward Cooperative Rivalry"
by Chi Hung KWAN (Consulting Fellow, RIETI)
https://www.rieti.go.jp/en/china/20121001.html

""Dual Circulation" as China's New Development Strategy
—Toward a Virtuous Cycle between Domestic and International Circulations"
by Chi Hung KWAN (Consulting Fellow, RIETI)
https://www.rieti.go.jp/en/china/20101301.html

"Changing Relationship between a Company and an Individual due to the Crisis"
by OWAN Hideo (Faculty Fellow, RIETI)
https://www.rieti.go.jp/en/papers/contribution/owan/03.html