JAPAN’S RECESSION AND CORRUPTION EASE ENTRY INTO JAPAN

ECONOMIC RECESSION AND BRIBERY AND BID RIGGING SCANDALS IN JAPAN’S CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY HAVE MADE THE GOVERNMENT MORE WILLING TO OPEN UP CONSTRUCTION AND RELATED INDUSTRIES TO FOREIGN COMPANIES, SAID BRIAN BOWEN, PRESIDENT OF HANSCOMB ASSOCIATES, INC., AN INTERNATIONAL CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT FIRM, IN AN INTERVIEW WITH GLOBALFAX ON AUG. 6.

AN ECONOMIC DECLINE IN JAPAN HAS PUSHED THE GOVERNMENT TO BE MORE RECEPTIVE TO FOREIGN COMPANIES AND THE MONEY THAT THEY SPEND, AS IT REEVALUATES ITS TRADITIONAL ECONOMIC POLICY AND LOOKS FOR WAYS TO STIMULATE GROWTH, SAID MR. BOWEN.

THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT ALSO WANTS TO ENCOURAGE THE USE OF OUTSIDE COMPANIES, HE SAID, TO INCREASE COMPETITION AND “BREAK UP THE CARTELS THAT ARE RUNNING THE INDUSTRY.”

IN SOME INSTANCES, GROUPS OF COMPANIES BAND TOGETHER AND BY MONOPOLIZING THE MARKET, ARE ABLE TO CONTROL PRICES AND MARKET ACCESS, SAID MR. BOWEN.  THOSE CARTELS, HE ADDED, HAVE DRIVEN PRICES OF BASIC MATERIALS, SUCH AS GLASS, UP TO FOUR TIMES THAT OF THE SAME PRODUCT IN THE U.S., MAKING CONSTRUCTION MORE EXPENSIVE THAN IT SHOULD BE.

MR. BOWEN VISITED TOKYO LAST MONTH TO DISCUSS A DATABASE OF CONSTRUCTION COSTS, CONDITIONS AND PROCEDURES THAT HANSCOMB ASSOCIATES RECENTLY COMPLETED FOR THE JAPANESE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS TO USE IN RENOVATING AND CONSTRUCTING ITS DIPLOMATIC FACILITIES AROUND THE WORLD.  DURING HIS VISIT, HE ALSO MET WITH JAPANESE OFFICIALS TO TALK ABOUT REGULATIONS THAT THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT IS CONSIDERING FOR THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY.

THE 50-YEAR OLD COMPANY IS CURRENTLY WORKING ON PROJECTS FOR JAPAN’S MINISTRY OF CONSTRUCTION AND DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, ADDED MR. BOWEN.

MR. BOWEN CREDITS HANSCOMB’S TOKYO AFFILIATE, SATO FACILITIES CONSULTANTS, WITH SOME OF THE COMPANY’S SUCCESS IN JAPAN.  “IT’S A VERY DIFFICULT ENVIRONMENT TO WORK IN IF YOU’RE NOT JAPANESE,” HE SAID. BREAKING INTO JAPAN “REQUIRES A LOT OF PATIENCE, AND A GREAT RESPECT FOR THE CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND,” HE ADDED.

JAPANESE COMPANIES HAVE A SOMEWHAT LARGER SHARE OF THE U.S. CONSTRUCTION MARKET THAN VICE VERSA, HE SAID, PRIMARILY BECAUSE JAPANESE BUSINESSES MOVING TO THE U.S. GENERALLY USE JAPANESE CONTRACTORS AND SUPPLIERS TO CONSTRUCT THEIR FACILITIES.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL RACHEL RAMSEY AT (404) 874-3638; FAX (404) 874-1473.