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The proportion of added value produced in Japan's manufacturing sector to its nominal GDP has still been around 20 percent recently, the sector has a large ripple effect on other sectors.
Hit by the worldwide recession that was triggered by a financial crisis in the U.S.A., Japan's manufacturing sector has remained in an extremely challenging environment since late 2008, but signs of recovery were seen in their business from around April 2009. However, Japan suffered enormous impacts again from the Great East Japan Earthquake, which occurred in 2011. Although the country is steadily moving toward reconstruction, the situation is still highly uncertain because of the global economic slowdown and the continued strength of the yen.
In 2010, there were 224,403 establishments (with four or more persons engaged) and a total of 7.66 million persons engaged in the manufacturing sector. These establishments shipped 289.1 trillion yen worth of manufactured products, with added value amounting to 90.7 trillion yen.
Based on the Indices on Mining and Manufacturing (2005 average = 100), the production index for 2011 was 92.2, down 2.3 percent from the previous year, while shipments stood at 92.4, a decrease of 3.5 percent from the year before.
This section describes the selected four industries in the manufacturing sector in terms of shipment value. In each industry, (a) is described by the Census of Manufacturers (with four or more persons engaged), and (b) is described by the Indices on Mining and Manufacturing (2005 average = 100).
(A) Transport Equipment Industry
(a) In 2010, a total of 11,110 establishments employed 948,824 persons, and shipped 54.2 trillion yen worth of products.
(b) In 2011, production and shipments decreased year-on-year by 9.7 percent and 9.9 percent, respectively. As a result, both production and shipments recorded their first decrease in two years. This was due to the decline in the production and shipments of passenger cars, motor vehicle parts, etc.
(B) Production Machinery Industry
(a) In 2010, a total of 20,118 establishments employed 543,070 persons, and shipped 13.6 trillion yen worth of products.
(b) In 2011, production and shipments increased year-on-year by 15.0 percent and 14.3 percent, respectively. As a result, both production and shipments recorded their second consecutive year of increase.
(C) Electrical Machinery, Equipment and Supplies Industry
(a) In 2010, a total of 9,673 establishments employed 483,979 persons, and shipped 15.1 trillion yen worth of products.
(b) In 2011, production increased by 0.5 percent and shipments decreased by 0.9 percent compared to the previous year. As a result, production increased for the second consecutive year and shipments recorded the first decrease in two years. Increase in the production of electrical measuring instruments resulted in the total production increase in the industry. Decrease in the total shipments was caused by the decrease in wiring devices and luminaries.
(D) Electronic Parts and Devices Industry
(a) In 2010, a total of 4,907 establishments employed 452,731 persons, and shipped 16.6 trillion yen worth of products.
(b) In 2011, production and shipments decreased by 9.4 percent and 6.6 percent, respectively, from the previous year. As a result, both production and shipments recorded their first decrease in two years.
(E) Information and Communication Electronics Equipment Industry
(a) In 2010, a total of 1,984 establishments employed 212,466 persons, and shipped 12.6 trillion yen worth of products.
(b) In 2011, production and shipments decreased by 22.5 percent and 16.7 percent, respectively, from the previous year. As a result, both production and shipments recorded their first decrease in two years.
(a) In 2010, the total number of establishments (figures in brackets indicate the numbers excluding those associated with medical and pharmaceutical products) is 4,742 (3,920) employed 344,968 (248,824) persons, and shipped 26.2 (18.9) trillion yen worth of products.
(b) In 2011, production and shipments increased by 3.4 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively, from the previous year. As a result, both production and shipments recorded their second consecutive year of increase. In 2011, production and shipments in the chemical industry (excluding medical and pharmaceutical products) decreased by 3.7 percent and 5.1 percent, respectively, from the previous year. As a result, both production and shipments recorded their first decrease in two years. This was attributable to the decline in the production and shipments of plastic, cyclic chemicals and synthetic dyes, etc.
(a) In 2010, a total of 4,486 establishments employed 219,983 persons, and shipped 18.1 trillion yen worth of products.
(b) In 2011, production and shipments decreased by 2.9 and by 1.5 percent compared to the previous year. As a result, both production and shipments recorded their first decrease in two years. This was attributable to the decline in the production and shipments of cold finished steel, metallic coated steel, etc.
(a) In 2010, a total of 28,974 establishments employed 578,559 persons, and shipped 12.3 trillion yen worth of products.
(b) In 2011, production decreased by 1.9 percent and shipments by 2.9 percent compared to the previous year. As a result, both production and shipments recorded their first decrease in two years. This was attributable to the decline in the production and shipments of metal products for building, other metal products, etc.
The construction industry, accounting for about 10 percent of both GDP and all employed persons, is one of the core industries in Japan. However, it faces a series of challenges, including rapidly shrinking construction investment and increasingly fierce price wars. The business environment surrounding the industry is now harsher than ever before. In fiscal 2011, the industry employed (excluding Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures) 4.74 million persons, and investment in construction stood at approximately 42.0 trillion yen.
Investment in construction in fiscal 2011 showed a year-on-year increase of 2.7 percent at current prices and a year-on-year increase of 2.0 percent at constant prices, for the reference year 2005. Construction investment in fiscal 2011 was down 50.0 percent compared to fiscal 1992, when it hit a peak of approximately 84.0 trillion yen.
A breakdown of construction investment shows that building construction totaled 23.1 trillion yen (up 4.5 percent from the previous fiscal year), while civil engineering works amounted to 18.9 trillion yen (up 0.6 percent).
In terms of public and private construction investment in fiscal 2011, public investment amounted to 16.9 trillion yen (up 0.2 percent from the previous fiscal year), while private investment totaled 25.1 trillion yen (up 4.5 percent). Public investment accounted for 40.3 percent of total construction investment, while private investment accounted for 59.7 percent.
The 2011 total floor space of building starts was 126.5 million square meters, up 4.2 percent from the previous year. In particular, the floor space of buildings for medical, healthcare and welfare use increased by 46.5 percent compared to the previous year, to 10.9 million square meters. Meanwhile, the number of housing construction starts (in the case of an apartment building, the number of apartment units was counted) fell in rental housing but increased in owned homes and built-for-sale housing, adding up to 0.83 million units. This was a 2.6-percent increase from the previous year, and increased for two fiscal years continuously.
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