60%日本公司在中國業務恢復到釣魚台爭議前水平

Last month the Mainichi News on-line reported the following:

中国事業:「回復」６割…尖閣国有化１年

毎日新聞　2013年09月11日　22時26分（最終更新　09月11日　23時31分）

　日本政府による沖縄県・尖閣諸島の国有化を巡り、昨年９月に中国で大規模な反日デモが発生して１年たつが、日中関係悪化の影響を受けた企業の約６割で中国事業の業績が回復傾向にあることが、毎日新聞が行った企業アンケートで分かった。最悪期は脱した模様だが、関係悪化前の水準を取り戻しているとは言えず、反日感情の再燃を警戒する企業も多い。

　アンケートは主要１１６社を対象に、８月下旬から９月上旬にかけて実施。中国事業を展開していない（４社）か、反日暴動の影響を受けなかった企業（３９社）を除く７３社のうち、６１．６％に相当する４５社は「減収などの悪影響があったが、回復傾向にある」と答えた。

　例えば、販売店の襲撃や不買などで販売が大きく落ち込んだ自動車は「昨年並みに回復」（日産自動車）などとし、小売りも「昨年９月の売り上げは計画より２割程度減となったが、その後は回復した」（ファーストリテイリング）と回答するなど、改善傾向がうかがえた。

　しかし、ホンダやトヨタ自動車の８月の中国販売は、日中関係悪化前の前年同月に届いていない。４社（５．４％）が「減収などの悪影響が続いている」と答えるなど、本格回復にはほど遠い状況だ。

　今後の対中投資については、「現状維持」が７８社（回答企業全体の７４．２％）、「増やす」が１６社（同１５．２％）で、「減らす」の２社（１．９％）を大きく上回った。日本企業の多くは、生産拠点や市場としての中国をなお重視している。ただ、中国事業のリスク（複数回答可）として、「景気減速」（７７社）や「人件費上昇」（５９社）などと並び、５１社が「対日感情の悪化」を挙げた。２２社は「中国以外のアジア・新興国へ拠点を移転・拡大する」と回答し、中国一辺倒のリスクを避けるため、事業拠点の分散を模索する動きが加速しそうだ。【立山清也】

(試譯文)

   Although one year had passed since the large scale anti-Japan demonstration occurred in September last year in China due to the nationalization of the Senkaku Islands at Okinawa by the Japanese government, in a questionnaire survey done by the Mainichi Newspaper, the company questionnaires turned out that the achievement of about 60 percent of the Japanese enterprises in China which were subject to the influence of Japan-China-relation aggravation were in a recovery tendency. Although they seemed to have escaped from the worst time, still many companies could not say that they had regained the level before the related aggravation, and were still watching out for the revival of anti-Japan sentiment.

   The questionnaire survey was carried out from the end of August to the beginning of September on 116 major companies except for the companies which their China business was not developed (four companies), or was not subject to the influence of an anti-Japanese riot (39 companies). Among the 73 companies, 45 of them, an equivalent of 61.6%, answered that "although there were bad influences, such as decrease in income, it is in a recovery tendency".

   For example, the car company which had its sales fell greatly due to the attack, or the boycott etc. presupposed that it was "recovering to about the same level as last year" (Nissan Motor), also in retailing it was answered that "although the sales in September last year became a decrease about twenty percent compared to the planned estimate, it recovered after that " (Fast Retailing) and an improvement tendency was mentioned.

   However, the China sales in August for Honda and Toyota Motor had not reached the corresponding month of last year before Japan-China-relations aggravation occurred. Four companies (5.4%) answered that "bad influences, such as decrease in income, continue" etc. and were in a situation far from a full-blown recovery

   About their future investment, "to maintain the status quo" was 78 companies (74.2% of all the replying companies), "to increase" was 16 companies (said 15.2%), by far exceeding just two companies (1.9%) "to decrease". Many of the Japanese companies were thinking China as an important production base or market. However, about the risks (multiple answers allowed) in their China enterprise, they were "an economic slowdown" (77 companies), "a rise in personnel-expenses" (59 companies) etc., and 51 companies mentioned "the aggravation of sentiment towards Japan". Twenty-two companies answered that they would "relocate and expand the base to Asia and to newly emerging countries other than China", and the movement to diversify the distribution of business locations was likely to accelerate in order to avoid the risk of solely depending on China.

It seems that the some Japanese companies are trying to diversify its investment in China.