Envoy sees better prospects for Japan

THE new Japanese Ambassador said he was  optimistic about  Japan’s economic recovery  as operations of different companies affected by the tsunami are getting back to normal.

Ambassador Toshinao Urabe, who was posted here in May,  said  Japan expects at least 90 percent of  the supply chain, especially with semiconductors companies operating in Cebu,  to be back on track by summer (June to September).

“We did not expect that kind of eventuality ,” he said referring to  the  devastating tsunami in March.

“It affected 500 square meters of our coastal area but we have been recovering in fact a bit faster than we were expected to. The main roads have been rebuilt already and we expect our trains to be back within a month,” Urabe said during a press conference in Cebu last week.

Urabe said that he already talked with some Japanese companies here and was told that operations have started to get back to normal.

As the new Ambassador, Urabe said that his task is to strengthen the relationship between Japan and the Philippines through trade and investment relationships and  other joint endeavors.

“With regards to JPEPA (Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement), there is a huge demand for nurses and medical practitioners in Japan because we have an aging population. The language, however, is an issue. We are negotiating with DOLE  (Department of Labor and Employment) to come up with an acceptable format for Filipinos to learn the language and get to work in Japan,” Urabe said.

He cited the Japan’s need of about 10,000 workers, which would include skilled manpower for manufacturing and farming aside from medical professionals.

Urabe said that many Japanese investors were also seeing more investment opportunities in the country, including Cebu, for  manufacturing of optical lenses, medical equipment, ship building and more.

“There are many opportunities here but you can gain more advantage if you improve the business environment and encourage transparency, solidarity and predictability especially when it comes to policies for investors,” Urabe said.

He said Japan would be facing another challenge this summer  with their nuclear plants.

He  said that government measures to lessen the impact of the power problem on  industries were in place.

“Thirty percent of our power source is from nuclear power,” he said.

Out of  54 nuclear power plants in Japan, 11 were affected by the tsunami and 15 are currently shut down.

“We are, however, putting measures in place like urging people to save on energy and make some adjustments in operations like working at night and longer summer holidays,” he said.

While Japan’s  power situation is  challenging now, Urabe said that they see it more as an opportunity as well for their industries to develop more energy-efficient products.

He said Japan expects a demand for this kind of products in the future not only for Japan but worldwide.