PRESS RELEASE
4 December 2006

New Leadership – Renewed Reform:
The EBC Report on the Japanese Business Environment 2006
December 4, 2006 – The European Business Council in Japan (EBC) has issued its latest Report onthe Japanese Business Environment, urging the Japanese Government to meet the challenge of“New Leadership – Renewed Reform”.
The Report, which is being presented to key Government Ministers, applauds former Prime
Minister Koizumi for building political understanding within Japan for the need to reform; forrevitalising the financial services industry by tackling the problem of bad debts and non-performingbank loans; and for stimulating restructuring in the construction industry. However, it argues thatthe changes achieved during the Koizumi Administration fall far short of what is necessary forJapan to maintain its place in the global economy long-term. Many changes served, at best, to patch
over immediate problems, with some even inadvertently creating new obstacles for business. Moreambitious programmes were left incomplete, frustrated by slow decision-making, inadequate
coordination between Ministries and mounting bureaucracy. The EBC Report highlights the damagethis has caused to Japan’s ability to attract new investment and calls on Prime Minister Abe to leada new drive to address the underlying challenges facing the economy and make Japan more
attractive for business investment.
EBC Chairman, Richard Collasse, stresses that “Prime Minister Koizumi achieved much in setting
Japan back on the path to economic growth but, frankly, in the end it was not enough to prevent
FDI flows into Japan slumping last year to their lowest level since 1996. Prime Minister Abe haspromised to continue the reform agenda. We are appealing to him to galvanise his Government togo beyond the sticking-plaster approach that so often characterised changes in the past and to put
in place instead a strategy for establishing a far more attractive, vibrant and sustainable economy.”
The EBC Report consists of 31 chapters written by expert committees, covering a wide range ofsectors and business areas. Each chapter contains an assessment of the progress that was madeduring the period of the Koizumi Government 2001-2006 and recommendations addressed to thenew Administration under Prime Minister Abe. Its contents have been extensively shared with theDelegation of the European Commission to Japan as a key input to the EU-Japan Regulatory
Reform Dialogue.
About the EBC:The European Business Council (EBC) is the trade policy arm of the 17 European national chambers of commerceand business associations in Japan. Established in 1972, the EBC works to improve the trade and investment
environment for European companies in Japan. The EBC currently represents more than 3,000 local European
companies and individuals who are members of their national chambers of commerce. 350 of these companies
participate directly in the EBC’s 29 sector-based committees.
For more information, please contact:
Mr. Jakob Edberg, EBC Policy Director
Tel: +81-3-3263-6222 E-mail: ebc@gol.com__________________________________________________________________________________
European Business Council in Japan
Sanbancho POULA Bldg. 2 Fl.
6-7 Sanbancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0075, Japan
Tel: 03-3263-6222 Fax: 03-3263-6223; E-mail: ebc@gol.com; Web: http://www.ebc-jp.com