While almost half of Japan's direct overseas investment goes to countries in North America, Japanese companies also invest heavily in countries in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and elsewhere. Many of these Japanese companies abroad have become part of their local communities, hiring employees from the town where they are located and getting involved in community affairs, environmental and cultural projects, and cooperation with local businesses. As of 1994, Japanese companies had a total of 1.95 million employees in their overseas branches. Foreign companies also invest a great deal of money in Japan. Japan relies on trade with the rest of the world to supply it with many kinds of food, clothing, manufactured and consuer goods and natural resources.
Highways are one of the most important links in the transportation system.
Japan has over 1.1 million kilometers of roads, and has almost three kilometers of road for every square kilometer of land, roughly twice as much as France or the United Kingdom and four and a half times as much of the United States. Railways in Japan are a very efficient means of transportation. Trains operate according to a tight schedule, and arrive exactly on time. The Shinkansen links some of Japan's major cities, from Hakata in Kyushu to Morioka in the northern part of Honshu. At top speed, this train can travel 270 kilometers per hour.