A new semiconductor plant in Kumamoto Prefecture is revitalizing the region with jobs and investment, contrasting sharply with nearby towns still struggling economically.
After three decades of stagnation in Japan , one of the most visible signs of renewal can be found in a stretch of old cabbage fields on its southernmost main island.
“I don’t feel it because we farmers are barely making ends meet,” said Kazuya Takenaga, 67, as he tended his fields of asparagus and rice. The rising costs of fertilizers, energy and utilities have eaten into Takenaga’s earnings. His two sons have left the town in search of work elsewhere. Failure to broaden out the recovery risks leaving Japan firmly entrenched as a two-track economy, where the concentration of money and people is among the most extreme in the developed world. Businesses will increasingly struggle to find sufficient manpower and services, a phenomenon that is already evident even in Tokyo and other major cities.
Yet some three decades later, it’s only ticked up to $33,000. Over the same period, International Monetary Fund figures show, per capita GDP in the US has more than tripled to $85,000. “This is such a good place to be in right now,” said Chizuru Watanabe, who relocated from another part of the prefecture to take up an administrative role for Japan Material. “You can see great things are going to happen in the future.”
“For 30 years our national economy has been closed off,” Kimura said in an interview. “But Kumamoto’s opening up to Asia shows the way forward for Japan’s economic revival.” On the campaign trail, candidates for the LDP leadership election are speaking more to cost-of-living concerns than trumpeting the positives of rising prices. Sanae Takaichi, who has been climbing in the polls, has called for more income support for the most vulnerable in society. Another top candidate, Shinjiro Koizumi, bemoaned the disappearance of national economic champions.
Japan Semiconductor Economy Growth Revival
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