The 2022 survey finds Swedish companies in Japan emerging with cautious optimism from a global pandemic, which lasted longer than many had expected. Financial performance in Japan stayed robust throughout the last few years, compared to the rest of the region.
The view on the business climate in Japan has nearly recovered to pre-pandemic levels, though it is still hampered by long-standing issues around lagging digitalisation.
Overall business sentiment for Japan stayed mostly positive this year despite two years battling a global pandemic, during which Japan closed off from much of the world, severely restricting travel and exchange. On the other hand, life within Japan continued to function without heavy restrictions, with only limited lockdown and state-of-emergency measures being implemented.
After a major dip in 2020, and subsequent partial recovery in 2021, the general perception among Swedish companies of the overall business climate in Japan has continued to improve gradually in this year’s survey.
Building a strong brand in Japan can take a long time. Sweden is strongly associated in Japan with premium quality, advanced and efficient technology, sustainability and nature-friendliness, and ethical values around e.g. gender equality and animal rights. Almost two-thirds of respondents to this year’s survey have in some way built on these impressions and, doing so, found that the Swedish brand has contributed significantly to their success in the Japanese market.
Please download the report to fully overview the results with a detailed analysis.
ABOUT THE SURVEY
The Business Climate Survey is a tool developed to map the opportunities and challenges that Swedish companies face when doing business in Japan. This report presents the conclusions drawn from the survey and an analysis based on the current business situation, economic outlook, as well as other market aspects believed to be relevant for companies operating or planning to establish themselves in Japan.
There are approximately 150 Swedish or Sweden-related subsidiaries currently established in Japan. This year’s Business Climate Survey was sent out on the 1st of April 2022 to 130 of these companies. Out of 130, 67 companies answered, resulting in a 52 per cent response rate.
