Driving Innovation with Unique Technologies

Vivek Mahajan, Corporate Executive Officer, SEVP, CTO, Fujitsu Limited

- By Vivek Mahajan

The fact that the Japanese-made walkmans and digital cameras that we once carried around have large been replaced by smartphones made by U.S., Chinese and Korean companies, serves as testament to the decline of Japan in the end-facing consumer electronics industry.

The Nippon nation, however, still excels in niche B2B fields, where lesser-known Japanese firms provide technologies, components and machinery, most notably in the fields of automotive, electronics, semiconductors, materials science and other high-tech manufacturing segments. Leveraging monozukuri – the Japanese manufacturing philosophy based on craftsmanship - these companies continue to surpass their regional competitors, delivering the high-quality with which the 'Made in Japan' brand has been synonymous for decades.

Made in Japan' has become a global brand that lays claim to high functionality and top-of-the-mark standards as a direct result of Japanese manufacturers forging an impressive level of technical capabilities, highlights Ryoichi Sugi, president and CEO of Tokyo Keiso, which manufactures flow control devices for several industries, including semiconductors. Also, the Japanese ethos means the altruistic spirit of sincerely responding and making improvements to best cater to clients' requests. Most companies have continually strived to implement kaizen, which refers to continually improving their productivity and manufacturing processes and operations to ensure that products have a competitive edge over our global counterparts.