Corporate Japan faces Trump risks after pivot from China to U.S.

Prospect of more protectionism complicates outlook for uptrend in sales and investment

20250117N Toyota Motor U.S. plant

Such Japanese manufacturers as Toyota Motor have made the U.S. a key part of their growth strategies. (Toyota Motor)

KOSUKE TAKEUCHI, Nikkei staff writer

TOKYO -- Japanese companies have come to rely more on the U.S. market in recent years amid economic uncertainty in China, official data shows, leaving them vulnerable to different risks under the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's quarterly survey of overseas manufacturing subsidiaries of Japanese companies put sales in North America -- defined as the U.S. and Canada -- at $94.2 billion for the July-September quarter. Although this marked the first year-on-year decline in nine quarters, it was up 10% from the same quarter of 2019, outpacing a 4% rise in the global total.

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