So for some, keeping production in Japan remains attractive. In May Toyota’s Mr Toyoda promised to keep large facilities in Japan. Masami Doi, a Toyota spokesman, says that of the 9.6m vehicles it will make this year, 3.4m will be made in Japan, with nearly half of them to be exported. Mr Doi insists this is a commercial decision, based on the value of Toyota’s highly skilled Japanese workforce. But Mr Toyoda said carmakers had to work hard to “make Japan healthy and make Japan smile”. That sounds more like a national mission, or, to be cynical, a concern for the brand’s image, than a focus on the bottom line. Other carmakers, however, are less committed to staying at home.
因此对某些人而言，将生产线留在日本还是很有吸引力的。今年五月，丰田公司的丰田章男就许诺将一些大型汽车制造厂留在国内。丰田公司的发言人土居真美（Masami Doi）说：在该公司今年要生产的960万台汽车中，340万台将产自日本。而半数将用于出口。土居真美强调说这完全是基于商业考虑而做出的决定。理由是丰田公司的日本员工技术素质高，能创造更高的价值。但丰田章男说，公司员工必须努力工作，只有这样才能“促进日本经济的健康，使日本人露出笑容。”这番话听起来更像是在背负着一种民族使命；或者可以把这看作一种极端自私的言论，只关心丰田的品牌形象，而不顾底层员工的死活。然而其他汽车制造企业则没有如此“高尚”，他们纷纷将工厂迁往国外。
With neither bang nor whimper
既不会砰的一声垮掉，也不会在轻轻地啜泣声中消亡
Japan is already uncompetitive in a range of products, from tumble-dryers to DVD players. But optimists argue that it is carving out niches in higher-tech materials, chemicals and components that are then assembled into consumer goods elsewhere. In other words, it is moving up the value chain just as it has always been advised to do. After so many years of trade surpluses, it is disconcerting to lurch into deficit as exports slow and imports—especially of energy—surge. But one reason the yen remains strong is that the current account remains healthily in surplus. That is thanks in large part to flows of income from investments overseas. Hollowing out—shipping jobs overseas, and sending profits home—does have its compensations.
日本已经在从烘干机到DVD播放机等一系列产品中丧失了竞争能力。但持乐观态度的人士则认为，日本企业在高科技材料、化工产品和出口到海外组装成终端消费产品的零部件方面正在开拓自己的特定市场。换句话说，日本企业正在按照人们一直在建议的那样去做，提升价值链。在经历了多年的外贸顺差之后，突然进入到外贸逆差之中，确实令日本人感到不安。出口在减缓，而进口（尤其是能源进口）激增。但日元依然保持坚挺的原因之一是经常账户盈余的持续增长。这种状况主要应归于从海外投资获得的收益回流。将制造产品的工作转移到海外，将赚到的钱送往国内，这就形成了产业空心化。日本当然也为此而得到了补偿。
注释：
1、cataclysmic
relating to or denoting a violent natural event
自然剧变的，天灾的
2、operating profit
a gross profit before deduction of expenses
毛利润；营业利润
3、value chain 价值链
企业的价值创造是通过一系列活动构成的，这些活动可分为基本活动和辅助活动两类，基本活动包括内部后勤、生产作业、外部后勤、市场和销售、服务等；而辅助活动则包括采购、技术开发、人力资源管理和企业基础设施等。这些互不相同但又相互关联的生产经营活动，构成了一个创造价值的动态过程，即价值链。
（责任编辑:admin）
