DTI, Japanese trade group join hands to tackle vi

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCIP) formally agreed yesterday to work together to resolve concerns earlier raised by Japanese businessmen in the country.

JCCIP officials led by Shoichi Kameyama and Takeshi Fukuda, president of Toyota Motor Corp., yesterday met again with Trade and Industry Secretary Manuel Roxas II to follow up on the areas of concern they had earlier presented to the government.

Earlier, JCCIP voiced their concern about the deteriorating global competitiveness of the Philippines.

The normally quiet Japanese business community even went so far as saying that they are ready to pull out of the Philippines and transfer to competitor countries such as China, Thailand and even Vietnam.

The Philippines, the JCCIP complained, now has a higher labor and production cost, lower level of quality and has a continuing peace and order problem.

After meeting with Roxas, Kameyama, however, commented that the government appears to be addressing the Japanese businessmen’s concerns.

"This was evidenced by the resolution of the labor problem of Toyota," he said.

Kameyama said the Japanese business community will do what it can to resolve its problems, hand in hand with the DTI’s parallel effort.

"Japanese businessmen are not about to leave the country that quickly, but would give the government time to address their concerns," he explained.