Far East optimism

Asia's Big Three-Toyota, Honda, and Nissan-relied to a large extent on their global presence to post strong profits in 2002 as they and other Far East automakers prepare for an upswing in their economies.

Chairman Hiroshi Okuda of Nippon Keidanren was heard to observe during a recent, unexpected rise in Tokyo stock prices that he had always had confidence in the country's economic strength and resilience.

Usually referred to simply as “Keidanren,” the Japanese Federation of Businesses is the most powerful of the country's business and industrial organizations. Its membership numbers 1584, including 1268 companies (79 foreign-owned), 126 industrial associations, and 47 regional entities. Many of its member companies are struggling in what must be the country's longest spell of economic woes, having lasted almost a decade now. The banking, securities, and insurance sectors have been hardest-hit, with major banks burdened with bad loans since the burst of the “bubble economy.”