Unique | ‘Can you utilize the web in Hong Kong?’ Japanese envoy on ‘detrimental narratives’ about metropolis however he says his nation’s companies are staying put

“Since [the bay area] has an enormous measurement by way of [gross domestic product] … many Japanese businessmen imagine that there’s an enormous alternative for them,” Okada mentioned. “That’s the reason they’re nonetheless right here.”

The bay space is Beijing’s formidable plan to combine Hong Kong, Macau and 9 southern mainland Chinese language cities into an financial powerhouse. The mixed GDP of the area reached 13 trillion yuan (US$1.2 trillion) in 2022, based on the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau.

Okada mentioned Hong Kong would make a “nice base” for Japanese corporations doing enterprise within the bay space, noting that various companies in industries corresponding to logistics and healthcare have been already working in cities within the area, later noting how Japanese agency Yusen Logistics was participating within the Hong Kong Worldwide Airport Logistics Park Initiative in Dongguan.

He additionally highlighted that Hong Kong and Japan shared comparable experiences with ageing societies and that the combat towards local weather change introduced new enterprise alternatives.

“We will provide loads of issues to Hong Kong,” Okada mentioned. “I feel these are good alternatives in entrance of us.”

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Japanese corporations have confronted heightened strain to relocate out of the town in recent times.

In line with a biannual survey co-conducted by the consulate, 46.8 per cent of Japanese corporations have been “ordered or urged to think about” by their headquarters to scale down their Hong Kong operations within the first half of this 12 months, down from 50 per cent within the second half of 2022, however up from 42.9 per cent within the second half of 2021.

The identical 2023 survey additionally confirmed that 45.2 per cent of respondents have been involved in regards to the Beijing-imposed nationwide safety regulation, with about two-thirds saying it had put strain on securing expertise.

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The variety of Japanese nationals residing in Hong Kong has declined by about 5 per cent since 2019 to 22,930, based on knowledge from the nation’s international ministry.

The drop coincides with a wider expertise exodus in Hong Kong. The town misplaced 210,000 employees between early 2019 and the top of 2022.

However Okada mentioned he felt the departure of Japanese expertise was “hitting the underside”, noting the inhabitants had solely declined by 1 per cent this 12 months, whereas declaring that extra Japanese companies have been getting into the Hong Kong market regardless of issues over the safety regulation and the expertise exodus.

In line with the newest knowledge, the variety of Japanese corporations with regional headquarters or places of work in Hong Kong rebounded to 1,403 this 12 months, the second highest tally on file because the 1,413 reported in 2019.

“I feel the strain has truly already mitigated, progressively, so I feel I will be extra optimistic in regards to the future,” Okada mentioned. “We’re nonetheless retaining our presence in Hong Kong.”

However whereas enterprise confidence could also be returning, the identical can’t be mentioned for tourism. Solely 250,213 Japanese vacationers got here to Hong Kong within the first 10 months of the 12 months – a far cry from the greater than 1 million who visited over the identical interval in 2018.

Though Okada acknowledged excessive costs in Hong Kong might discourage vacationers, he mentioned the town had not been in a position to shake poor perceptions developed in Japan following the social unrest in 2019 and the following imposition of the nationwide safety regulation.

“Sadly, the picture of Hong Kong in Japan [is] actually detrimental,” Okada mentioned. “Many individuals in Japan, together with enterprise elites, virtually imagine that Hong Kong is already part of [mainland] China, [that] there is no such thing as a distinction between Hong Kong and [mainland] China.

“For instance, once I went again to Japan the opposite day a few of my pals requested, ‘can you utilize the web in Hong Kong?’ … That may be a very surprising query, however they’re severe.”

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Okada mentioned the Hong Kong authorities ought to commit extra assets to selling the town’s “distinctive” traits, together with its “nice judiciary system”.

He additionally inspired the federal government to facilitate extra people-to-people exchanges, corresponding to inviting Japanese college students, students and assume tanks to the town, in addition to sustaining Hong Kong’s “free and open” system of governance.

“We have to do extra to beat the present challenges to maneuver on to the following stage of cooperation,” Okada mentioned. “I hope we will even deepen the good relationship between Japan and Hong Kong.”