Globalization and Crisis and Their Effects upon Japan and China — Judged by Assessing Their Regional Positioning and Foreign Mergers and Acquisitions

China, as well as Japan, is increasingly regarded as one of the dominant national economies in the East and Southeast Asian region. Japan, which produces about 70% of the entire GDP of Asia (computed in U.S. dollars), possesses the highest savings in the world, and stands at the pinnacle of technology, tends, to be sure, to exercise restraint and prefer subtle methods in extending its influence beyond its borders. China, on the other hand, has adopted an ambitious posture, considering its present economic power, and is unmistakably pressing its claim to be a leader. In any case, both these national economies belong to countries which have the basic ability, in their own opinion and that of their partners and competitors around the world, to position themselves to their best economic advantage and to take on important economic leadership functions. To what extent this will actually happen depends not least upon how they come to terms with the symptoms of crisis of recent years and with the challenges of increasing globalization processes. The following comments will deal with these questions.