No company that is internationally active in today’s world can afford to neglect Asia’s dynamic economy. Japan, with a population of 127 million, is a key country and the leading economic force in Asia with the highest purchasing power. The country is also in the forefront of technology. After a decade of stagnation, the Japanese economy has been on a steady growth path for three years, and is estimated to grow by 2.1% in 2007. Japans' economy is growing moderate, in which the growth rate decelerated. The recovery is being carried forward by Japan’s processing industry, which is currently experiencing the largest wave of investments for 15 years. Due to the increasing productivity of the Japanese labour force some firms are even relocating part of their production from China back to Japan. It is not just qualified workers, but also a highly-developed infrastructure, the declining cost of doing business and a return to strong consumer demand, that make Japan an attractive market. Above all, innovative sectors such as information technology and telecoms, medical technology and the life sciences, environmental technology and the automotive industry see the strongest future prospects in Japan. The government has created an attractive framework which offers favourable conditions for foreign firms to enter the market. Due to its high per capita productivity and its advanced technology, Japan will also remain Asia’s leading economic power for some time to come.