Nobody should be surprised that Toyota, flush with $18 billion in profits this year, has emerged as a major beneficiary of "Abenomics." After all, the weakened yen at the center of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic program was designed to help the bottom lines of major exporters.
But it's still something of a shock that Japanese workers won't be sharing in Toyota's good fortune. Rather than invest any of its spoils in Japan, the car manufacturer announced plans this week to spend $1.4 billion to build new factories in Mexico and China.
It's certainly good news that one of Japan's most iconic companies is experiencing a resurgence. And Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda's plans to shift production to emerging markets, will surely please the company's shareholders. Toyota is the rare example of a Japanese manufacturer that has figured out how to create operations that are truly global.