Foreign companies operating in Japan face greater difficulties recruiting people, procuring funds and resolving civil disputes outside court than in the United States and three European countries, according to a report released Wednesday by the Japan External Trade Organization.
The report says Japan's tight regulations make it difficult to set up job agencies, preventing foreign companies from securing the personnel they want.
It also says Japan fails to meet the demand for information technology engineers because it does not provide a special provision for foreign engineers to work in the country.
In contrast, Britain, Germany and the U.S. have such provisions, which encourage foreign direct investment in the information technology sector.
JETRO has compiled a report every year since 1996 on foreign companies' access to the Japanese market. It spotlights a different topic each year.
The latest report focuses on the business environment for foreign companies in Japan and compares it to that of Britain, France, Germany and the U.S.
JETRO surveyed 40 companies, Japanese and foreign, for the report.
In the finance sector, Japanese financial institutions extend loans mainly based on a company's size and collateral held, instead of a comprehensive business evaluation as adopted in Britain and the U.S.
The report also suggests using the alternative dispute resolution system -- a mediation and arbitration system for settling civil disputes outside court -- so that civil disputes can be resolved more cheaply and quickly.