Japanese conservatives contend that people should not get "emotional" about the economic consequences of the current row with China over the Senkaku islands, implying that some things are more important than money. But what exactly are the economic consequences given that since 2009 China has been Japan's biggest trading partner?
According to the Finance Ministry, one-fifth of total Japanese exports in 2010 went to China, while the same portion was 7.7 percent in 2001. A Reuters analysis shows that Japan would suffer mightily if trade stopped, citing an annual loss of ¥12 trillion if exports went down to zero for only one month. Under such conditions, automobile companies would be the main loser. They'd lose ¥144 billion. Bank of America estimates that 25 percent of all Nissan's profits are derived in China, 21 percent for Toyota and 16 for Honda.
Moreover, Japanese companies directly invested ¥1 trillion in China in 2011, 60 percent more than what they spent in 2009. China's Bureau of Statistics says that as of the end of 2010 there were 22,307 joint Japan-China ventures operating in China comprising 3 million workers and accounting for 16 percent of all the country's foreign-related companies.