The trade ministry's fiscal 2007 white paper calls for creation of an "open and seamless" economic system in East Asia where Japanese companies have already established strong business networks. Behind the call is recognition that a dynamic East Asian economy is indispensable for Japan's economic growth.
Having overcome the 1997 financial crisis, the East Asian economy has been steadily growing. The real gross domestic product of East Asia (China, South Korea, the 10-nation ASEAN, India, Australia and New Zealand), Taiwan and Hong Kong combined grew 8.8 percent in 2006 compared with 5.4 percent for the world economy. In 2005, the region's real GDP accounted for 27.6 percent of global GDP, topping the European Union's 24.8 percent. Intraregional trade accounted for 55.8 percent of the region's trade the same year, nearing the EU's figure of 62.1 percent.
The white paper on trade points out that East Asia has established a trade system in which each country supplies every other with intermediate products, with final products being exported to Japan, Europe and the United States. It now serves as a manufacturing center of such products as automobiles, personal computers, DVD players and chemical fiber.