Orange County counts 107 Japanese companies employing an estimated 16,500 people, according to a new report by two Japanese business groups.
The survey, done by the Japan Business Association of Southern California and Japan External Trade Organization, both of Los Angeles, is the most definitive accounting so far of OC’s sizable Japanese business sector.
The number of Japanese subsidiaries here today is up 42% from the 1970s, when 45 companies had operations in OC, according to the survey. Units of Toshiba Corp., Mitsubishi Corp., Ricoh Co., Toyota Motor Corp. and TDK Corp. are among OC’s largest Japanese companies.
OC counted no Japanese companies prior to the 1960s, according to the survey. During the ’60s, 11 companies set up shop here, followed by 34 in the 1970s. The 1980s saw another wave of 30 companies followed by 21 in the 1990s and one last year.
At Costa Mesa-based Canon U.S.A.. Inc., an arm of Tokyo-based Canon Inc., OC is the most popular relocation spot for workers in Japan, according to Shinsuke Saeki, the company’s assistant director of marketing.
“My co-workers back home are so jealous of me because this is my second assignment in OC,” said Saeki, who has lived in OC for nine years.
Irvine is tops for Japanese companies. The city counts 32 of the county’s Japanese subsidiaries. Cypress is next at 20, followed by Buena Park at six. A handful of cities, from Anaheim to Tustin, count five companies each. The rest are spread out among 15 other cities, from Brea to Mission Viejo. Border city Cerritos counts six companies.
In Southern California, OC still is a distant second in Japanese companies to Los Angeles County, which counts 356. The city of Los Angeles is tops with 108, followed by Torrance at 94 and Gardena and Long Beach at 18 each. San Diego County counts 14 companies.
OC’s Japanese business sector has grown as a result of migration southward from Los Angeles, where companies first took up to be near the ports in Long Beach and San Pedro.
“We verified the trend of the Japanese companies moving south from LA,” said Akira Yamagishi, research director for the Japan External Trade Organization.
Yamaha Motor Corp. USA was among the first Japanese companies to come to OC, first to Buena Park in the 1960s and then to its current Cypress location in 1979. Back then, Cypress offered more open space than places in Los Angeles County, according to Chief Executive Shohei Kato.
“We were in the midst of strawberry fields, overseeing fruits stands,” Kato said. “I did not expect that Cypress would grow like this.”
Trading companies make up the largest group of Japanese companies in OC at 57. Manufacturers, mostly electronics and medical device makers, are next at 26, followed by service companies at 11. Thirteen span various industries, from real estate to finance.
Irvine also is the favorite spot in OC for Japanese executives and workers living here. The city counts 5,250 Japanese nationals, according to Hiroyuki Wakita of the Japanese Consulate in Los Angeles. About 70% of the Japan Business Association’s OC chapter lives in Irvine, the group says.
The city’s safe streets and strong schools are a draw, executives say.
“My wife feels comfortable because the school district employs a Japanese-speaking counselor,” said Tom Yoshimura, a 15-year Irvine resident whose three children were born and raised here. Yoshimura is general sales manager for Irvine-based Asian noodle maker Maruchan Inc., a unit of Tokyo’s Suisan Kaisha Ltd.
Among Southern California Japanese companies that responded to the survey, 14% say they plan to expand their existing Southland operations in the next couple of years.
Still, as with other companies, Japanese executives say they are concerned about the cost of doing business here and California’s power crisis. Thirty-three companies say they are planning to relocate some operations to others states due to California’s high cost or corporate tax. Six say they plan to move operations aboard in the next two years.
The survey is based on 510 responses from a pool of 1,062 Japanese companies in the Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Ventura, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. n
