With counterfeiting scandals recurring, Japan's manufacturing halo is fading rapidly

The reason why Japan can become a developed country is inseparable from its strong manufacturing strength. Products of brands such as Panasonic, Mitsubishi, Sony, Hitachi, Toyota, etc. can be said to have accompanied the growth of several generations, and they cover everything from mobile phones and air conditioners to trains and cars. Over time, from beauty to home appliances to medical care to automobiles, Japanese manufacturing has been covered with a halo and has become synonymous with quality.

However, beneath the halo, Japanese manufacturing also has an ignominious side, such as the frequent incidents of counterfeiting.

Recently, Mitsubishi Electric, a century-old Japanese company, admitted that it had falsified inspection data for its transformers. Investigations showed that the problem dates back to 1982, with 3,400 units sold in Japan and abroad. Worse still, Japanese railway companies and operating nuclear power plants also purchased these products, which means that Mitsubishi Electric's data falsification could pose a major safety hazard.

Mitsubishi has also become a "repeat offender" of fraud. Since 2016 alone, Mitsubishi has been involved in issues such as falsifying automobile fuel consumption, falsifying product data in the electrical wire industry, falsifying rubber parts, and falsifying and exporting auto parts.

Mitsubishi's compatriots are no less far behind: Toshiba was once exposed to have long-term false reporting of financial profits, train carriages produced by Hitachi were found to have cracks in the bottom in the UK, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical added 2.5 times the standard of hypnotic ingredients to its oral medicine, and Kobe Steel has a history of fraud for more than 30 years, and there are even "secrets" within the company on how to commit fraud without leaving any traces... The endless scandals show that the fraud in Japanese manufacturing is not the behavior of individual companies, and has even formed a systematic "culture."

Whenever serious quality problems are exposed, Japanese manufacturers always deal with them in the same way: bowing their heads in apology or resigning. They never seem to learn from the lessons and solve the problems, but rather take a relatively cold approach, using the power of time and waiting for the public's attention to naturally shift.

It has to be said that from a public relations perspective, such a strategy has been effective for quite a long time. After all, the identity of "imported from Japan" is still a plus for products today.

But the data doesn't lie: Japan's once proud semiconductor companies have fallen from monopolizing more than half of the global market in the 1980s to only one of the top ten companies today; Japan's steel exports have also fallen year-on-year for three consecutive months this year. According to data released by the Japanese Ministry of Finance, Japan had a trade deficit in 2021, and the scale of the deficit hit a seven-year high.

All this shows that the global recognition of Japanese manufacturing has declined, and what this reflects is the manufacturing dilemma that Japan has faced in recent years.

First, it is the mentality of quick success and instant benefits caused by the economic downturn. Since the bursting of the Japanese economic bubble at the end of the last century, Japan's economic growth has slowed down rapidly, and domestic demand has continued to be sluggish. At this time, a number of Japanese companies have seen a decline in revenue capacity and a prominent debt crisis, so they are in urgent need of increasing revenue and reducing expenditure. In this context, companies are most likely to think crookedly, and once fraudulent behavior begins, it is difficult to stop unless it is exposed, which also explains why the fraud history of many Japanese companies has lasted for more than 30 years.

Another reason is that the Japanese business philosophy seems to be out of touch with the times when facing the pressure of global competition. The Japanese are known for their conservatism, which is clearly seen in their continued obsession with fax machines. This conservatism is also reflected in the way Japanese companies operate.

Take the semiconductor industry that Japan once prided itself on as an example. Whenever the decline of the Japanese semiconductor industry is discussed, many people attribute it to the suppression of the United States, but ignore the problems of Japanese companies themselves. In the golden age of Japanese semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturers were able to launch customized products precisely according to the needs of electronic product manufacturers through close cooperation with the latter, thus forming a mutually beneficial and win-win situation.

However, with the development of technology and the market, the division of labor in semiconductors has become internationalized, with design, foundry, packaging and final product assembly being carried out all over the world, which has greatly improved the production efficiency of goods and enabled companies to effectively control costs. However, Japanese companies still stick to their previous production methods and are unable to achieve large-scale and efficient production, which ultimately led to the comprehensive failure of Japanese semiconductors in the global market.

Another example is the "craftsman spirit" that was once regarded as a golden rule but has now become a target of ridicule. Kobayashi Kengyo is a small workshop in Japan with about 10 people. Its main business is polishing and grinding products. Although it is small, Kobayashi Kengyo has won the favor of a major customer at the beginning of this century due to its pursuit of excellence - Apple.

In 2001, Apple launched the classic iPod. This product adheres to Apple's consistent texture, so the requirements for the stainless steel back plate are very strict. On the other hand, the stainless steel plate itself is very thin, so it is easy to be polished and deformed if not careful. Kobayashi Kengyo is one of the few companies that can meet Apple's stringent requirements, and it also became famous with the iPod order.

But soon, Kobayashi Kengyo's limitations became apparent. In the four years since the iPod was launched, Kobayashi Kengyo, with only five people, completed the polishing of 2.5 million iPods, which in itself was a remarkable achievement, but it could not keep up with the sales of iPods. After iPod sales doubled, Kobayashi Kengyo was unable to meet the supply demand and had to give up Apple's orders, losing 70 to 80 million yen. Where did the extra iPod orders go? China. It turned out that efficient assembly line production could also meet Apple's requirements, which made Kobayashi Kengyo lose its competitiveness.

Facing the polishing production line in China, President of Kobayashi Kengyo Kazuo lamented that he had no chance of winning, but at the same time he did not have the idea of ​​choosing the best and following the good, but insisted on not accepting large orders. Today, Kobayashi Kengyo can basically only produce some products that Chinese manufacturers cannot or are unwilling to make. Considering that its products are indeed of high quality, this cannot but make people sigh that it is a waste of resources.

Until now, Japanese manufacturing still has a strong technological advantage in some areas, and its products are developing in the direction of high, precise and cutting-edge. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the idea of ​​striving to enter the upstream of the industry. However, if the balance between technical content and production efficiency cannot be grasped, companies are also very likely to take risks, make a name for themselves through technology and quality, and then falsify materials and processes for profit. This also reflects the twisted philosophy of some Japanese companies - they would rather risk breaking their golden signboards by falsifying than embrace newer and more advanced business concepts.

The reason why "craftsman spirit" causes people to ridicule or even laugh at it is not because of the spirit of continuous improvement in technology and the romantic feelings hidden behind it, but because they are clearly doing such a dirty thing as counterfeiting, but still use gorgeous terms to package and whitewash it.

Today, the Japanese government has also introduced a series of measures to revitalize Japanese manufacturing, but before the trend of counterfeiting is completely curbed, perhaps bigger scandals will continue to emerge, and the "craftsman spirit" may still not get the praise it deserves, but will still be tied to the "craftsman spirit".

Japanese manufacturing was once in its heyday, but now it has fallen into a serious crisis of trust. This is an important warning for any manufacturing company - after all, Japanese companies still have decades of reputation to back them up, but for emerging companies, once the false prosperity brought about by fraud is exposed, they will probably face an irreparable end.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.