Official Announcement of 2012 Version of International ICT Competitiveness Index

1.Configuration of international ICT competitiveness index

  The 2012 Version of the International ICT Competitiveness Index utilizes actual values for 2011 obtained from various research companies (or actual values for 2010 in the where those for 2011 were difficult to obtain) to clarify the international competitiveness of Japan’s ICT industry by showing numerical values of the “market share” of Japanese companies for each product and service item from the perspective of Japanese companies' competitiveness in the global market (corporate competitiveness) and (2) the “export value share” of Japan for each product item from the perspective of the country's competitiveness in corporate location (export competitiveness).

  [For reference]
  Market share: The global market sales share accounted for by Japanese companies is calculated according to “services,” “terminals and machines,” and “devices” (38 items across 8 fields) (including sales of Japanese companies outside Japan).

  Export value share:
  The worldwide export value share accounted for by Japan is calculated according to “terminals and machines” and “devices” (20 items across 7 fields) (including exports from Japan by multinational companies) (Service-related items are not included as this Index focuses on traded goods).
 

2.Outline of results

  (1)　Overall change (market share and export value share) (from the 2008 Version to the 2012 Version)
  There has been no significant change in the market share during this period (North America: just under 50%, Europe/Asia-Pacific region: just under 20% each, Japan: just over 10% each, other: just under 10%).
  On the other hand, the export value share of the Asia-Pacific region continues to increase year by year, while to the same extent the share of Japan and North America is decreasing (in the 2012 Version, the export value share is as follows: Asia-Pacific region: just over 70%, North America and Europe: just under 10% each, Japan and other: around 5% each).
  Although there has been no significant change in the market share of each region, the year-on-year increase in the export value share of the Asia-Pacific region (Japan, North America and other are decreasing) indicates that companies in each region maintain their global share, while they shift production bases from their own regions mainly to the Asia-Pacific region.

  (2) Corporate competitiveness (market share)
  In comparison with the 2008 Version, Japanese companies' market share increased and decreased in approximately the same numbers of items. In general, however, many items in “services” show a slight upward trend in share as in the previous year even though the market share in that area is not large, while many items in “terminals and machines” and “devices” show a downward trend in share even though the market share in these areas is large.
  - Items in which the Japan’s corporate competitiveness is strong (share of 25% or higher) cover 10 of the 38 items and most of them belong to “terminals and machines” or “devices.”
  E.g.: DVD/Blu-ray recorders (75.2%), copiers (65.6%), optoelectronics* (48.2%), etc. *Optical devices such as LED, solar modules, etc.

  - Items in which Japanese corporate competitiveness is weak (share of 5% or lower) cover 9 items spreading across “services,” “terminals and machines” and “devices.” 

  - Japanese companies have maintained or increased their market share of 11 out of the 25 items for which the worldwide market scale has increased, and companies from North America and Europe account for a high share in many of these items. On the other hand, Japanese companies have a lost significant market share (-5.0 points or above in comparison with 2008) in six items, while companies mainly from the Asia-Pacific region have increased their share in many of these items.
  Example of maintenance or increase: System development (Japan: 13.3%→15.9%, North America/Europe total: 74.1%→67.7%)
  Example of significant decrease: Mobile phones (Japan: 14.2%→1.9%, Asia-Pacific region: 24.9%→42.7%)

  (3) Export competitiveness (export value share)
  In comparison with the 2008 version, only a few “terminals and machines” and “devices” items show an upward trend in share, and the increasing rate is likewise extremely small. Most items show a downward trend in share, and the decreasing rate is larger than the increasing rate.

  - Items in which the Japan’s export competitiveness is strong (share of 10% or higher) cover only 2 out of the 20 items, including “digital cameras” (24.6%) and “discrete semiconductors” *(11.4%), all of which show a year-on-year decrease in share.
  *Mono-functional semiconductor devices such as transistors, condensers, etc.

  - Items in which the Japan's export competitiveness is weak (share of 5% or lower) cover 15 (75%) out of the 20 items.

  - Out of the 17 items for which the gross worldwide export value has increased, Japan has maintained a certain export value share (around 10%) in only three items: “printers” (8.6%), “devices for broadcasting equipment” (9.4%) and “other semiconductor devices” (8.3%). On the other hand, Japan lost a significant export value share (-5.0 or above in comparison with 2008) in five items, while the Asia-Pacific region increased its share in four of these five items.
  Example of maintenance or increase: Printers (Japan: 11.1%→8.6%, Asia-Pacific region: 54.9%→63.6%)
  Example of significant decrease: Copiers (Japan: 9.6%→2.5%, Asia-Pacific region 76.5%→84.9%)