Abstract: As Japanese companies shift to foreign land primarily to reduce cost on their
production operations, logistics processes have been globalized. In the field of international
and business economics, international shifts are extensively studied, and many of these are
mainly based on cost minimization and market expansion. However, logistics concepts are
rarely present in these studies. Logistics process includes procurement, production,
distribution and sales. Thus, it is not enough to minimize the production costs in logistics,
even though one of the primary objectives of the international shifts is production costs
minimization. This study analyzes changes in international shifts of Japanese companies in
Europe, North America and Asia (subdivided in NIES, ASEAN and China). Factors for an
effective international location strategy (not only shift but also withdrawal) of companies are
also analyzed based on market, cost, risk and infrastructure factors.