4. The Japanese experiences
In this section, we will present the outcomes of
our case studies for each of the types of inventories
we introduced.
4.1. No inventory of raw materials?
Japan does not have many basic raw materials
itself, thus, most of them have to be imported. This
holds, for instance, for the coal and other raw
materials used by Shinitetsu. These goods are
brought to Japan by ships carrying large quantities.
The production location is near the sea and the
factory has facilities at its disposal to unload the
ships. In other cases, such as Sapporo, this is also
the case for semi-manufactured materials such as
malt hop.
This is not uncommon in Japan: many industrial
areas are near the sea and ships are frequently used
as a means of transportation. This has, of course, to
do with the geographical situation in Japan, and,