These trends were followed by an increase in Japanese foreign investment in Asian countries such as China, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam, and by the relocation of some company headquarters and/or factories to these foreign countries. During the same period, Japan’s economy came to depend on imports rather than exports, and its international trading balance became negative due to this increase in imports, especially from East Asian countries. In accord with these shifts in Japanese economic activities from domestic to international markets, manufacturers and companies had to develop international logistics systems. While some companies relegated the operation of international logistics or SCM to third-party logistics providers, others internalized these operations. For Japan transportation modes for international export/import are limited to air and seaborne transportation, since Japan has no land-based link to the continents. The shippers must bear higher expenditures when they need products shipped quickly, since short-time delivery necessitates the speed afforded by air transportation, which generally costs more than sea shipping.