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We’ve decided to stop trying to compile the Top 30 largest Japanese employers in the UK by corporate grouping. Partly this is because a substantial number of Japanese companies in the UK have become branches, so do not report their employee totals to Companies House. Another reason is that corporate groups have restructured substantially through divestment, so there are more subsidiaries which are equity affiliates rather than part of the consolidated company group, or are owned by KKR Japan (does this make them Japanese or not?). Finally, many of the largest Japan-owned companies were acquired through acquisition, but are not particularly “Japanese” in terms of their branding or executives.
Instead, we thought we’d look at the largest single Japan-owned companies – and it turns out that there are 31 who have over 1,000 employees. The full list can be downloaded for free on the link below.
The new entrant into this Top 31 in 2023 was Snowfox, a food processing company acquired by Zensho. Snowfox owns Taiko, who make sushi for Waitrose and Sainsburys and also owns the YO! Sushi restaurant chain, as well as chains in the USA and Canada.
In terms of growth, we already covered the fact that some of Dentsu UK’s and Dentsu International’s growth was due to the consolidation into Dentsu UK of its regional subsidiaries in Leeds, Edinburgh and Manchester, but there does also seem to be organic growth, and growth by acquisition too. The other companies showing double digit growth are mostly in the services sector – Yusen Logistics, Mitsubishi HC Capital and NTT Data. Only one manufacturer is showing double digit growth – Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies – a contract development and manufacturing organisation in Teesside.
The automotive sector has shrunk further – Nissan, Marelli (formerly Calsonic Kansei) and Honda Motor Europe had smaller workforces in 2023 than in 2022. Toyota has yet to file its accounts for 2023.
At risk of shrinkage or closure in the years to come look to be Hitachi Rail, whose contracts being built at its Newton Aycliffe plant come to an end in 2024 and Fujitsu, who has told staff that they will run down their Ireland operations, taking on no new contracts. This could be a pilot for what is to come in the UK.
Click here for free download of the largest Japanese companies in the UK 2023
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