"Cambridge Gazette: Politico-Economic Commentaries" No.3 (March 17, 2010)

　The year 2010 will mark a historic moment for Japan's economy. Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) that has been the second largest after the United States' since 1967 is expected to be overtaken by China's. Japan should applaud China's spectacular rise on the ground that East Asia has become a bona fide node of global economic networks along with North America and West Europe. While China's manufacturing sector has been called the "factory of the world," Japan's manufacturing sector has taken pride in being the "mother factory of the world." The "mother factory of the world" means that Japan's manufacturing sector provides local factories around the world with prototype products that could be sophisticated according to local preferences and regulations in major markets including North America, Asia, and Europe. Under these circumstances, the Japanese people like to call Japan a country of "mono-zukuri (craftsmanship/artisanship)." ......