Possibility of Sustainable Entry into Overseas Port Operation Markets by Japanese Companies

The Japanese government has set an overseas infrastructure deployment policy to involve Japanese companies in all upstream to downstream processes, that is, from project formation, procurement, and construction to operation and maintenance. Although Japanese companies have been hitherto involved in overseas port development through Official Development Assistance, their entry into overseas port operation projects has been limited, meaning the realization of the policy is not expected to be easy. This study thus examines the possibility of sustainable entry into overseas port operation markets by Japanese companies. Specifically, we review port governance in Japan, characteristics of the Japanese market in the global market, and the status of the participation of domestic terminal operators in Japan and overseas, and then identify the possibilities and methods of sustainable inclusion in the future overseas port operations by interviewing representative companies and the government. We finally provide future directions in terms of both increasing entry opportunities and improving the entry environment.