Recent articles about Japanese in Cambodia by Kyodo News

Cambodia considers giving visa for Japanese on airplane

PHNOM PENH, March 4 Kyodo - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Tuesday his government wants to make it easier for Japanese travelers to visit Cambodia by introducing in-flight processing of tourist visas.

Speaking at a government forum with private sectors in Phnom Penh, Hun Sen said the original idea from the Japanese side is reasonable and could lead to an increased number of tourists from Japan.

The premier ordered the tourism and immigration officials to study the idea together with representatives of the travel industry and the Japanese side.

For it to be possible, he said, whatever Japanese airline is involved, once direct flights between the two countries commence, would have to make one or two seats available for immigration officials on flights from Japan to Cambodia.

The same service could be applied to South Korean visitors in a later stage, he said.

A total of 4,210,165 foreign tourists visited Cambodia in 2013 against 3,584,307 in 2012, according to official data.

In 2013, Vietnamese topped arrivals with 854,104 visitors, followed by Chinese with 463,123 and South Koreans with 435,009.

Japanese tourists placed sixth with 206,932.

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Japanese artists hold “bonding” concert in Cambodia

     

PHNOM PENH, Feb. 22 Kyodo - Japanese artists from Okinawa and the Amami islands performed traditional music in a concert in Phnom Penh on Saturday to promote friendship at the grass-roots level between the two countries.

Four artists from the southern Japanese region, and four Cambodian musicians together performed 20 songs for some 400 Cambodian spectators in the third Japan-Cambodia Kizuna Festival.

Kizuna is the Japanese word for bonding.

Japanese Ambassador to Cambodia Yuji Kumamaru said at the performance that the concert was dedicated to the “bond of friendship” between the people of the two countries.

The four-day festival, which began Friday, is being held at the Cambodia-Japan Cooperation Center in central Phnom Penh.

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Japanese companies diversify investments in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, Feb. 21 Kyodo - While more Japanese companies are flocking to Cambodia for investments in recent years, they are more diversified, ranging from restaurants to manufacturing industries and electronics.

Yoshihito Katsuo, first secretary in charge of trade at the Japanese Embassy in Phnom Penh, told Kyodo News on Friday that Japanese companies investing in Cambodia are overwhelmingly engaged in labor-intensive manufacturing, mostly in the garment and shoe-making sectors.

“A considerable volume of Japan’s investment in Cambodia has been flowing into these industries. However, in recent years, companies in electronics and machine parts industries which are producing electronic parts, auto parts and metal products, etc., have started to invest in Cambodia, contributing to diversification of its industries,” he said.

He said major investments of Japanese companies in 2013 include the construction of factories which produce eye drops, watch parts and garments, among others.

According to Katsuo, these major companies investing in Cambodia have established a Japanese Business Association of Cambodia, which currently has 122 registered members.

“It is expected that the number of JBAC members will continue to rise for years to come considering the present trend of Japan’s investment,” he said, adding there also exist other Japanese investors who do not belong to the JBAC such as owners of shops and restaurants.

While there is no specific data for Japanese restaurants running businesses in Phnom Penh, it is estimated to be about 50, both small- and large-scale restaurants including The Sushi Bar, Shinbashi Binchoutei, Grant Yamato, Samurai and Ohan.

According to the data from the Council for the Development of Cambodia, Japan’s investments in Cambodia amounted to $51.79 million in 2013, down from $328 million in 2012.

Katsuo said the decline reflects the fact that the 2012 figure included the exceptionally large-scale investment associated with the construction of a Japanese shopping mall, Aeon, amounting to $205 million.

Government statistics showed that only 15 Japanese companies invested in Cambodia from 1994 to 2009 with a total capital of $147 million, but five Japanese companies made investments worth $35 million in 2010 and there were 19 investments worth $66 million in 2011.

==Kyodo