1. Provide beneficial information for overseas operations
Information for member companies provided regularly
We provide the following useful information about overseas business to members with global operations on a regular basis.
We provide information on investment destinations and markets that are particularly important to Japanese machinery manufacturers operating internationally in areas such as the European Union, the United States, China, and Asian nations, with specific reference to trade and investment policies, tariff policies, and the negotiations to conclude and/or upgrade Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) or Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). In addition, we provide member companies with information on significant institutional reforms underway at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the developments of rulemaking in the field of digital trade.
Information on IP in relation to US trade: Significant judicial precedents on US patents and any patent law revisions.
Information on IP in relation to China—flash reports and analyses: Explain key points of any recent laws and regulations relating to IP in China. Provide detailed explanations of important IP themes in China.
IP strategy for Asian business: Provide explanations and analyses of IP risks and countermeasures, IP policies and systems in individual countries and their enforcement.
We provide information once every two months regarding products related environmental policies and regulatory trends in the EU, major EU member states, and China.
We provide information on any revisions and amendments to laws and regulations relating to export controls, and any violations of those laws or sanctions imposed in the United States, Japan, the EU, and other regions.
To ensure international competitiveness, it is vital for member firms competing with other companies on a global scale to be armed with the latest information on transfer pricing taxation and other international tax issues when conducting their business. For that reason, the JMC website provides members with the latest domestic and overseas information that has a direct bearing on the international tax practices of individual companies.
We provide information on CE marking related acts in the EU and product safety regulations in various regions, including China, ASEAN nations, India, the Middle East, and Latin America.
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We display information, as well as lecture transcripts and other documentation, on recent trends and developments on policies and regulations of foreign countries relating to product liability, reporting product incidents or unsafe products and product recall. [in Japanese only]
We display information on domestic and overseas customs clearance and logistics regulations in so far as they relate to shipper companies, as well as more general information on distribution conditions.
We regularly compile information that has been released by international development banks, export credit agencies in individual countries, and plant engineering companies.
We publish the JMC Journal once a month, with a combined issue for July and August. The journal contains lecture transcripts, contributed articles, and analysis by relevant departments on a wide range of themes, including trade and investment, international competitiveness, Intellectual Property , international taxation, global management, environmental issues, standard certification, overseas PLProduct Liability, plant exports, export control regulations, international logistics, and trade insurance.
All this information, with some exceptions, can be viewed on our members-only website. Employees at member companies can easily obtain a password by registering their necessary information. They will then be able to access different kinds of information using their ID and password.
Books,reports and statistics
JMC has a wide collection of books and reports that prove useful to members conducting business overseas. These include long-selling publications that have been revised as many as 27 times, such as the Security Trade Control Laws and Regulations, and the List of the Goods and Technologies Subject to Security Trade Control, and the Index of Terms for the Appended Table 1 of the Export Trade Control Order and the Appended Table of the Foreign Exchange Order. They also include our highly acclaimed Guide to Utilizing FTA that has undergone 3 revisions since its initial publication in 2009. In addition to printed materials, we also provide e-books to satisfy different applications.
List of books and reports
E-books
As the secretariat, JMC compiles and submits its Problems and Requests Relating to Trade and Investment in Individual Countries and Regions document to the Japanese government once a year, which is based on a survey of Japanese industries. We also lobby the Japanese government and other institutions by compiling proposals when appropriate on any issues that we expect the government to address in intergovernmental consultations. Recommendations compiled in this way are then reflected in discussions held in multilateral, regional, and bilateral consultations and other venues. They also prove useful for Japanese companies considering trade and investment opportunities in the countries surveyed because they serve as a source of valuable information on various trade and investment systems in individual countries.
We exchange information relating to policies and draft legislation that impact members’ overseas business in various different committees. If we judge that those developments adversely impact the activities of our members, we compile recommendations, requests, and comments designed to improve the business environment and alleviate problems, which we then submit to governments in Japan and overseas.
4．Inform members on latest trends (seminars, committees)
Seminars
We organize our seminars into three categories and invite carefully selected lecturers to discuss useful themes relating to overseas business for member companies with global operations. These seminars are conducted as webinars to enable people from outside the Tokyo and Osaka areas, where JMC’s Japan offices are located, to participate more readily. We sometimes hold hybrid seminars that include an in-person element depending on the content of the lecture and the preference of member companies and the lecturers.
● We invite high-ranking government officials and prominent experts to conduct lectures on issues we consider to be of the greatest interest to our members from a universal perspective that extends beyond the framework of their existing business. The relevant group in the secretariat brings together cross-sectional seminars, which JMC considers to be its main seminar events.
● We select themes that facilitate the wider participation not only of people in charge of trade, environment, infrastructure exports, and other JMC-related operations, but also of corporate planning staff. Generally speaking, we hold roughly six JMC Progress Seminars a year.
● We ask the head and deputy head of the JMC Brussels Office and lawyers from local law firms to serve as lecturers and provide the latest information on European policy and industry trends in the trade, environment, digital, and other fields.
● The relevant group in the secretariat brings together cross-sectional seminars that are usually held on a monthly basis, with a break in January and August.
● Our Expert Seminars are hosted by the relevant group within JMC and officials from related government agencies, such as the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and experts in specific fields are invited to speak on specialist themes relating to JMC operational areas.
● We used to hold specialist seminars on trade, environment, Intellectual property, international taxation, and other themes organized by relevant groups within JMC, but we have since integrated these seminars into the JMC Expert Seminar series, and seminars are held when deemed necessary.
Speeches at committee meetings
Each committee invites officials from relevant government agencies, such as the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and expert lecturers to talk about hot issues that member companies on the committee are currently facing. The lecturers cover topics that committee members are keenly interested in and then participate in a discussion with members.
5．Help member companies nurture trade and investment human resources
JMC Practical Courses
JMC has conducted the following types of practical training sessions on trade practices to help member companies develop human resources with superior trade and investment skills. We are now seeking to further improve the content of these training activities by integrating them into a comprehensive set of JMC Practical Courses.
Practical trade courses (classroom lectures)
We hold general trade practice courses (basic and intermediate levels), customs clearance procedures course, and basic English-language contract course. These courses are designed to help new employees and people in charge of import and export operations acquire the practical knowledge they require for their particular professional level in a variety of different areas, such as shipping documents, customs clearance procedures, English-language contracts, and marine insurance.
Courses on export control
We hold training sessions designed to help member companies improve their general understanding of export control. These lectures include introductory courses on security export control, briefings on revisions to government and ministerial ordinances, and briefings on US export controls laws and regulations for people with practical experience in that area.
Basic courses & specialized courses on support systems for infrastructure system export
We hold basic courses in the first half of the year for new and mid-career employee in charge of overseas plant sales to help them acquire a balanced understanding of government policies designed to support the export of infrastructure systems, as well as the various systems used by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), and Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI). We then hold specialized courses for employees with a deeper knowledge base in the second half of the year.
Seminars on Export and Investment Insurance & practical workshops on Comprehensive Insurance
We hold Export and Investment Insurance seminars for companies involved in trade insurance related operations to help them understand an overview and specific characteristics of each major type of insurance. We also hold practical workshops for companies tasked with filling out application requests for Comprehensive Insurance (Machinery and Equipment).
Other courses
We design ad-hoc bespoke training sessions at the request of our member companies.
Annual course schedule (in Japanese) 
Accepting requests for in-house export control training sessions / consultations
We dispatch expert lecturers to conduct internal training sessions for employees and officers to help member companies improve internal compliance and raise employee awareness of security export control based on the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act. We also consult with members on individual issues relating to security export control.
Dispatching instructors to in-house briefings and training sessions
We consult with the individual member companies in advance and create appropriate themes and training contents to ensure we provide services that fully meet their needs. Examples of bespoke training services include:
1．Export control workshops for executives (30–60 minutes)
Themes: The need for export control, violations and penalties, Japan regulations on security export control, key points relating to export control
2．General in-house training sessions (2 hours)
Themes: Overview of security export control, key points to consider when implementing export control
3．Export control workshops for persons in charge of export control
Theme：The basics of security export control, clause-by-clause explanations to aid the development of internal compliance program on export control, examples of product classification
Export Control in-house Training Application Form
Extending advice to member companies
When requested, we consult with individual member companies on how to interpret laws and regulations on security export control, approaches to product classification, and the license application procedures etc.
Form for seeking advice on export control
Every year JMC concludes Comprehensive Agreement with Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) regarding Comprehensive Insurance (Machinery and Equipment), which we then make available to member companies.
What’s special about Comprehensive Insurance (Machinery and Equipment)
● JMC member companies can benefit from the service by applying for annual usage under Comprehensive Insurance (Machinery and Equipment).
● The insurance covers export or intermediary trade contracts for individual types of machines and all plant facilities.
● Members must apply to insure all eligible contracts to be able to set the Comprehensive Insurance, but the premiums are significantly lower than if each contract was insured by Specific Insurance individually.
● Our Comprehensive Insurance can be set a larger credit limit than other type of insurances to cover the commercial risks of superior buyers.
● Comprehensive Insurance (Machinery and Equipment) is one of the Export and Investment Insurance products provided by NEXI, a 100% government-owned special stock company. In the event of emergency where NEXI is faced with a difficulty in funding, countermeasures will be taken by the government as prescribed in the Trade and Investment Insurance Act to ensure secure payment of insurance claims.
JMC's role
We provide preparation support services for Comprehensive Insurance (Machinery and Equipment)
● JMC checks up on the contents of the application submitted by member companies and then files applications with NEXI for Comprehensive Insurance (Machinery and Equipment).
● In case of projects with more complex settlement conditions, such as plant facilities-related projects, JMC will design appropriate insurance plan based on the contracts and apply to NEXI
● JMC also provides data to confirm the insurance policy and sends invoices for insurance premiums, etc.
We consult on Comprehensive Insurance (Machinery and Equipment)
We assist members with inquiries about requests for insurance applications, preliminary calculations of premiums, etc.
We act as an agency for other types of Comprehensive Insurance
We apply to NEXI on behalf of member companies for Enterprise Comprehensive Insurance and Comprehensive Insurance (Technical Services Supply Contract) based on member company requests.
Trade insurance page
