Korean companies are rapidly expanding into Japan, with new investment growing in the food, cosmetics and IT sectors, led by the opening of Samsung Electronics' Yokohama facility. FDI in Japan has reached a record high, and investment between Japan and South Korea is gradually becoming two-way.
Korean companies are becoming increasingly active in Japan, and foreign direct investment in Japan reached a record high in 2025. The increase in the number of newly established legal entities was particularly notable, with Korean companies expanding into a wide range of sectors in the Japanese market.
The balance of investment between Japan and South Korea is also changing. South Korea's FDI stock in Japan rose from 0.02 at the end of 2002 to 0.26 at the end of 2025. This suggests that capital flows between Japan and South Korea are becoming increasingly two-way.
One specific example is the opening by Samsung Electronics of an advanced semiconductor back-end research center in Yokohama. The nature of capital ties that developed from the 1980s onward is expanding to the establishment of research and development centers in Japan.
A past example is SK hynix's indirect investment of approximately ¥395 billion in Toshiba Memory in 2018 to strengthen its competitiveness. In recent years, investment in real estate and solar power plants, as well as in Korean entertainment-related businesses, IT and gaming, has also been prominent.