Cultural connection key to export boom for pulp/paper giant

China has become the prime target in the Nippon Paper Group's bid to become one of the world's top five pulp and paper production companies.

The group is looking to neighboring China after the penetration of its domestic market reached saturation point and the 36th annual consecutive drop in Japanese birthrates indicated a long-term fall in demand.

Signaling his interest in developing business with China, Yoshio Haga, president of Nippon Paper said: "China has become very important to our company in the last five years. We are now sending staff members to China to study the language and learn and understand the cultural differences. We believe that adapting our knowledge in line with the needs of our overseas operations is crucial to doing good business in other countries."