Yeah, this Fingleton guy, he seems to like being an antagonist. Whereas even Japanese manufacturers themselves fear a "hollowing out" of Japanese manufacturing, due in part to decreasing domestic demand and also Yen valuation[1], he says there is little to fear and presents some trade numbers to support his assertion.
"'The yen's historic rise, coupled with catch-ups by emerging nations, has caused a crisis of unprecedented industrial hollowing-out,' Yoshihiko Noda told lawmakers in his first major policy speech."
and
http://academic.csuohio.edu/makelaa/history/courses/his373/N...
"A survey last summer for the financial newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun found that half of Japan's largest companies planned to increase production overseas — and 71 percent of those planned to do it in China. At the same time, in a second poll, 65 percent of people surveyed believed that imports from China threatened the Japanese economy."
"A by-product of the economic crisis that hit Japan and its lifelong employment guarantees in the 1990s, freeters drift between odd jobs.
"Earning around 1,000 yen ($8) per hour, they often struggle to pay the rent in Tokyo, one of the most expensive cities in the world where a modest 30 square meter (320 square foot) flat in a central location can easily cost 150,000 yen ($1,250) a month."
[1] http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Money/Story/STIStor...
"'The yen's historic rise, coupled with catch-ups by emerging nations, has caused a crisis of unprecedented industrial hollowing-out,' Yoshihiko Noda told lawmakers in his first major policy speech."
and http://academic.csuohio.edu/makelaa/history/courses/his373/N... "A survey last summer for the financial newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun found that half of Japan's largest companies planned to increase production overseas — and 71 percent of those planned to do it in China. At the same time, in a second poll, 65 percent of people surveyed believed that imports from China threatened the Japanese economy."