European politicians and scientists are concerned about the presence of Japanese companies in the European market, where push and pull factors in all countries are shaping the local investment and management style. The dominant trends outlined in the literature address restriction-driven motivates for entering Europe in general, and political and cultural reasons for the high share of Japanese affiliates in the UK (Ishikawa, 1990, 1991; Kamei, 1992; Tsukuda et al., 1992). However these studies provide surprisingly few insights into how Japanese manufacturers adjust their production methods at the regional or spatial level (Schlunze, 1992, 1997).