Japanese service sector multinationals and the hierarchy of Pacific Rim cities David W. Edgington and Hiro Haga Abstract: The explosive growth of Japanese service sector activities overseas since 1985 has had a significant impact on Pacific Rim cities. However, previous accounts of Japanese direct foreign investment in services have been constrained by official statistics which provide comparative information only at a national level. This paper uses establishment level data to assess changes in the spatial patterns of Japanese service firms among 35 cities as well as changes in the hierarchy of cities in the Pacific during the years 1985 to 1995. The period saw important changes in Japan’s economy such as the emergence of a ‘bubble economy’ up to 1990 and domestic recession after that. The results show the importance of Hong Kong, Singapore and Los Angeles as centres of Japanese service firms. However, the analysis indicates that a shift occurred in Japanese service sector focus over the study period, across the Pacific Rim from North America and Oceania to cities of the Asia- Pacific region. Along with that shift the concentration of services in just a few cities has remained unchanged, even though some new cities have emerged in importance. Keywords: Pacific Rim, Japanese service firms, world cities, Japanese overseas investment The growth of international producer services (finance, property development and so on) has contributed to the evolution of so-called ‘world cities’ or ‘global cities’, which are organised into a clear but changing hierarchy. This paper addresses the hierarchy of such centres in the Pacific Rim, and argues that this has been influenced by the location of rapidly expanding Japanese service sector firms since the mid-1980s. Trade and investment in services – such as banking and other financial services, construction, shipping and tourism – has Asia Pacific Viewpoint, Vol. 39, No. 2, August 1998 ISSN: 1360-7456, pp161–178 Victoria University of Wellington, 1998. Published by Blackwell Publishers, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford, OX4 1JF, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA. Authors: David W. Edgington, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada V6T 1Z2. E-mail: edgingtn@geog.ubc.ca Hiro Haga, Doctoral Program of Geoscience, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki, Japan 530. E-mail: haga@land.geo.tsukuba.ac.jp