Yet in Nishi-Koizumi in Gunma prefecture, just north of Tokyo, a town dominated by a Sanyo electronics plant, the picture is different.

ECONOMIST: Japanese immigration

Kevin Pass, head organiser for the Iron and Steel Trades Confederation, says that his union recruited more than half the 1, 000-strong workforce at an electronics plant in Gourock, near Glasgow, within 12 weeks.

ECONOMIST: Trade unions

The fund goes back to recyclers and collectors, who are paid a subsidy based on the amount of electronics they bring to a recycling plant.

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Weeks ago Japanese electronics giant Sony announced 650 job cuts as it closes its Bridgend plant quickly followed by news that American firm Wrigley's was to shut the Altoids sweet factory in the town, with the loss of a further 173 jobs.

BBC: Lord Richard Attenborough

Samsung Electronics, the world's largest producer of memory chips, closed its wafer-fabrication plant and gave its employees one week off to enjoy sun and sand.

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