By some measures Kikkoman is the Japanese firm most dependent on the American market.

ECONOMIST: Face value

Kikkoman's move into America in the 1950s set the template for the company's foreign expansion.

ECONOMIST: Face value

Kikkoman is the biggest wholesaler of Asian foodstuffs in America, with similar operations in Europe, China and Australia.

ECONOMIST: Face value

Kikkoman, he realised, had to adapt its sauce to the local cuisine if it was going to succeed.

ECONOMIST: Face value

Kikkoman's energetic president, Yuzaburo Mogi, whose ancestors founded the company, earned his M.

FORBES: Capitalism is contagious

Kikkoman promoted soy sauce in America by hiring chefs to concoct recipes that incorporated the sauce into classic American dishes.

ECONOMIST: Face value

But Kikkoman buys most of its soyabeans and wheat from America and Canada, so a stronger yen actually reduces its costs.

ECONOMIST: Face value

The recession has hit Kikkoman's profits, but it is relatively well protected.

ECONOMIST: Face value

Kikkoman, for example, founded in 1630 and now the world's leading maker of soy sauce, has expanded into food flavouring and, latterly, into biotech.

ECONOMIST: What is the secret of corporate longevity?

It also needs a good grasp of the firm's core competence: in this instance, knowing lots about yeast, a common factor in all of Kikkoman's activities.

ECONOMIST: What is the secret of corporate longevity?

Kikkoman has not yet actually issued any options, however.

FORBES: Capitalism is contagious