Yaohan, a Japanese retail group, is moving...

Yaohan, a Japanese retail group, is moving its headquarters to Hong Kong and concentrating on developing overseas outlets in what is believed to be the first time that a Japanese company has shifted its base abroad.

Chairman Kazuo Wada said Japan’s law governing large retail chains hinders the expansion of department store groups. He has long been an outspoken critic of this law, claiming that its protection of small, family-owned shops contributes to high retail prices in Japan. The law has also become a target of U.S. government criticism on the grounds that it prevents the rationalization of Japan’s anti-import distribution systems.

The family-controlled company, based in a small town 100 miles west of Tokyo, has become famous among Japanese retailers for opening department stores in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and the United States and for adopting American management practices.

Sales abroad account for 35% of group turnover, which stands at $1.35 billion. Yaohan aims to raise the overseas share to 60% by 1997.

Yaohan has a maverick reputation: It recently announced a four-day week for employees, unheard of in workaholic Japan.

Its latest move will be welcomed in Hong Kong, where several local corporate groups have changed their domicile to Bermuda ahead of the reversion of the colony to China in 1997.

Most large Japanese department store groups have concentrated on the domestic market, with only token representation in prestige locations such as London and New York. Yaohan has 22 stores overseas.