Bosch's history in Japan pays off; German supplier started licensing products for production in Japan in 1939.(Robert Bosch GmbH)

Byline: James B. Treece

When the executive board of Toyota Motor's Kyoho-kai supplier council meets, Stefan Stocker is the only non-Japanese in the room.

Stocker is president of Bosch Corp., the Japanese arm of Robert Bosch, the world's largest automotive supplier.

Bosch Corp. has made itself Japanese. No other foreign partsmaker comes close to Bosch's integration into the Japanese auto industry. As a result, it is positioned better than any other non-Japanese components maker to ride the growth of Japanese carmakers in world markets.

"We obtained this status because of our long presence and business experience" in Japan, says Stocker. Indeed, Bosch began licensing its products for production here 68 years ago. It set up its own companies in Japan starting 35 years ago.

Embedded in Japan

Today, the German parts giant owns 59.2 percent of …