As the article hinted at, part of that question rests on ownership. Profits "shipped to another country" are ultimately the property of the shareholders. If all of the shareholders are American, then the profits get shipped to Japan and then returned to America in the form of dividends and share buybacks. There are legal issues, of course, regarding taxation and jurisdiction, but it does make you wonder. There are plenty of companies in Panama (et al) which the US Government would like to have enough evidence to prove are American owned...