Electro Scientific Industries Inc. (ESI), a Portland, Ore.-based provider of photonic and laser systems for microengineering applications, yesterday announced that it will directly represent its memory repair products in Japan and drop its distributor, Canon Marketing Japan Inc., effective April 1. ESI said it has expanded its service and support team in Japan by 133 percent over the past few months to prepare for the change. "Separating from our longtime partner Canon was a decision that was not taken lightly," said ESI President and CEO Nick Konidaris. "However, we view this as a key step in our overall plan to structure our business into a more efficient, global, customer-centric model by taking this process in-house. We plan to increase our investment in the region and augment our work force. This will enable us to accelerate our growth and better serve our customers in Japan." ESI currently sells directly in China, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, France, Germany, the UK and North America.