Japanese Customer: Honda in conjunction with police to provide crime statistics to drivers through car navigation systems

Photo: Road in Japan

Learn more about national highways in Japan in English here

"Honda Motor Co. is teaming up with the Metropolitan Police Department and police in 13 other prefectures to launch a service providing drivers with vehicle-related crime statistics through their car navigation systems, starting on Tuesday."

Source: Honda, police to provide crime info via car navigation system
Mainichi Japan, April 19, 2008
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20080419p2a00m0na011000c.html



Learn more about Japanese Customers at You Tube

Japanese Customer: First internet experience for most Japanese children is via the mobile phone

Photo: Japanese mobile phone

“For young kids, the first device for connecting to the internet is now the mobile phone, not the PC,”
observes Hironobu Kawai,
digital lead for OgilvyOne Japan’s interactive division.

Source: Why Mobile is Going Places in Japan
March 21, 2008, Asiamediajournal.com
an extract from a full-length feature published in the Q1 2008 edition of The Asia Media Journal magazine
http://www.asiamediajournal.com/article.php?id=305

Learn more about travel in Japan at
Motorcycling Japan

Japanese Customer: DoCoMo model P905iTV scores high on user friendliness for music according to Nikkei survey

Photo: A Japanese Mobile phone keypad

"Of some 32 cell phone models with music-playing capability that have come to market since January, NTT DoCoMo Inc.'s (9437) P905iTV came first in
terms of user-friendliness and sound quality in a recent Nikkei survey."



Source: DoCoMo P905iTV Ranked Best Music-Playing Cell Phone
Monday 31st March, 2008
http://www.nni.nikkei.co.jp/

Japanese Customer: Have Japanese customers changed between haves and have nots?

Photo: Hummer on sale in Tokyo, Japan

"two million yen (£9,300) has become the de-facto poverty line for millions of Japanese, especially outside the capital."

Source: Luxury gap: how Japan turned into a nation of the haves and the have-nots
By David McNeill
Independent.co.uk Web
Wednesday, 6 February 2008
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/
luxury-gap-how-japan-turned-into-a-nation-of-the-haves-and-the-havenots-778677.html

Japanese Customer: 60% of all homes in Japan were built after 1980

Photo: Houses in Tokyo, Japan

"The housing stock is amazingly young:
more than 60% of all Japanese homes
were built after 1980...land has value but buildings do not"
The Economist

Subscribe to the Economist here & save





Source:Building wealth
Jan 3rd 2008 | TOKYO
From The Economist print edition
http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_id=10431721



Learn more about Japan at
Motorcycle Japan

Japanese Customer: How do you say new years day food in Japanese?

Photo: New years day foods, Japan

Osechi ryori - "Food for the new year is distinctly traditional"


Source: Japanese Family and Culture
JTB, 4th Edition, 2000,
ISBN: 4533020208, Page 74


Learn more about Japanese culture

Buy The book






Learn about study in Japan at
Study Abroad Japan

Japanese Customer: "the informal cues are as important as the legalistic ones"

Photo: Japanese business meeting

"In Japan, where reputation and relationships are considered precious,
the informal cues are as important as the legalistic ones."

Source: My bow is my bond
Apr 24th 2008 | TOKYO
From The Economist print edition
http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11090282

Subscribe to the Economist here & save





Learn more about
study
in Japan at
Study Abroad Japan

Japanese Customer: Persona's an important tool in better understanding customer segments and meeting their needs

Photo: Japanese customers at a new product launch

"A persona is a design tool that helps (marketers) make informed decisions and it's an archetype we use to target our client audiences"

Bethany Fenton


Source:Persona-fication
By Daniel B. Honigman
CoreConcepts
Marketing News, January 4th 2008 page 8
American Marketing Association



Learn more about Japanese Customers
at You Tube

Japanese Customer: Top ten food imports - 2006 - JETRO

Photo: Bottled Coffee

Top ten Japanese food imports in 2006

Pork $3.3bn

Corn $2.5bn

Tuna $2.0bn

Prawns $1.9bn

Beef $1.9bn

Banana $1.5bn

Soya $1.3bn

Wheat $1.2bn

Coffee $1.0bn

Sugar $480m


Source: Japan External Trade Organisation
Japan losing out in the bidding war for food
Leo Lewis, Asia Business Correspondent
TimesOnline.com, March 17, 2008
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/markets/japan/article3563834.ece


Learn more about study in Japan
at Study Abroad Japan

Japanese Customer: Salary gap report shows women paid 33 percent less than men

Photo: Tokyo, skyline

"According to new data, Japanese women are paid 33 percent less than men. A recent report on average salary gaps from the International Trade Union Confederation revealed that gender differences in salary persist, with Japan's gap one of the largest."


Source:Japan's salary gap, Editorial
Monday, March 24, 2008
Japan times online
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ed20080324a1.html



Learn more about study in Japan
at Study Abroad Japan

Japanese Customer: Culture affects how people respond and evaluate risk

Photo: Bon Odori dance

" Culture affects not only how people respond to risk
but also how they perceive and evaluate risk "



Source: The complexities of perceived risk in cross - cultural services marketing
by Hean Tat Keh & Jin Sun
Journal of International Marketing Vol 16,
No 1, 2008, p123



Learn more about study in Japan
at Study Abroad Japan

Japanese Customer: "Expect obstacles, barriers, and headaches and be prepared"

Photo: Nightview of Ginza, Tokyo

"Expect obstacles, barriers, and headaches and be prepared." Reiko Lyster



Source: Setting up & Operating a business in Japan
A handbook for the foreign businessman
By Helene Thian, page 32.
Published by Charles Tuttle
ISBN: 0804815445

Japanese Customer: Tokyo expected to grow in population to 36 million by 2025

Photo: Office building in Tokyo, Japan

"In 2025, Tokyo is still expected to be the world's most populous urban agglomeration, 
with 36 million inhabitants," according to 
"2007 Revisions of World Urbanization Prospects."




Source:Tokyo to still be most populous megacity in '25: U.N.
Thursday, Feb. 28, 2008
Japan Times
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20080228a2.html

Japanese Customer: Hair styling is an important part of grooming in Japan

Photo: Hairdresser in Japan



"Tokyoites take their hair seriously. There were 27,203 salons and barber shops operating in the city as of March 2007, according to the health ministry, or one for every 470 residents. ...
In Japan as a whole, there are more than 354,000 places to get your hair cut..one person in 214 is a licensed barber or beautician, making the profession more than twice as popular as it is in the US."




Source:Welcome to the Japanese cult of hard slog
By Jonathan Soble
Published: February 28 2008
FT.com
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/495dfbe0-e59f-11dc-9334-0000779fd2ac.html

Japanese Customer: What Japanese festival represents masculine strength and vigor?

Photo: Carp banner

Koinobori - " a set of flying carp streamers..reminds us of ..boys masculine strength and vigor"

Source: Japanese Family and Culture
JTB, 4th Edition, 2000,
ISBN: 4533020208, Page 84


Learn more about Japanese culture

Buy The book at Amazon






Learn about study in Japan at Study Abroad Japan

Japanese Customer: New research shows Japanese reliance on group to read situation and emotions

Photo: Night scene in Tokyo, Japan

"When North Americans are trying to figure out how a person is feeling, they selectively focus on that particular person's facial expression, whereas Japanese consider the emotions of the other people in the situation,"
Live Science quoted Takahiko Masuda, a professor of Psychology, University of Alberta

Source: Cultural rearing affects face reading
23 Apr 2008, The times of India
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/
HealthSci/Cultural_rearing_affects_face_reading/articleshow/2974301.cms
The results will be published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Learn about travel in Japan at Motorcycle Japan

Japanese Customer: Garbage collection in Tokyo now five days a week

Photo: Recycled milk carton

Garbage collection in Tokyo is now five days a week. From April 1st, 2008 a new schedule came into effect with Tuesday - Burnable day, Wednesday - Special non Burnable (eg batteries), Thursday is regular non burnable, Friday is burnable and Saturday is recyclable garbage (milk cartons, cans, foam trays and glasses products). Garbage can't be left out the night before collection and must be placed at collection points by 8am.

Learn more about Japan at You Tube

Japanese Customer: Workforce in Japan estimated to be 50% part time or temporary by 2010

Photo: Japanese beer brands at a railway station kiosk

"by 2010, it is predicted that almost 50% of the workforce will be in part-time or temporary employment" (in Japan)

Source: Tokyo professionals - recession proof?
By Kevin Gibson
Japan Today
accessed 23/4/2008
http://www.japantoday.com/category/

commentary/view/tokyo-professionals-recession-proof

Learn about study in Japan at Study Abroad Japan

Japanese Customer: Green Tea and its cancer fighting abilities - Book

Photo: A cup of green tea








"Green tea is one of the most promising of the cancer fighting foods"



Source: The green tea book by Lester.A.Mitscher & Victoria Dolby, page 53,
ISBN0-89529-807-4


Buy the book at Amazon







Learn more about study in Japan at
Study Abroad Japan

Japanese Customer: Universities have a chance to woo Japanese customers by using the technology of You Tube

Photo: Japanese customers

"a growing number of (US) colleges and educational organizations using (You Tube) the popular video-sharing site."

Source: Wired Campus
More Colleges Show Interest in Hooking Up With YouTube
February 13, 2008
Chronicle of Higher Education
http://chronicle.com/wiredcampus/article/2740/
more-colleges-show-interest-in-hooking-up
-with-youtube?utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

Japanese Customer: According to research it seems that fortune cookies originated in Japan

"Fortune cookies are Japanese! The idea of stuffing notes into sweets originated in the Land of the Rising Sun, perhaps going as far back as the 19th century"

Source:Japanese” Fortune Cookies? MSG in Goldfish crackers?
By Charles Passy | Thursday, March 6, 2008,
Hungry man with Charles Passy
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/
palmbeach/hungryman/entries/2008/03/06/japanese_fortune_cookies_msg_i.html

Japanese Customer: Survey finds that Japanese have the least sex

"A survey by the University of Chicago in 2006 found Japanese respondents were the least sexually satisfied of people from 29 countries - a finding echoed last year by another survey, which also found the Japanese have the least sex"


Source: Lust in translation - a life without sex,
Justin Norrie in Tokyo
February 2, 2008
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/
lust-in-translation--a-life-without-sex/2008/02/01/1201801034260.html


Learn more about Japanese Customers at You Tube

Japanese Customer: Japanese baby sitters under pressure from fastidious parents

Photo: Folded laundry

"Japanese customers apply very exacting standards to their baby sitters. Fastidious parents give caregivers low marks, for example, when laundry is not folded in precisely the right way".
Noriko Nakamura, the president of Tokyo-based Poppings

Source: "Japan's new growth industry: baby sitting "by Miki Tanikawa,
International Herald Tribune, November 18th, 2007
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/11/18/asia/baby.php?page=2



Learn more about Japanese Customers at You Tube

Japanese Customer: Higher US tuition costs - what's the impact on Japanese customers?

Photo: Japanese customer studying English

"The price of college in the United States rose faster than the inflation rate this year, climbing 6.6 percent", "the average list price of a four year public universities to $6185 this year up $381 from 2006-2007"

Source: "US college prices rise again"
Japan Times,
Wednesday October 24th, 2007
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news.html

Japanese Customer: Number of Japanese customers travelling abroad decreases in 2007

Photo: Japanese customer preparing to travel

"the number of Japanese traveling overseas declined in 2007 due to the effects of the weak yen and a surge in airfares, reaching only 17.298 million"

Source:Number of foreign visitors tops 8 million in 2007
Mainichi Japan, January 28, 2008
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20080128p2a00m0na040000c.html

Japanese Customer: The use of the personal computer is decreasing in Japanese homes

Photo: Japanese keyboard

"The PC's role in Japanese homes is diminishing, as its once-awesome monopoly on processing power is encroached on by gadgets such as smart phones that act like pocket-size computers, advanced Internet-connected game consoles, digital video recorders with terabytes of memory".

Source: Pc's disappearing from Japanese homes
Friday, November 2, 2007, PCs disappearing from Japanese homes, Consumers reaching for gadgets such as video game systems connected to Web, smart phones. Hiroko Tabuchi / Associated Press.Detnews.com



Learn more about Japanese Customers at You Tube

Japanese Customer: Japanese high tech toilet makers aim for new market in America

Photo: Japanese high tech toilet controls



"In China, households show off a Toto toilet (Japanese high tech washlet) as proof of being very rich,".."Toilet makers are therefore aiming to sell their high-tech toilets to the very rich overseas."



Source: Toto ads take aim at America's great unwashed
By Shinichi Terada, The Japan Times, Thursday November 15th 2007.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20071115a1.html



Learn more about Japanese Customers at You Tube

Japanese Customer: How can Japanese students maintain their English language level when they return to Japan?

Photo: Japanese electronic dictionary

Learn Japanese with an Electronic Dictionary from Amazon

"My English-speaking ability, which had improved in the United States, hit rock bottom then," Shinji Ohno,



Source: English Vital in fighting Cancer by Yoko Mizui,
The Daily Yomiuri, Tuesday November 6th, 2007 page 18.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/language/20071106TDY18002.htm

Learn Japanese with an Electronic Dictionary from Amazon









Learn about study in Japan at
Study Abroad Japan

Japanese Customer: 27.4% of Japanese women deal with stress by eating according to new survey

Photo: Japanese dish of negi and beef in sauce

27.4% of Japanese women deal with stress by eating,

19.1% of Japanese women deal with stress by talking with friends(other women)

18 % of Japanese women deal with stress by going shopping

7.58% of Japanese women deal with stress by travel, movie and karaoke

6 % of Japanese women deal with stress by playing sports

5.41% of Japanese women deal with stress by spending time with family

4.33% of Japanese women deal with stress by cleaning

0.72% of Japanese women deal with stress by breaking an item

According to a survey conducted December 2007,

 with a sample of 318 women aged 20 to 50 years of age.

Source: Pado, number 969.

 January 25th, 2008. page 7 ,Tokyo, Japan

Japanese Customer: Waribashi: A convenient product but at what price?

Picture: Waribashi (disposable chopsticks)

"The Japanese government's Forestry Agency estimates that a whopping 25 billion pairs of waribashi
(disposable chopsticks) are used in Japan every year"

Source: Waribashi: Waste on a gluttonous scale
By Raju Thakar, Staff writer
The Japan Times, page 15, Wed July 39, 2008


Comment:

Many chain ticket restaurants have recently started to use chopsticks that can be washed as a way to reduce their costs and many diners now carry their own chopsticks.



Learn more about study in Japan
at Study Abroad Japan Blog

Japanese Customer: Japan largest Asian market for market research in 2006

Photo: Hakodate, Japan

According to the latest 

"2008 marketing fact book",

 Japan was the largest Asian market by marketing research expenditures in 2006

 with US$1,380 million.

Source: Top ten Asia Pacific markets, 

2008 Marketing Research Fact Book,

 Marketing News,

 17/7/2008, page 21,

American Marketing Association.