Japanese customers enjoy the high technology of underground bicycle parking lots

Photo: Traditional bicycle parking in Japan


Japanese customers are enjoying a new type of underground bicycle parking which is convenient, quick and draws on a range of high technology designs and equipment.

Watch the video below to learn more


Video:


Source:Techno-Frontiers: Underground Bicycle Parking Lots,
Jun. 19 on Air,
NHK World English
http://www.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/movie/feature75.html




Further reading:









Study Abroad Japan? Visit Study Abroad Japan

Japanese customers reveal that they are sensitive to revealing personal information in surveys according to new international marketing study

".. consumers from some countries more than others are hesitant to answer questions that are of a personal nature. This is particularly the case in Japan and Korea" page 17

Source: "Global consumer innovativeness:Cross-country differences and demographic commonalities by G.Tellis, E.Yin & S.Bell, Journal of International Marketing, Vol 17, No 2, 2009, pages 1-22.

Further reading




Be part of the Asian century. Visit Study Abroad Japan

Japanese customers see their household financial assets drop to five year low

"The aggravate value of financial assets held by Japanese households fell 3.7% year on year to 1,410.443 trillion yen at the end of March, making for a five-year low, the Bank of Japan"

Source:Household Financial Assets At 5-Year Low
Nikkei Net, Wed, June 17th, 11am
http://www.nni.nikkei.co.jp/e/fr/freetop.aspx




Further reading:








See the real Japan at Motorcycle Japan

Understanding Japanese customers needs more than English language skills

"It's just not possible to be a monolingual English speaker and have any kind of serious cultural interaction with the rest of the world."

Professor Nettelbeck




Source:Threatening blot on the polyglot,
Bernard Lane, June 17, 2009
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25646329-12332,00.html





Further reading:







See the real Japan at Motorcycle Japan

Japanese customers served by 64 Japanese companies that make up the Fortune 500 list

"Fortune magazine's list of the world’s top 500 earners for 2008 included 64 Japanese companies."


Source:Column #97 Kanji Clinic, The Japan Times, June 17, 2009
"The crafty names of Japan's cleverest companies"
Mary Sisk Noguchi
http://www.kanjiclinic.com/kc97final.htm

Fortune 500 list 2008



Further reading






See the real Japan. Visit Motorcycle Japan

Japanese Customer: Japan - ranks highly in the top five branding nations

Photo: Sony Walkman

Top Five Brand Nations

1.Germany
2. France
3.United Kingdom
4. Canada
5. Japan

According to the 2008 Anhold-Gfk Roper Nation Brands Index which asks 20,000 online users in 20 countries to rank countries on six dimensions:exports,tourism,culture,people,governance, investment and immigration

Watch more YouTube videos on AOL Video

Further reading:


Book - The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding










Learn more about Study in Japan at
Study Abroad Japan

Foreign firms in Japan must adapt to Japanese customers instead of asking them to adapt

”Fifteen years ago, the customer might have adapted to the foreign prestige brand. Today, we have to adapt to the customer.”



Source:"Staying in for the long haul in one of the world’s most lucrative cosmetics markets"
Executive Interview -- Mark Loomis,Estée Lauder KK
June 11, 2009, J@pan Inc Magazine Articles
Magazine No 86, By Chris Betros
http://www.japaninc.com/mgz86/mark-loomis



Further reading:

Japanese customers have a high eagerness to purchase high tech gadgets according to new international marketing study

"Japanese have the highest level of eagerness
for new products in the high tech category" page 16

Source: "Global consumer innovativeness:Cross-country differences and demographic commonalities by G.Tellis, E.Yin & S.Bell, Journal of International Marketing, Vol 17, No 2, 2009, pages 1-22.

Further reading




Be part of the Asian century. Visit Study Abroad Japan

Japanese companies intend to hire 20% fewer graduates next April 2010 due to worsening economic conditions

"Nearly 20 percent of Japanese companies will hire fewer college graduates in the fiscal year that begins next April...This was revealed in the labor ministry's annual survey of firms with more than 30 employees. About 2,900 companies took part in the survey."



Source:20% of Japanese firms to hire fewer graduates,
2009/06/10
http://www.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/10_01.html



Further reading:

Japanese Customers with Nintendo DS consoles will be able to access free content at all McDonalds stores in Japan starting this Friday 19th June

According to the Japan Times, McDonalds Japan will start this Friday to provide free content to those with DS consoles who bring them to McDonalds stores. Customers will be able to acces free content such as collectibel characters and gain information related to McDonald products. Content will be accessed wirelessly where internet access is available in stores.

This sounds like a great new service and will be of interest especially to young children and families who visit.

The idea of taking an appliance to a store for a reward is also an exciting development in building loyalty & repeat purchases.

Further reading:

Source:McDonald's starts DS-user service
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
By Hiroko Nakata
Japan Times online
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20090616a2.html



See the real Japan at Motorcycle Japan

Japanese Customer: Co - workers are an an important component of job satisfaction for Japanese employees acording to new research

Photo: View from the road





"Unlike their American counterparts whose job satisfaction is driven primarily by pay level, Japanese salespeople view their coworkers as a crucial component
of job satisfaction"

Source: Consumer Responses to service failures:A resource preference model of cultural influences by Haksin Chan and Lisa C.Wan
Journal of International Marketing Vol 16, No 1 2008 76





Further reading:



Book - Team Toyota










Learn more about
study in Japan at
Study Abroad Japan

Japanese customers showed their willingness to buy across product categories according to new study on cross cultural differences

"Ｍａｎｙ　ｃｏｕｎｔｒｉｅｓ，　ｓｕｃｈ　ａｓ　Ｋｏｒｅａ　ａｎｄ　Japan,
showed similarities in their relative eagerness to buy across product categories" page 3




Source: "Global consumer innovativeness:Cross-country differences and demographic commonalities by G.Tellis, E.Yin & S.Bell, Journal of International Marketing, Vol 17, No 2, 2009, pages 1-22.


Further reading




Be part of the Asian century. Visit Study Abroad Japan

Book Review: English Grammar for students of Japanese - The study guide for those learning Japanese

Book Review






Title: English Grammar for students of Japanese - The study guide for those learning Japanese
Author: Mutsuko Endo Hudson
Publisher: The Olivia & Hill Press, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA, 1994
ISBN: 978-0934-0341-66, Pages, 204


A good guide for brushing up on English grammar before studying Japanese

People studying Japanese as native English speakers need good resources and this book is a useful guide for those wanting to brush up on English grammar before starting to study Japanese in more detail. It has clear and easy to understand examples of English grammar. Native speakers often learn a language without formal grammar study but need it when the learn a second language and that’s where this book comes in handy.

The book is split into four main sections. An introduction, Grammar points – 45 key topics dissected, an answer section for the end of chapter revision exercises and an index.






From a learning perspective the book is split into two sections. Section one is a review of key grammar points for native English speakers in technical grammar terms and section two is a comparison of English grammar to similar Japanese grammar structures.

It should be noted that the books emphasis is on English grammar and not Japanese grammar. The book shines on its review of English grammar. The Japanese grammar section as it relates to similar English structures is a bit disappointing in that Japanese grammar structures are not as fully explained as the English grammar. If they were this book would be worthy of five stars.

The following Japanese sections were very helpful. Starting with, “To the student” a how to guide for studying Japanese by the author, Section 11, What is an Adverb ( was clearly set out, and had good examples), and Section 15, What are Prefixes and Suffixes (stood out to me as the most practical section of the book )

Even though the Japanese section is lacking I still feel that this is a good guide for native English speakers in that it shares known English grammar structures and posits them against similar Japanese grammar structures.

This book would be of most benefit to those about to embarking on a detailed study of Japanese in either a full time course or a study abroad program.


 JapaneseCustomer.com, June 2nd, 2009

Japanese mums spending more time educating children at home prior to starting school according to new study

”Mothers who teach their children to read and write before the offspring enter elementary school increased 5 points to 25 percent”



Ｓource:More moms teaching preschoolers: survey
Kyodo News, Japan Times, Tuesday, June 9, 2009
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20090609f2.html

*Survey conducted by Tokyo-based Benesse Educational Research & Development Center last September and October asked what mothers focus on while parenting and educating their kids.


Further reading

Japanese Customer: Foreign rights book marketing -"important to have someone on the ground" in Japan

Photo: Foreign books

Book - The Complete Guide to Book Marketing

"Others handle the bilk of foreign-rights sales in-house, relying merely on agents for a few difficult markets - particularly Japan, Korea and Taiwan - where it's extremely important to have someone on the ground, familiar with the players and up to the minute on changing conditions"
David Cole, page 141.The Complete Guide to Book Marketing




Book - The Complete Guide to Book Marketing






Learn more about study in Japan at
Study Abroad Japan

Japanese mens monthly allowance takes a dive as income drops according to study

"Men's monthly allowances, or "kozukai,"
fell to an average ¥45,600 from ¥46,300 a year ago
and a peak of ¥76,000 at the height of the economic bubble in 1990"



Source:Men turn to 'bento' as pocket change grows scarcer
Bloomberg,
Saturday, June 6, 2009
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20090606n1.html



See the real Japan. Visit Motorcycle Japan