Japanese customers will be able to check credit card charges and data held from fiscal 2011

"Consumers will be able to check for themselves on the Internet how much they have been charged on their multiple credit cards and other relevant credit data held by card issuers possibly from fiscal 2011, according to industry sources."



Source: Consumers to gain Internet access to aggregate credit card charge data
Monday 09th August,2010
Japan Today
http://www.japantoday.com/category/technology/view/consumers-to-gain-internet-access-to-aggregate-credit-card-charge-data

Young Japanese consumers - a marketers challenge according to new research

"Japanese (consumers in their 20's) have nothing in particular they really want to buy.

They are inactive consumers who are tight with money and carefully study prices before parting with their cash."

Source:Young Japanese, Chinese Put Money To Different Uses

The Nikkei

August 31, 2009

http://www.nni.nikkei.co.jp/e/fr/tnks/Nni20090904D04JF999.htm

Further reading:

Reviews

Visit the home of the modern motorcycle in 2010

Motorcycle Japan in 2010

Only 10% of Japanese customers planning to spend more on vacations this year according to survey

"..about a third of New Zealanders and Australians are investing more this year in their vacation plans. In contrast, just 10% of American and Japanese consumers, 11% of French consumers and 12% of German consumers plan to boost their vacation spend. "


Source:The Economy is Not Curtailing Vacation Plans, with Most Consumers Worldwide Planning to Spend as Much or More on Their Travels This Year than Last
2010-08-05
PR Newswire
http://media.netpr.pl/pr/166770/the-economy-is-not-curtailing-vacation-plans-with-most-consumers-worldwide-planning-to-spend-as-much-or-more-on-their-travels-this-year-than-last-according-to-new-ssi-r

Summer heat wave in Japan drives Japanese customers to refresh with some drinks sales in July up 65% on year before sales

"Sales of Pocari Sweat, made by Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., increased by about 65 percent in July compared to a year ago. Record monthly sales were achieved for 500 milliliter bottles of Pocari Sweat, with huge demand making the drink hard to come by in some parts of the country."



Source:Temperatures keep tills ringing / Unprecedented sales seen as consumers clamber to keep cool
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Aug. 10, 2010
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/business/T100809003134.htm

Japanese customers attracted to all you can eat nabe meals even in the heat of summer

"Sato Restaurant Systems Co.offers an all-you-can-eat shabu-shabu meal for 2,079 yen. For two hours, a diner can choose from a selection of 30 items, including meats, vegetables and rice. The deal has been a hit with young adults and families since it was added to the menu in June 2009."



Source:All-You-Can-Eat Hot Pots Beating The Heat To Prove Summer Hits
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Nikkei
http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20100809D09JFA16.htm

What are the expectations and preferences of Japanese tertiary students travelling overseas?

"The potential of the Japanese student market for Australia : the overseas travel expectations and preferences of Japanese tertiary students"

Wada, Atsushi (1992)
The potential of the Japanese student market for Australia : the overseas travel expectations and preferences of Japanese tertiary students. Coursework Master thesis thesis, Victoria University of Technology.


Abstract

While young females have received considerable attention, relatively little research has examined other groups within the Japanese youth travel market. The young Japanese, like their western counterparts, have a strong desire for leisure activities, in particular, overseas travel. Among them, university and college students have become one of the major forces in the Japanese leisure and travel market. Students are believed to have relatively more spare time and money to realise their desire for overseas travel. However, there is little information available on their travel preferences and behaviour. This study, therefore, aimed to investigate the travel expectations and behaviour of Japanese tertiary students and their potential for Australian tourism.

Japanese customers prefer native Japanese speakers when it comes to call centre telephone service

"..Japanese customers want to hear someone who sounds Japanese or they don’t want to talk to them....foreign-sounding Japanese speakers are still regarded with suspicion or impatience by the general public when being cold-called over the phone. First of all Japan is a face-to-face culture and phone solicitations are not well regarded, and so to have someone not Japanese to be doing is just rubbing salt into the wound."


Source:Cloud-based Call Centers
New developments allow working from home
Aug 2, 2010
A weekly roundup of news & information from Terrie Lloyd.
http://blogs.metropolis.co.jp/terrie/2010/08/02/cloud-based-call-centers/

What are the reasons for the drop in Japanese customer spending patterns?

"we may see a precipitous drop in consumer spending as a substantial fraction of the population loses confidence in its future income continuity"

Source: The Lights in the Tunnel:
Automation, Accelerating Technology and the Economy of the Future
By Martin Ford
Paperback: 262 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace (September 22, 2009)
Language: EnglishI
SBN-13: 978-1448659814
Page 211

Values, beliefs and attitudes attached to them are often vastly different from culture to culture

" ..many people naively assume there are sufficient similarities among peoples of the world to make communication easy.They expect that simply being human, having common requirements of food, shelter, security, and so on, makes everyone alike. Unfortunately they overlook the fact that the forms of adaptation to these common biological and social needs & values, beliefs and attitudes surrounding them are vastly different from culture to culture"

Barna L.M


Source: Stumbling blocks in Intercultural Communication
in L.A.Samovar & R.E.Porter,
"Intercultural Communication: A Reader",
Belmont, CA, Wadsworth, USA, page 337



Further reading:

How to meet the needs of Japanese customers in the service industry?

"When Japanese guests come to our hotel, they want to be escorted to the club lounge and they want to be offered tea or fresh orange juice and they want to have everything explained to them."

Source:The Ritz experience

By Chris Betros

http://www.japantoday.com/category/executive-impact/view/the-ritz-experience

Further reading:

See the best of Japan in 2010

Visit Motorcycle Japan

Number of Japanese researchers undertaking overseas study declining

"The number of Japanese researchers who spent at least 31 consecutive days overseas studying or conducting research on professional assignments has more than halved in recent years compared with a decade earlier, according to the education ministry.. The total number was roughly 3,700 in fiscal 2008 and 2009, down from a peak of more than 7,600 in fiscal 2000... the number of foreign researchers who come to Japan to conduct research or studies for similar durations has been hovering at around 13,000 over the past decade, the ministry said."



Source: Fewer researchers venturing abroad to study
The Japan Times: Saturday
Oct. 9, 2010
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/print/nn20101009a7.html

Japanese customers see top grade rice harvest drop to just 64% of harvest in 2010

"Top-grade rice accounts for just 64.4% of this year's harvest, down 18.6 percentage points from 2009 and the lowest level since comparable records were first kept in 1999, the Agriculture Ministry said Wednesday...
In the No. 1 rice-producing prefecture of Niigata, the proportion of top-grade rice plunged from 90.7% to 19.7%.



Source:Hot Summer Delivers Lowest-Grade Rice Harvest In 10 Years
Thursday, October 21, 2010
The Nikkei
http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20101020D20JFA06.htm

Japanese customers enjoy domestic produced eggs

"..96 percent of chicken eggs are produced domestically"



Source: More farmers use rice as chicken, pig feed
Tomonori Takenouchi
Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
Aug. 8, 2010
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T100807001887.htm?from=rss&ref=dyolwsj

McDonalds Japan to ban smoking at new outlets

"McDonald's Co. the nation's largest restaurant chain, plans to replace about 30 percent of its approximately 3,500 stores nationwide over the next several years."


Source: Most new McDonalds' outlets to ban smoking
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
2010/08/09
http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201008080153.html

Car ownership in Japan has high associated costs for Japanese customers compared to North America

"In Japan, the price associated with maintaining and owning a car is high.. compared with North America. Japanese drivers endure... (high) gasoline prices... and lots of other costs related with car ownership..(for example: Registration, insurance, road tolls, (shaken safety checks) and ..parking have (high)costs attached."


Source: Used Japanese Vehicles ? a Perfect Investment for Consumers
Sunday, 8 August, 2010
http://wp-mu.assurancenetwork.net/2010/08/08/used-japanese-vehicles-a-perfect-investment-for-consumers/

Japanese customers - What marketers should know

Photo: Japanese Customer - Train station Japan

Want more understanding of Japanese customers?

Here is an informative journal article


JAPANESE CONSUMERS: WHAT FOREIGN MARKETERS SHOULD KNOW

Author: Johny K. Johansson,
(Professor, Graduate School of Business Administration,
University of Washington, Seattle, Washington)
Publisher: MCB UP Ltd

Abstract: Through a synthesis of research results on Japanese consumer behaviour, this paper offers conclusions about the Japanese marketplace. Insights provided on Japanese consumers may prove useful to marketers contemplating entry into Japan.

Buy the journal article here


Source:International Marketing Review
ISSN: 0265-1335
Emerald Group Publishing Limited
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1671660&show=abstract&PHPSESSID=73nbs4kah2kfm1ecekkq414nf0&&nolog=623959



Further reading:

Japanese consumers domestic spending the key to growing the economy according to research

"(Japanese) workers use less than half their paid holidays.

Getting them to take all their time off would create 1.5 million jobs 

and pump ¥11.8 trillion a year into the economy, 

according to 2002 estimates by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry."

Source: Less work, more play to lift economy: DPJ

By AKIKO IKEDA and SATOSHI KAWANO

Bloomberg

The Japan Times: Saturday,

Sept. 12, 2009

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/print/nn20090912n2.html

Further reading:

Reviews

Be part of the Asian Century in 2010

Study Abroad Japan

Japanese customers have limited space, a moving pantry is just the thing - Video

Japanese houses are typically very small inside.Limited land and smaller block sizes translate to smaller rooms and space inside. Western furniture even though seen as a wanted item can often rarely fit into a Japanese house, where each door often has a different size.A small job like moving an American made rocking chair from one room to another can easily take hours instead of minutes as you have to disassemble the furniture to move it.(True story).Kitchens are the same. Houses built 10 years ago often have only limited bench space, 3 gas burner rings for cooking and no pantry for storing food, only a small cupboard for storing plates, glasses and crockery.

The video you are about to watch highlights the innovative nature of designers in Japan as they experiment and create new products to ease the stress of homeowners in small roomed houses.

Video: Innovative electronic Japanese pantry by Adachan



Video Source:Adachan



Further reading:






Learn Japanese in Japan?

Visit Study Abroad Japan

Japanese companies changing internal language to English - Rakuten insights - Video

Rakuten has aimed at getting staff to speak English internally by 2012.It supports employees with discounted classes and in the cafeteria with English signs for food. Japan is now one of the lowest countries in Asia on TOEFL test scores. Globalization plans seem to be the main motivator.

Source: Japanese Firm Mandates Employees to Speak English
8/5/2010
WSJ
Daisuke Wakabayashi
http://online.wsj.com/video/news-hub-a-question-of-time-inc/49633099-6512-4384-ADBF-6848C0C4D99C.html

How does a foreign qualification help Japanese students when they return to Japan?

Gaman - A Japanese Students Four Year Journey in Australia

A holistic international education documentary

By JapaneseCustomer.com

“Amazing insights into a Japanese students
“total” study experience”

Editorial Reviews



"International study is an enormous undertaking for an individual in terms of resources, language, culture & risk. This documentary reveals the four year journey of a Japanese student studying in Australia. “Gaman” is a Japanese word that means endure. JapaneseCustomer.com reveals the students journey from beginning to end. He begins with the student’s life in Japan before study, then follows the student to Australia & the students return to Japan. A fascinating cultural documentary”


Book Description:

A holistic international education profile of a Japanese students four year journey in Australia.


Readership:

● Government ● Education institutions ● Third party suppliers ● Employers


Special Features:

● Holistic profile of a Japanese student’s journey – before, during & after study
● 26 page cultural marketing guide
● Unique perspectives of culture, language & experiences.


Product Details:

Title: Gaman – A Japanese Student’s Four Year Journey in Australia
E-Book: Video & 26 page booklet
Publisher: JapaneseCustomer.com
Language: English
ISBN -13: 978-0-9580582-5-4


Payment: PayPal
Only available online at www.japanesecustomer.com



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41% of Japanese customers planning to leave home for vacations according to survey

"Consumers in Asia-Pacific seem to be particularly likely to travel during their vacations, with about 90% of Chinese and Singaporeans and 85% of Australians, South Koreans and New Zealanders planning overnight trips. The Japanese seem to be the anomaly, with just 41% planning to leave home for vacations."


Source:The Economy is Not Curtailing Vacation Plans, with Most Consumers Worldwide Planning to Spend as Much or More on Their Travels This Year than Last
2010-08-05
PR Newswire
http://media.netpr.pl/pr/166770/the-economy-is-not-curtailing-vacation-plans-with-most-consumers-worldwide-planning-to-spend-as-much-or-more-on-their-travels-this-year-than-last-according-to-new-ssi-r

Global marketers need to gain new skills to deal with Asian customer diversity

" New skills are being required to deal with diversity"




Source: Bureaucrats play vital role
Higher Education
The Australian Newspaper,
February 7th, 2007

Further reading:

Japanese consumers use of online video streaming up 20% on July weekend compared to last years sales

"GyaO Corp., an online video streaming service..owned by Yahoo Japan Corp, reported a roughly 20% sales increase.. during the two-day weekend of July 17-18,"


Source: Heat Wave Turning More People Into Stay-At-Home Online Shoppers
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Nikkei
http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20100803D03HH609.htm

Young Japanese customers patience exceeds expectactions in new survey

"the average amount of time people in their 20s are willing to spend waiting in line to buy something is 69 minutes. People in their 50s, the survey shows, are willing to wait an average of 29 minutes."

Source: How To Be A Post-Bubble Adult

Friday, September 18, 2009

The Nikkei

Sept. 14

http://www.nni.nikkei.co.jp/e/fr/tnks/Nni20090918D18JF265.htm

Further reading:

See the best of Japan's world heritage sites

when you Motorcycle Japan in 2010

Three seater bicycles sales defy expectations as Japanese customers with children snap them up despite high price tag

"There were doubts that the 3-seaters would win acceptance from consumers because of their hefty price tags -- with an electric motor, the bicycles run for over 100,000 yen, and even without one, they go for over 40,000 yen -- but they have won popularity with parents raising young children. "


Source:Sales of 3-seat bicycles soaring in Japan
Mainichi Japan
August 8, 2010
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20100807p2a00m0na017000c.html

Studying Japanese customers is not enough you have to integrate systems with procedures to gain success

"knowledge in itself cannot lead to sustainable competitive advantage. Rather, the configuration and integration of knowledge is the key to success"


Source: Lee. Chen, Kim & Johnson
Journal of International Marketing
American Marketing Association, 2008

Sports bicycle market worth 190 billion yen as Japanese customers flocked to the road

"The sports bicycle market jumped 21.8% to 190 billion yen. Hiking and camping gear also rose 8.1% to 161 billion yen."



Source: Shrinking Leisure Market Deals Blow To Tourism, But Hiking and Camping Thrive
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Nikkei
Tomoko Wakasugi
http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20100803D03HH549.htm

Only 10 - 20 % of total purchases made in Japan are on credit card according to interview

"Between 10 percent and 20 percent [of total purchases] in Japan are made by credit card, which is lower than in Europe and the United States, where the figure is between 20 percent and 30 percent,"

Takao Kawanishi




Source: JCB boss says greater focus on Asia markets in cards
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Jul. 28, 2010
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/business/T100727003784.htm

Rice inventories rising in Japan as consumers turn to other foods

"Private-sector inventories accounted
for 2.18 million tons
... Government inventories rose
14% to 980,000 tons"




Source: Rice Inventories Hit 7-Year High
Saturday, July 31, 2010
http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20100730D30JFA21.htm

Further reading:




Serious about learning Japanese?

Visit N3 JLPT

Six reasons why Japanese Customers are important to your business in 2010

Photo: A Japanese Customer

Six reasons why Japanese customers are important to your business in 2010

1. Japan - the largest economy in Asia

"Asia has accounted for 50 percent of world GDP for most of human history".

Source: The Mad Hedge Fund Trader
November 24, 2009
http://www.japaninc.com/Taking_the_Long_View_on_Asia




2. Japan's GDP per person the highest in Asia

"the average Japanese generates more than ten times the GDP as the average Chinese, and the average Taiwanese, more than six times."

Source: Resistance Is Futile, You Will Be Bought
December 12, 2009:
http://www.strategypage.com/qnd/china/articles/20091212.aspx





3. Japanese customers are still the world's best savers


"Households have saved up about ¥1.41 quadrillion in financial assets"

Source: Less work, more play to lift economy: DPJ
By AKIKO IKEDA and SATOSHI KAWANO
Bloomberg
The Japan Times: Saturday,
Sept. 12, 2009
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/print/nn20090912n2.html






4. Japanese customers world's best hotel guests

1."The Japanese retained the top prize, with hoteliers worldwide naming them the world’s best tourists, ahead of the British and Canadians. Japanese tourists were ranked the quietest and most polite, as well as the cleanest and least likely to complain."

Conducted by online travel company Expedia


Source: World’s worst and best tourists revealed in new survey
July 9th, 2009
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/worlds-worst-and-best-tourists-revealed-in-new-survey_100215649.html




5. Japanese Customer Service - The world's best

1. "Perhaps it is easiest and most logical to conclude that Japan simply provides the best customer service training in the world and that it is derived from a culture of principles"

Source: Best customer service in the world
By ISAAC UCHIYAMA
Sunday, Dec. 20, 2009
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/rc20091220a6.html







6. Japanese customers are online

"Japan is one of the world’s most wired countries, with more than 90 million regular Internet users — of which three-quarters use fast broadband connections and two-thirds also log in from cellphones".

Source: In Japan, an Odd Perch for Google: Looking Up at the Leader
By HIROKO TABUCHI
November 30, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/30/technology/internet/30google.html





Learn more about Japanese Customers at JapaneseCustomer.com



* Market research reports
* Book reviews
* Statistics
* Videos
* Reference books and more

Be part of the Asian Century in 2010 !

Japanese customer service seen as the world's best service culture - a new world export?

"Japan can position itself as the world's best service culture 

but also find a way of monetising and 

scaling everything from hotel to global restaurant brands"

 

Tyler Brule

Source: FT: Taking Japanese Service Culture Abroad

By Tyler Brule

September 21st, 2009

http://www.nni.nikkei.co.jp/e/fr/tnks/Nni20090921D21JF327.htm

Further reading:

Be part of the Asian Century in 2010

Study Abroad Japan

International education research on the Japanese international student market by JapaneseCustomer.com

Japanese Student - Buyer Behaviour - Australia

Learn how Japanese students purchase international education

By JapaneseCustomer.com

● Qualitative research on the buyer behaviour of the Japanese student market ● Behaviour insights across eleven critical decision areas ● Ten point customer profiles developed for each visa class ● Includes findings, interpretation & recommendations

" how do Japanese students evaluate & buy education? "

Editorial Reviews

" International education is a billion dollar industry, cultural understanding backed with market research is the key to success. JapaneseCustomer.com using qualitative research has undertaken a detailed analysis of the buyer behaviour of Japanese students in Australia. His study uncovered the unique buyer behaviour characteristics of Japanese students across four different education sectors. The findings will be of interest to those wanting to recruit, manage & retain Japanese international students as customers "

Book Description:

Qualitative market research detailing the buyer behaviour characteristics of Japanese international students in Australian education.

Readership:

● Government

● Education institutions

● Third party suppliers

● Employers

Special Features:

● In depth interviews with 101 Japanese students results in English

● Findings broken down by visa type.

● 37 charts & 35 references to current articles.

Product Details:

Format: E-Book

Publisher: JapaneseCustomer.com

Language: English

ISBN -13: 978-0-9580582-6-1

Payment: PayPal

Order: Only available online at www.japanesecustomer.com

Key words:

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