Japanese customers influencing fashion and cosmetics in Singapore as Japanee brands become more popular

“ An increasing number of young women in Singapore have been bleaching their hair to lighten it from its natural black. The most popular hair product for this fad comes from Japan.”




Source: CHARTING JAPAN'S COURSE / Finding niches and lowering prices
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Mar. 16, 2010
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/business/T100315006063.htm

Japanese customers see less foreign stocks on Tokyo bourse only 14 stocks currently listed

“Currently, 14 foreign stocks are traded on the Tokyo bourse, down from a peak of 127 in 1991”



Source: UBS to be delisted from TSE on April 16
Sunday 14th March,
http://www.japantoday.com/category/business/view/ubs-to-be-delisted-from-tse-on-april-16

Japanese customers - men under 25 years of age are shrinking - shorter legs according to research

“ Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare) statistics show that young men in Japan are shrinking — men aged 25 or younger weigh less and have shorter legs than they did 15 years ago — while women of the same age are taller, heftier and bigger limbed.“



Source: Wait long enough and daikon legs get fashionable
By KAORI SHOJI
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ek20100310ks.html

22 Japanese customers make the Forbes billionaire list in 2009

“Forbes magazine says there were 1,011 billionaires worldwide in 2009..The richest Japanese on the Forbes' list was Uniqlo clothing brand owner Tadashi Yanai...He came in at 89th overall with estimated assets of 7.6 billion dollars.A 33-year-old social networking firm president, Yoshikazu Tanaka, was among the 22 Japanese billionaires at 721 overall.”



Source: Forbes says world now has 1011 billionaires
2010/03/11
http://www.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/11_20.html

Japanese customers get first no frills airport at Ibaraki as discount airfares enter Japan

“Ibaraki Airport, about 53 miles north of Tokyo, opens on Thursday and is intended to be a completely new type of Japanese airport: a no-frills facility that could finally open up Japan’s expensive capital city to low-budget airlines. .The city and its surroundings represent the largest metropolitan sprawl in the world with a population of 40 million. It is currently served by two airports, Narita — which handles most of the international traffic — and Haneda, which primarily serves domestic flights. Haneda”



Source: In Japan, No-Frills Airport Lures Bargain Players
By HIROKO TABUCHI
March 10, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/11/business/global/11airport.html?ref=asia&pagewanted=print

Smartphones the most talked about product in 2010 according to Dentsu survey

"Smartphones were the most talked-about product of 2010...,(followed by chunky hot chili sesame oil and digital terrestrial broadcasting-enabled wide-screen TV. Beloved historical figure Ryoma Sakamoto ranked fifth) according to an annual survey ...by advertising agency Dentsu Inc. "




Source: Smartphone Most Talked-About Product Of '10: Poll
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Nikkei
http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20101125D25SS805.htm

Japanese customers get first taste of new television segment - 3D as sets go onsale in the USA

“Panasonic Corp. on Wednesday began selling 3-D TVs in the U.S., firing the first shot in what is likely to become a fierce battle against such rivals as South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. and Sony Corp. for the leading share of possibly the world's most important”



Source: Panasonic Kicks Off 3-D TV War In U.S.
The Nikkei
Thursday march 11, 2010
http://www.nni.nikkei.co.jp/e/fr/freetop.aspx

Sugomori segment of Japanese customers seek more online bargains as wages decline

“Sugomori (nesting) people spend their days seeking bargains online. With wages declining, soshoku-kei danshi (grass-eating men) avoid going out or trying to find a career for themselves. According to some surveys, this generation has reported preferences for avoiding cars, motorcycles, and even spicy food. Entrepreneurship is seen as an unpromising career prospect.”



Source: Toyota and the End of JapanBy Devin Stewart
NEWSWEEKPublished Mar 5, 2010From the magazine issue dated Mar 15, 2010, Courtesy Club of 99http://www.newsweek.com/id/234574

Japanese customers suit up for samurai themed weddings

“ the latest trend in nuptial fashion (in Japan) : Helmeted grooms stepping out in full samurai armor, ready to take a sword to the wedding cake. ..Fittingly, the phenomenon springs from Kagoshima Prefecture in the Kyushu island region. Long known for its warring clans, strong sake and Japan's macho men, Kagoshima Prefecture is also home to Marutake Industry Co., a company which replicates historical armor. “


Source: Japan's wedding-day warriors
BY LOUIS TEMPLADO, STAFF WRITER
2010/03/05
http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201003040336.html

Japanese women susceptible to social pressure which is effecting body image and weight according to study

“ Social pressure -- women looking critically at other women -- is the most important reason female skinniness is ascendant in Japan, according to Hisako Watanabe, a child psychiatrist and assistant professor of pediatrics at the Keio University School of Medicine in Tokyo”



Source: Body image, diet pushing Japanese women to lose weight
By Blaine HardenWashington Post Staff WriterThursday, March 4, 2010; 8:30 AM
Special correspondent Akiko Yamamoto contributed to this report.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/04/AR2010030401436_pf.html

Japanese customers get exposure to foreign business owners as foreign direct investment increases

“ Direct investment in Japan by Chinese companies rose sharply in 2007 and 2008, when the cumulative stock was about 20 billion yen ($224.64 million), according to Bank of Japan statistics. .. According to Recof Corp., which advises companies on mergers and acquisitions, M&A of Japanese companies by Chinese companies were worth 28.5 billion yen in 2009, a more than fourfold increase from 2008. The numbers would probably be higher if not for the lingering resistance of the Japanese targets. A senior official of an M&A consulting company said many Japanese companies have flatly refused any possible acquisition deals with China”



Source: China buying into Japanese firms
BY TORU HATANAKA AND IKKI YAMAKAWA, THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
2010/03/02
http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201003010282.html

Japanese customers buying more pets as numbers explode to 23.2 million cats and dogs in 2009

“...for the first time, according to JPFA data, the nation's 19.2 million population of cats and dogs exceeded the population of 17.9 million children aged under 16. By 2009, that gulf had become even wider as the total of 23.2 million cats and dogs came to outnumber children by 6 million.



Source: Japan's love affair with dogs and cats
By ERIKO ARITA
The Japan Times: Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/print/fl20100228x1.html

Japanese customers find that tinted plastic bags contain higher lead count than normal

“A number of tinted plastic bags used in supermarkets contain high levels of lead, with some recording 250 times the EU safety standard, Kyoto researchers have found. The researchers believe the dyes used in the bags contain lead....they found high levels of lead exceeding the EU standard of 100 parts per million in 27 of the first batch of bags and 33 of the second. The highest level detected in the study was 25,000 ppm, and three types of bags contained 10,000 ppm or more. The average level was 310 ppm, according to the group... the bags could contaminate the food products put inside.”




Source: Plastic shopping bag dye found laden with lead
Kyodo News
Thursday, Feb. 11, 2010
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20100211a3.html

American media worries if it will endure a "lost decade" like Japan

"The American media keeps wondering whether or not the United States will have to endure a "lost decade" of sluggish growth and stagnant employment like the one Japan suffered through after the real-estate bubble burst in the early 1990s. It seems unlikely. The American economy is dynamic while Japan's has always been passive and reactive. "



Source: 'Freeter' drama reflects Japan's income gap
By PHILIP BRASOR
The Japan Times: Sunday, Nov. 21, 2010
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fd20101121pb.html

Japanese customers withdraw from overseas study in the US, new figures show

“Japanese are less eager to study or work abroad than 20 or 30 years ago,” says Glen S Fukushima, chief executive of Airbus Japan. He says many Japanese prefer staying at home, where life is clean, safe and secure, and that the country is becoming more insular.”


Source: When Japan offered to pay thousands of Latin American immigrants to go back home and never seek work there again, questions were once again raised about the country’s attitude to foreigners
DAVID MCNEILL
The Irish Times
Friday, February 5, 2010
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/innovation/2010/0205/1224263701250.html

Japanese customers take to Vietnamese frozen shrimp - market valued at 400 million dollars a year

“Vietnamese agricultural and seafood produce will find entry into the Japanese market easier thanks to the Viet Nam-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement, according to the Viet Nam Trade Office in Japan. Under the agreement that took effect last October, 784 out of 2,020 agricultural products and 64 out of 330 seafood items that Viet Nam exports to Japan will enjoy tariff exemption. The rates on the remaining items will be gradually reduced over the next few years. Japan is Viet Nam's major market for frozen shrimp with yearly revenues estimated at almost US$400 million, according to the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers.”



Source: Trade deal to boost exports of farm produce to Japan
February, 03 2010
http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/Economy/Business/196504/Trade-deal-to-boost-exports-of-farm-produce-to-Japan.html

More Japanese Customers living in condominiums, now account for nearly 12% of all households

“Families and single occupants living in condos accounted for 11.42% of all households in the nation at the end of 2009, up 0.27 percentage point from a year earlier, data from Tokyo Kantei Co. shows...But given declines in condo offerings, the percentage may start falling going forward, the company predicts.”


Source: More Than 10% Of Japanese Households Live In Condos
Thursday, February 4, 2010
The Nikkei Business Daily
http://www.nni.nikkei.co.jp/e/fr/tnks/Nni20100203D03JSN02.ht

Japanese customers notice average monthly labour hours and overtime drop from 2008

“The monthly average of actual labor hours, including overtime hours, was 144.4 in 2009, down 2.9 percent from 2008. The monthly average wage, including bonuses, received by workers in 2009 was 315,164 yen, down 3.9 percent from the previous year.... Workers' salaries and labor hours recorded their worst percentage drop in 2009 since the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry began compiling such data under the current formula in 1990, the ministry said Tuesday.”




Source: Salaries, labor hours mark record-high percentage fall
The Yomiuri Shimbun
(Feb. 3, 2010)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/business/T100202006488.htm

Japanese customers see national wealth fall for the first time in three years

“Japan's national wealth fell for the first time in three years in 2008, according to figures released by the Cabinet Office. The national wealth, which is calculated by subtracting public and private sector debts from the country's total assets, declined 1 percent in the year to 2,783 trillion yen ($30.8 trillion). Japan's total assets dropped sharply to 8,016.3 trillion yen, down 5.1 percent from a year earlier. It was the second consecutive annual fall. Debts stood at 5,233.2 trillion yen. “

Source: Japan's National wealth falls
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
2010/02/01
http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201001310310.htm

Japanese customers see trade with China surpass that with USA

“ Japan's exports to China have topped those to the United States for the first time since World War II, while Japan saw its largest year-on-year drop in both exports and imports, statistics released Wednesday by the Finance Ministry showed...Japan's trade surplus rose 36.1 percent from a year earlier to 2.81 trillion yen--the first increase in two years....Total exports in 2009 on a customs-cleared basis stood at 54.18 trillion yen, posting a 33.1 percent drop from a year earlier, while imports fell by 34.9 percent to 51.37 trillion yen.”

Source: China now Japan's top trade partner
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Jan. 28, 2010
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/business/T100127006823.htm

Japanese customers purchasing more retail from station shops as more convenient

“The JR East group operates the Lumine and atre shopping malls, which are integrated with its stations. A total 16.8 million passengers pass through JR stations each day. The stations' retail facilities cater to the demands of Tokyo commuters, and each year they ring up sales of 1 trillion yen, putting them among the nation's top retailers. Lumine-brand malls, along with its tenants, generated sales of 265.3 billion yen in fiscal 2008, up 70% from 10 years earlier.”



Source: JR East To Use Kinokuniya Supermarkets To Boost Retail Ops
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
The Nikkei
http://www.nni.nikkei.co.jp/e/fr/tnks/Nni20100127D26JF

Japanese male customers purchased 17% more skincare products in 2008 to 17.6 billion yen

“Sales of men’s skincare products jumped 17 percent to 17.6 billion yen ($196 million) in 2008, compared with a 0.2 percent industrywide to 1.51 trillion yen, according to the most recent trade ministry data...... “There is a desire among men to look more beautiful,” she said.”

Source: ‘Feminized’ Japanese Men Boost Kao Sales as Women Pamper Less
January 26, 2010
By Naoko Fujimura
Bloomberg
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-01-26/-feminized-japanese-men-boost-kao-sales-as-women-pamper-less.html

Japanese customers see domestic brand names extend themselves further into Asia - FamilyMart opens in Ho CHi Minh city

“FamilyMart has become the first Japanese convenience store chain to open an outlet in Ho Chi Minh City ,Vietnam ... (a) country with a population of 86 million, following the firm's expansion to Taiwan, South Korea and 3 other parts of Asia....FamilyMart plans to open 300 stores in the country over the next 5 years.”


Source: 1st Japanese convenience store opens in Vietnam
2010/01/26
http://www.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/26_36.html