Japanese companies outside of Japan worry about meeting customer orders and losing face

"..the company started exporting vehicles to the Middle East in 1996 and since then has never missed a shipment.."Failure to supply vehicles to our export customers raises concerns about our ability to meet committed customer orders and places a dark cloud over our ability to maintain our position as the preferred distributor to the Middle East" Chris Harrod, executive director, manufacturing, Toyota Australia

Source: Toyota seeks secret ballot after stoppage
by Ewin Hannan and Stuart Rintoul
The Australian Newspaper,
Friday September 23rd, 2011, page 6

Number of single person households in Japan set to increase to 40% or 18 million in 2030 according to research

"According to a report by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, the number of single-person households is expected to rise from 14.46 million in 2005 to 18.24 million in 2030, or nearly 40 percent of all households."



Source: Cleanup after unnoticed death now a growing industry
By MIZUHO AOKI
Japan Times
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20100721f3.html

Japanese men seen to be excellent in vertical society but not a horizontal one according to research

“Japanese men are good at working in a vertical society. But in a flat relationship in the community, they're not good communicators."


Source: Neighbors, more than kin, face onus of keeping tabs on seniors
By NATSUKO FUKUE
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Japan Times
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20100721f2.html

Japanese customers get ready for the next generation of fuel saving technology - idle stop systems

“ Japanese automakers are introducing idling stop systems to reduce fuel consumption and to promote gasoline vehicles amid the growing popularity of hybrid models... Mazda Motor's Premacy minivan hit the market this month. The automaker's i-stop system improves fuel consumption by 7 percent and the vehicle can travel up to 16 kilometers on a liter of fuel.”


Source: Automakers rush to introduce idling stop systems
2010/07/19
http://www.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/18_13.html

Japanese children population swamped by the number of elderly 10 million children under 16 in 2050 compared to 35 million over 65

“By 2050, at current rates, 10 million children under 16 will be fairly swamped by 35 million senior citizens.(in Japan)”



Source: Youth is wasted on the dwindling young
The Japan Times
Sunday, July 18, 2010
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fd20100718bj.html

Japanese customers spending 37% of their income on education in 2010 as government support wanes

"Average Japanese families are estimated to spend 37.6% of their income on the education of children in the 2010 school year, a record-high since comparable data become available in 2000, a governmental financial institution said Saturday. "



Source:Education burdens on rise among Japanese families
Sunday 21st November, 04:57 AM JST
Japan Today
http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/education-burdens-on-rise-among-japanese-families

Japanese customers biggest spenders using Visa card in Taiwan in first half of 2011, $37.7 million ahead of number 2 USA and Honk Kong

"Japanese travelers were the biggest Visa card spenders among international visitors to Taiwan in the first half of this year (2011).... Japanese travelers ...spend..total..US$109 million.."

Source:Japanese tourists biggest spenders in Taiwan: Visa
2011-09-25
Want china times
http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?cid=1102&MainCatID=11&id=20110925000023

Japanese customers travel abroad in search of work as opportunities becoming limited in Japan

"Natsuki Matsuda, 37, moved to China and became a producer of TV programs. ........"For people who have something they want to do, but don't have the experience, I believe Shanghai is a place where they can thrive because many opportunities are available," Matsuda said.



Source:Japanese rushing to Shanghai for better jobs
2010/11/23
Hiroki Mukai and Kentaro Koyama
Asahi Shimbun
http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201011220259.html

Japanese reluctant to study abroad as foreign qualification has less recognition than Japanese one & can actually make them stand out

"Fearful that a diploma from overseas is less valuable compared to one imprinted with the name of a Japanese university parents are weary of how time abroad could handicap their children's career prospects."


Source: Home Schooling: Fewer Japanese Head to U.S. Universities
WSJ:
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
By Yoree Koh
http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20101118D18NY153.htm

Facebook makes impression on Japanese customers in search results in 2010

"Facebook was the 39th most searched term in Japan in 2010, according to Yahoo Japan."

Source: YouTube, Mixi, Twitter Top 2010 Web Searches
November 25, 2010
WSJ
http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2010/11/25/youtube-mixi-twitter-top-2010-web-searches/

Personal consumption in Japan accounts for 60% of GDP by as incomes decline, the fate of exports becomes more serious

“...personal consumption, which accounts for about 60 percent of the nation's gross domestic product. Because exports can fluctuate greatly depending on economic conditions abroad, domestic demand should be strong enough so that the Japanese economy can withstand a sudden fall in exports. ...Temporary workers now account for about one-third of the nation's labor force. Their low wages and unstable employment are suppressing domestic demand.”



Source: Aim to expand the middle class
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
EDITORIAL
Japan Times
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ed20100714a2.html

Japanese customers fall in love with the bread maker that uses rice to bake bread

"We have developed the world's first (appliance) that can bake bread out of rice at home," Sanyo President Seichiro Sano told a news conference in Tokyo....Sanyo will start selling the Gopan, whose name combines "gohan" (cooked rice) and "pan" (bread), on the domestic market Oct. 8.”


Source: Cooker makes bread out of rice
By HIROKO NAKATA
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Japan Times
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20100714a1.html

Japanese customers see first of Japan's foreign made cars imported as local manufacturing declines

“ Nissan Motor Co. ...has started selling in Japan the all-new March compact made in Thailand...The revamped car with a 1.2-liter engine gets 26 km per liter..some ..models are equipped with an idling-stop system that automatically stops the engine when the car is stationary...priced between ¥999,600 and ¥1.64 million. Nissan aims to sell 4,000 cars per month, targeting women in their late 20s and early 30s as the main customers of the revamped vehicles.”


Source: New March here from Thailand
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Japan Times
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20100714a2.html

Number of elderly Japanese customers with no pension estimated at 420,000 people

”At present, about 420,000 elderly people have no pension. If working-age younger people who have not paid enough in premiums are added, some 1.18 million people won't have pensions. People entitled only to the basic pension receive ¥48,000 a month on average — far less than the amount needed to maintain a decent life after retirement”


Source: A pension for their thoughts
EDITORIAL
Monday, July 12, 2010
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ed20100712a2.html

Japanese customers vote for "Your Party" in July 11 election increasing its power fom one seat to eleven in upper house elections

(Sunday July 11 -Upper House elections – Japan) “Your Party .., a start-up popular among urban voters ..The party, founded in August, increased its presence in the upper house to 11 seats from one, as it appealed to voters with a platform pledging to shrink bureaucracy and to put economic growth before tax increases.”


Source: ASIA NEWS
Japan Whips Incumbents
Vote Could Present Challenges for Obama Administration
By YUKA HAYASHI
JULY 10, 2010
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703854904575359460530772830.html “

Japanese customers see increased dependency on foreign limber imports as domestic industry neglected

“ Japan is a rainy country with a mild climate, suitable for growing trees. The nation has an accumulation of forest trees exceeding 4 billion cubic meters in terms of tree trunks, and the figure is increasing by 80 million cubic meters a year. ...the self-sufficiency rate for lumber is as low as 24 percent. ...Growing dependence on foreign imports crushed demand for Japanese lumber, leaving the domestic forests neglected.”



Source: EDITORIAL: Revitalizing Japan's forest industry
2010/07/12
--The Asahi Shimbun, June 27
http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201007110212.html

Japanese customers finally get unlocked phones as NTT Docomo launches sim free phones

“ NTT Docomo Inc. . to unlock its cell phones' .. for all handsets on sale from April 2011....New Docomo handsets released..after April 2011 will be equipped with a software program capable of making them SIM-free upon request at Docomo outlets..Once the lock is removed, a user will be able to switch mobile phone service providers without having to buy a new handset. All they will have to do is insert a different SIM card, which carries such information as the user's phone number..”


Source: Docomo to unlock cell phones from April
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Jul. 7, 2010
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/business/T100706004091.htm

Japanese customers react psitively to the scrapping of tolls on fifty sections of Japan's expressways

”The government said Sunday its pilot program to scrap tolls on 50 sections of 37 provincial expressways across the country led to an average increase of 67% in traffic volumes on the sections on Saturday, the first weekend day of the program.”


Source: Toll-free expressway trial boosts traffic volumes 67% on 1st weekend
Monday 05th July, 2010
Japan Today
http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/toll-free-expressway-trial-boosts-traffic-volumes-67-on-1st-weekend

Niall Ferguson on Japan - "Right now it's on the edge of something worse"

“Japan has limped along for 20 years now, economically underperforming, almost stagnating, teetering on the edge of deflation, throwing fiscal and monetary stimulus at the problem, and not getting much traction. Right now it’s on the edge something worse.”

Source: Niall Ferguson on Japan, China, and the US
By Dan Richards
June 22, 2010
http://www.advisorperspectives.com/newsletters10/pdfs/Niall_Ferguson_on_Japan_China_and_the_US.pdf

Japanese culture described as "muen shakai" - a no relationship society bt researchers as 15.27 % of people feel unconnected with no social relations

“ muen shakai — a "no-relationship society.... some 32,000.. people dying alone at home (in Japan)... Sometimes weeks go by before anyone notices...In no other country are people as unconnected as the Japanese, 15.27 percent of whom say they have almost no social relations. The OECD average is 6.7 percent. The gregarious Americans (3.11 percent) come across as among the least lonely, though the Irish (2.93 percent) and the Dutch (2.01 percent) have them beat.”


Source: Only connect: Japan struggles to bond
Sunday, July 4, 2010
BIG IN JAPAN
Japan Times
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fd20100704bj.html

Japanese customers worried by the past two decades stagnant growth in the economy

“ Japan's nominal GDP has not increased for the past two decades. Widening income gaps and growing poverty are causing social stagnation in this country.”



Source: EDITORIAL: Fiscal reform and growth
2010/07/03
The Asahi Shimbun, July 2
http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201007020459.html

Japanese women represent less than 2% of executives in Japanese companies according to research

“ According to a survey last year by business publisher Toyo Keizai, just 1.2% of executives at listed Japanese companies were women. And that actually represents progress: when the survey began in 1995, the executive ranks were 0.15% female.”

Source: Japan Investors: Why No Women, Foreigners in the Boardroom?
June 30, 2010,
WSJ
http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2010/06/30/japan-investors-why-no-women-foreigners-in-the-boardroom/tab/print/

Japan's hyabusa space probe set new records in space travel with a 382 million mile round trip

“(Japan’s).. Hayabusa space probe returned last month from a seven-year, 382-million-mile round trip to an asteroid, giving a much-needed confidence boost to a country worried that its technological prowess might be waning.”


Source: In a Space Probe’s Flawed Journey, a Test for Japan
By HIROKO TABUCHI
July 1, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/02/business/global/02space.html?_r=1&ref=asia&pagewanted=print

A record number of Japanese customers flocked to Mt Fuji in 2009

“ The climbing season has opened on Japan's highest peak, Mount Fuji....Last year, more than 240,000 people scaled the mountain up the trail starting in Yamanashi Prefecture. The number was close to the record set in 2008.”

Source: Mt Fuji opens for climbers
2010/07/01
NHK
http://www.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/society.html