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Showing posts with label Industry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Industry. Show all posts

January 12, 2024

Audio Book: 🎧 There is no such thing as a an Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura


Review by JapaneseCustomer.com:

"Kikuko has created an amazing insight from the worker's view of a range of temporary jobs she shares with us. For example: A bus company, a rice cracker company, and a hut in a park perforating tickets for an event. 

What stood out when I listened was the holistic detail provided by the employee at each job, for example: how she got the job from the temporary recruitment agency, how it was sold by the recruiter, why she was put forward, her initial impression, her first day, her bosses and co-workers, what the role entailed, the highs and lows of the role, the psychological impact, the relationships, the silence, how she thought of the job when away from the office, boss relationship and what type of person they were (could they be trusted, etc), co-workers were they real or fake and was the relationship tainted by the nature of her role, the role itself and her relationship with the boss. 

Plus you also get the complexity of the culture in language, body language, rituals, customs, etc. It feels like you are actually in the job. 

You are seeing, hearing, and feeling the whole job. On audiobook, this is magnified by the voice of the narrator which adds a whole new level of depth to the stories and your overall experience of the topic. 

A very insightful and powerful story of temporary work from the worker's holistic view, wow!

 Buy the Audio Book here 


#japanesecustomer #author #audiobook #kikukotsumura #novel #japan #japaneseliterature #english #review🎧








 

July 31, 2022

Toyota leads global car production at 10 million units






 
Japanese mountain road in Hokkaido copyright peter hanami 2010
Picture: Japanese mountain road in Hokkaido





“Toyota…the Japanese company- held on to pole position in the global car market with sales of 10.23 million cars and trucks in 2014…North America - it’s biggest region, with about 28 per cent of volume sales…sales of 1.1 million in China this year, an annual rise of 6.6 per cent…The company is expecting 3 per cent growth in the US”




Source: Toyota’s car sales reign threatened by Kana Inagaki and Andy Sharman, The Financial Times, Australian Financial Review Newspaper, Friday 23rd January, 2015 page 20.




japan, japanese, customer, consumer, toyota, statistics, trends, insights, manufacturing, business, cars, production, www.japanesecustomer.com, 2015, #japan, #japanese, #customer


July 25, 2022

Sony shutting down Music Unlimited service






 
Sony Walkman copyright peter hanami 2010
Picture: Sony Walkman




 



“Sony (is) …shutting down…Music Unlimited at the end of March (2015)…the streaming service, one of the biggest in Japan, is integrated into Sony’s PlayStation consoles…Spotify will now power the music for PlayStation users in 41 markets…Spotify hasn’t launched in Japan….despite negotiating for years with Japanese record labels, which still rely heavily on CD sales for profit”





Source: Sony’s music streaming exit fuels shake-out, By Hannah Karp, The Wall Street Journal, The Australian Newspaper, Friday January 30th, 2015, page 23.



japan, japanese, customer, consumer, sony, music, streaming, music unlimited, spotify, trend, www.japanesecustomer.com,#japan, #japanese, #customer


July 24, 2022

Japans $42 billion Inpex natural gas project Australia insights





 
Japanese ship copyright peter hanami 2009
Picture: Japanese ship






“Japan’s Inpex Corporation..AUS $42 billion Ichthys liquefied natural gas project in northern Australia…gas will be transported through a 889-kilometre pipeline to Darwin to be processed … 8.4 million  tonnes a year LNG plant at Blaydin Point…also…1.6 million tonnes a year of LPG and 100,000 barrels a day of condensates, making it one of Australia’s biggest liquids producers”




Source: Inpex stands by LNG economics of Ichthys, By Angela MacDonald- Smith, The Australian Financial Review Newspaper, Thursday 29yh January, 2015, p19.





japan, japanese, customer, consumer, inpex, ichthys, project, lng, australia, statistics, insights, investment, www.japanesecustomer.com, #japan, #japanese, #customer
 

July 13, 2022

Australian exporters get benefits from new trade deal with Japan


 
Japanese consumer advertising tokyo copyrigt peter hanami 2007
   Picture: Japanese consumer advertising Tokyo


"The Japan-Australia Economic agreement will give many Australian producers and exporters a significant competitive advantage. More than 97 per cent of Australia's exports to Japan will receive preferential access or enter duty-free when JAEPA is fully implemented"


Source: The Robb Report
By Andrew Robb
Federal Member for Goldstein
August 23rd 2014, page 8

July 05, 2022

Japanese car makers have developed strong relationships with suppliers in South East Asia



Japanese car brands in Japan Copyright Peter Hanami 2010

Picture: Japanese car brands in Japan 


"Toyota, Honda, Mitsubishi and Nissan started manufacturing in South East Asia decades ago.
Means they have entrenched relationships with suppliers and distributors."



Source: Foreign car makers face speed bumps in SE Asia
By Jeremy Grant, Financial Times, 
Australian Financial Review
Friday 10th October, 2014, page 20

July 01, 2022

Japan is the world's largest app market in terms of cash value according to report



Japanese customers Tokyo #japanesecustomer
Picture: Japanese customers 





"Japan's is the world's largest app-market for iOS and Google-Play combined, bigger than the US market and the Chinese market in terms of cash value. (source: App-Annie). "



Which are the top-grossing apps in Japan?



Source: Eurotechnology News. February 2015

June 22, 2022

Video: Gas heaters in Japan 🌸

 

                                                                    Video: Gas heaters in Japan 🌸



What makes them different is that when the house is built you can allocate which rooms have a gas wall connection plug.

This allows you to move around the house to different rooms.

You can also lock the temperature

Learn more about how Japanese customers use gas

https://www.tokyo-gas.co.jp/en/aboutus/numbers.html



#innovation #convenience #japanesecustomer #video #gas #heater

April 26, 2022

The Japanese currency lost nearly 15 yen against the dollar since early March





old japanese coin #japanesecustomer





"The Japanese currency has lost nearly 15 yen against the dollar since early March, briefly sinking to the mid-129 yen zone last Wednesday. A weaker yen typically serves as a boon to Japanese exporters, as profits earned overseas increase when repatriated and Japan-made products become more competitively priced abroad."'


Source:  IMF says yen's rapid slide may hamper Japan's post-pandemic recovery

March 22, 2022

Picture: A 🌸 Japanese Sake Bottle is called an Isshōbin 1800ml

 

japanese sake bottle #japanesecustomer



" Units used for sake are
1 sho = 10 go = 1.8 liters
1 koku = 10 to = 100 sho (approx. 180 liters)
1 sho is a volume that can be put into obin (literally, large bottle) for sake, namely isshobin (literally, one-sho bottle) which is usually seen in liquor shops."

Source:
https://lnkd.in/g6UjpYZu

Fun Fact: Japan has a number of measurement systems

Learn more here

https://lnkd.in/gsUVf-KU

#ml #sake #bottle #measurement #japan #japanesecustomer #statistics #funfact #一升瓶 #日本酒 #日本のお客様

June 19, 2020

Japanese Customer: Honda unveils technology that can sense brain signals and use them to control functions





"Honda Motor unveiled technology that can sense brain signals and use them to control functions like keyboards, cell phones or prosthetic limbs"


Source:The small print
By Alex Vega
Metropolis, Jun 9 - 15, 2006
www.metropolis.co.jp



Japanese Customer: Japanese graduates see the unemployment rate fall but it reveals few opportunities




"People say recruitment is up, but I haven't picked up on that"

Shingo Suzuki



Source: Japan's young jobhunters still edgy despite upturn
By Isabel Reynolds
January 31 2006
Reuters
www.boston.com



July 04, 2016

Blast from the past: Japanese carmakers had six brands in the top ten in Australia in 2014



Nissan GT-R Copyright Peter Hanami 2009
Title: Nissan GT-R in Tokyo



"Top sellers in June

1. Toyota Corolla 4648

2.Toyota Highlux 4276
3. Mitsubishi Triton 4124
4. Mazda 4059
5. Hyundai i30 3243
6. Ford Ranger 3214
7. Holden Commodore 3156
8. Toyota Camry 2378
9. Nissan Navara 2262
10. Volkswagon Golf 2261"

Source: Toyota, Mazda drive recovery
By Philip King
The Australian Newspaper
Friday the 4th July 2014, page 20

May 17, 2016

Tailor your web content to appeal to Japanese customers says Australian Founder



Japanese key board Copyright  2010



Picture: Japanese Keyboard



"Bellroy is a Melbourne (Australia) based business that was founded in 2010 with the core objective of slimming down and simplifying the male wallet... co-founder, Andy Fallshaw..." in Japan they don't accept this as their coins have a greater value and because there's less acceptance of credit cards many of their transactions involve coins. And so when we launched our wallets [in Japan] there was only one wallet that took coins and then we had to find subtle ways to give functionality to wallets before the Japanese would really start to buy them."..Fallshaw says Bellroy also tailored its Japanese web content to appeal to a local audience."


Source: Blundstone captures export markets
March 13, 2015
The AGE Newspaper
By Jeremy Loadman

April 19, 2016

Japan has a minimum 150 day crude oil supply in storage


Gasoline prices Japan Copyright 2007
Picture: Gasoline prices Japan 




"Countries including Japan and the US have a mandated 150-day minimum fuel supply in storage and more when crude oil stocks are considered."



Source: Doubts over Australia's fuel security as bureaucrats admit not knowing reserves 
By Heath Aston February 6, 2015 
The AGE Newspaper 
http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/doubts-over-australias-fuel-security-as-bureaucrats-admit-not-knowing-reserves-20150205-1366vq.html

April 16, 2016

Blast from the past: Japanese fashion brand Uniqlo increases its global foot print with new Australian store in 2014




Video: The opening of Uniqlo's first Australian store in Melbourne, 
Wednesday 16th April 2014

Source: Japanesecustomer.com 
YouTube Channel


At 7am this morning in Melbourne, Australia security guards lined Lonsdale street in front of Australia's newest and largest fashion retail space the Emporium Building and questioned morning pedestrians on their way to work as they passed the new shopping centre to be officially opened today with Australia's first Uniqlo store. Dogged with industrial action during its long construction and delayed start date, today it finally opened! 

The air was still cool, the moon still in the sky and the sun slow to rise in the CBD. A buzz was in the air as many people on the street knew about the store and stopped to take photos as they walked past. Staff manning a pop-up coffee stall bounced around to keep warm as they set up, many staff lined the street in front of the store getting ready for the official launch at 9.50am for the official tape cutting by the founder Tadashi Yanai, Japan's richest man with an estimated wealth of AUS $18.2billion.

The crowd slowly built up during the early morning and by the time the tape cut came at 9.50am , Lonsdale street was full of customers lining up waiting to enter the store at 10am. 

Japanese customer service is based on many principles such as omotenashi (hospitality) and kikubari (anticipating customer needs). 

This was in full swing even before customers entered the store with, polite staff keeping those who waited in line, warm with drinks such as freshly brewed coffee. Japanese customer service is the benchmark of Asia, amazing to watch but impossible to replicate or match so far by western companies.

Inside the four storey store, many colourful displays for men, women and children were on display. The store was overstaffed with customer service staff just as in a typical Japanese store, a very good sign for Melbourne shoppers.

Uniqlo is renowned for high quality with low prices and ongoing new products and promotions. Customers are typically spoilt once inside the store. You enter the changing rooms and can get alterations done on the spot if you decide to buy pants in most cases. If a store does not stock an item advertised they will track the item down for you at another store and notify you when it is in stock.

In my experience with Uniqlo in Japan over the past ten years their customer service is world class.

For example

I once bought a business shirt in Tokyo and on returning home found a button hole was not properly sewn. I called the store, spoke to staff and within 2 hours a member of staff, had personally come out to my house and brought a replacement shirt. Yes, WOW! So if this is any indication of what to expect, you will be pleasantly surprised by their customer service.



Picture: Uniqlo logo


Check out some of the products to look for when you visit

Our range of Uniqlo product review videos

Video: 

 Uniqlo Product Review 

Mens 240 gram down jacket ユニクロ




Video: 

Product Review Uniqlo Fleece 
















Press today announcing today's launch

"Ranked the world's 35th richest person and Japan's richest man at $18.2 billion, Mr (Tadashi) Yanai has ambitious plans for his low-cost casual wear store, a household name in Asia, to revolutionise the Australian fashion market" page 1

"He admits that labour costs and rent in Australia are high and would make it difficult for the company to keep their trademark low prices. "Labour costs and import duty is very high" page 1

"A pop-up Uniqlo store has been operating in Melbourne since January meters away from the Lonsdale street, 2180 square metre, four storey shop" page 8

" Uniqlo is a wholly owned subsidiary of listed Japanese company Fast Retailing and has more than 1200 stores in 14 countries" page 8

Source: Japanese giant Uniqlo uses Australia roadmap
By Patrick Durkin and Lucille Keen
Australian Financial Review
Wed 16th April, 2014



"High profile Japanese retailer Uniqlo is set to open its first Sydney store, taking space at Lend Lease's Mid City Complex at the premier retail strip Pitt Street Mall"


Source: Uniqlo signs for Sydney space
By Mercedes Ruehl
Australian Financial Review
Wed 16th April, 2014, page 37


"You have 20 million population in this marketplace, and we aim for one store per 200,000 people, so 100 stores will be just enough to cover it" Tadashi Yanai "I'm hopeful that 50 more stores could be built in three years, so if that is doable, I'd be very happy" p19

"Uniqlo is also set to launch a new website today specifically for Australian customers who previously were unable to buy Uniqlo's products from the chains international operations" p19

Source: 
The Australian Newspaper
Wed 16th April, 2014

Video: Mark Hawthorne from the AGE newspaper interviews Tadashi Yanai