What are the top ten companies Japanese are most proud of in 2013?

"No 1 Toyota Motor Corp 58% (multiple responses possible.)

No. 2, Sony, 43.2 %

No. 3, Honda, 39.5%

No. 4, Panasonic, 35.6%

No. 5, Nissan, 33.5%

No. 6, Canon, 32.0%

No. 7, Toshiba, 28.9%

No. 8, Bridgestone, 28.1%

No. 9, Nintendo, 27.8%

No. 10, Hitachi, 27.0 %

By industry, 19 of the top 20 companies were in manufacturing"

Source: Companies Japanese people are most proud of

Japan Today 

MAY. 19, 2013

http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/companies-japanese-people-are-most-proud-of

Estimated to be 2.62 million SNEP's in Japan, single, unemployed and few social relations

"an estimated total of 2.56 million people in the country who are single, unemployed and who belong to the aforementioned age group, the SNEPs account for 1.62 million, or about 60%."

Source: Parents advised to give the boot to their sponging adult kids

Japan Today

KUCHIKOMI

MAY. 19, 2013

http://www.japantoday.com/category/kuchikomi/view/parents-advised-to-give-the-boot-to-their-sponging-adult-kids

Green tea sales in Japan in 2012 were 383 billion yen and growing

Photo: Japanese green tea

"In 2012, green tea sales were worth ¥383 billion, or 10% of the entire ready-to-drink market, compared to coffee’s hold of 26% at¥950 billion.....Ito En also projected that with the increase of single-person households and a health-conscious aging population, consumption of bottled green tea will surpass that of coffee in 2020 at around 25 liters a year per capita versus coffee’s 23."

Source: Green Tea Wars Heat Up

By Joelle Metcalfe 

June 18th,2013, Wall Street Journal, 

Japan Real Time

http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2013/06/18/green-tea-wars-heat-up/

Dashi stock may just be the heart of Japanese washoku cooking according to Isao Kumakura

"dashi stock made from dried bonito and kombu kelp, a food which might be called the true heart of washoku. Outside of its use for soup, dashi stock is also used as a condiment to enhance flavours" 

Source: Nipponica, Discovering Japan, No 8, 2012 page 5

By Isao Kumakura

Japanese consumers enjoy "traditional form" of soy in foods

"Traditional forms of soy foods include tofu, bean curd and tempeh (principally used in Indonesia). In Japan, traditional forms include miso soup, edamame and a fermented form of soy called natto. "Traditional forms of soy are all fairly intact, they haven't been broken down into components; the whole bean is eaten, or has been processed by the traditional food technology, like fermentation," Wahlqvist says."

Source: Why soy confused?

May 13, 2013

Siobhan Moylan

The AGE Newspaper

http://www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/diet-and-fitness/why-soy-confused-20130510-2jc5b.html#ixzz2TA6Hu6bN

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/diet-and-fitness/why-soy-confused-20130510-2jc5b.html#ixzz2TA5shv8S

Nestle produces specialty Kit Kat bars by region in Japan to meet the specific needs of each region

"(Nestle) produces speciality and seasonal KitKat bars, which are only available in certain regions of Japan and use flavours specific to the area. For example, KitKat Zunda is a creamy soy bean paste flavour, particular to the Tohoku region. In the Tochigi area, KitKat Tochiotome uses a variety of strawberries from the area, and around the Kyoto, KitKat Maccha includes green tea made by Kyoto’s tea makers" 

Source: NESTLÉ CELEBRATES A CENTURY IN JAPAN 

4th April 2013 

Confectionery Production .com

 http://www.confectioneryproduction.com/9213/news/nestle-celebrates-a-century-in-japan/

Japanese researchers have used an MRI to decode dreams

"A team of Japanese researchers has used an MRI to “successfully decode dreams by measuring brain activity during sleep.” It’s the first time scientists anywhere have been able to “read dreams."

Source: the small print

May 8, 2013

4-D cinemas and other bubbling breakthroughs

By: Reg Dunlap | May 8, 2013 | Issue: 998

http://metropolis.co.jp/features/the-small-print/may-8-2013/

The number of Japanese students studying overseas peaked in 2004 according to research

"The number of Japanese students studying overseas peaked at 82,945 in 2004 and fell to 58,060 in 2010, according to the Ministry of Education. Fewer than 20,000 Japanese students studied in the United States in 2011, compared with 46,000 in 1999, according to the Institute of International Education."

Source: Scholarships to Encourage More Japanese to Study Overseas

By MIKI TANIKAWA

Published: May 5, 2013

New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/06/world/asia/Scholarships-to-Encourage-More-Japanese-to-Study-Overseas.html?_r=0

Japanese customers rely on Hokkaido for 12 per cent of agricultural output according to data

"2011, prefectural data showed that Hokkaido...contributed 12 percent of the country’s agricultural output and about 20 percent of its domestic calorie supply. Hokkaido has about 110,000 farmers...provides 78 percent of the country’s potatoes, 61 percent of its wheat and a quarter of its soybeans. About 55 percent of the country’s onions, 48 percent of the pumpkins and 45 percent of the corn come from Hokkaido......83 percent of domestically consumed salmon is from the prefecture." 

Source: Hokkaido opposition to TPP surges Prefecture says free-trade pact would rip farm sector to pieces BY ERIC JOHNSTON

April 10th, 2013

Japan Times

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/04/10/national/hokkaido-opposition-to-tpp-surges/#.UWUVT6J-aVE

Estimated 22 million Japanese customers will travel domestically during Golden Week (April 25th through to May 5)

Photo: Japanese Customer ready to travel

"About 22.8 million Japanese, or nearly a fifth of the population, will travel during the holiday period from April 25 to May 5, according an estimate from JTB Corp....22 million of those will travel domestically and spend about 35,900 yen ($360) per trip, 2.9 percent more than last year, according to the agency."

Source: Weak Yen will bring Japanese tourist destinations record Golden Week crowds

BY YUKI YAMAGUCHI, 

BLOOMBERG

MAY 02, 2013

http://skift.com/2013/05/02/japanese-tourist-destinations-see-golden-week-crowds-thanks-to-weak-yen/

Japanese customers give Kit Kat bars as a token of good luck in Japan

"the traditional custom of giving KitKat bars as tokens of good luck in Japan. The tradition, based on the name KitKat sounding similar to the Japanese phrase ‘Kitto Katsu’, which means ‘surely win’, sees Japanese well-wishers present the chocolate to their friends and loved ones every year, especially for school entrance exams."

Source: NESTLÉ CELEBRATES A CENTURY IN JAPAN

4th April 2013

Confectionery Production .com 

http://www.confectioneryproduction.com/9213/news/nestle-celebrates-a-century-in-japan/

Number of Japanese students studying in US dropped by 14 percent in 2011

"The number of Japanese international students in the United States decreased by 14 percent from 2010 to 2011, according to a study done by the Institute of International Education."

Source: Despite U.S. drop, Japanese students unfazed at UW

May 1, 2013

Megan Herndon

The Daily

http://dailyuw.com/archive/2013/05/01/news/despite-us-drop-japanese-students-unfazed-uw#.UYH3-aITKVE

Japanese customers - "if they experience a negative thing, they don’t make a noise about it"

"Japanese expect the best possible service. On board, if they experience a negative thing, they don’t make a noise about it, but when they get home, they expect an explanation. They send emails to us and never forget. They take notes – positive or negative – and share it with us, which is helpful to us."

 Source: Turkish Airlines

By Chris Betros

EXECUTIVE IMPACT

MAR. 25, 2013

http://www.japantoday.com/category/executive-impact/view/turkish-airlines

Bank Transfer scams in Japan hit record high at 8.1 Billion yen in 2012

"Officials at the MPD say the amount of money lost through bank transfer scams and other types of fraud in 2012 hit ¥8.1 billion—a record high."

Source:the small print 

March 27, 2013 

By: Reg Dunlap, 

Mar 27, 2013, Issue: 992 http://metropolis.co.jp/features/the-small-print/march-27-2013-2/

Survey reveals that only 7 per cent of Japanese customers had used an e-reader

"Jiji Press conducted a survey in early March 2013 which revealed that ereaders were facing a great deal of resistance in Japan. A total of 1,276 adults were polled in the survey, and only 6.7% reported that they used an ereader. A somewhat larger group (22.2%) indicated that they might want to use an ereader in the future, but a solid majority (69.8%) had no interest in the gadgets."

Source: Japanese Consumers Still Prefer Paper Books Over eReaders

April 22nd, 2013

By Nate Hoffelder

http://www.the-digital-reader.com/2013/04/22/japanese-consumers-dont-have-a-yen-for-ereaders/

Japanese customers particularly those in Okinawa have some of the longest life expectancies in the world

"Okinawan women have the longest life expectancy in the world (86 years; Okinawan men live to about 78) and they live the longest in Ogimi.... Want whatever they're having? Order a Longevity Lunch at Emi no mise (literally "Emi's shop"), a restaurant in Ogimi that specialises in set meals of life-prolonging local foods such as seaweed, goya (a cucumber-like vegetable), tofu and turmeric. eminomise.com." 

Source: Twenty reasons to visit Okinawa 

March 24, 2013

Louise Southerden

The AGE newspaper 

http://www.theage.com.au/travel/holiday-type/family/twenty-reasons-to-visit-okinawa-20130321-2ghgf.html#ixzz2OQ7KHKPE

Average annual wage for workers in Japan peaked in 1997 according to survey

"the average annual wage for workers in Japan has been decreasing since it peaked in 1997. Statistics from the National Tax Agency shows that it fell by about ¥450,000 from 2001 to ¥4.09 million in 2011. This suggests that the decline in wage levels is responsible for the long period of deflation."

Source: EDITORIALS

Time for base wage increases

Japan Times

March 18, 2013

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2013/03/18/editorials/time-for-base-wage-increases/#.UUuhbBdnqVE

Over 5000 Japanese companies have internal reserves of over 267 trillion yen according to report

" a recent report that some 5,000 major companies (in Japan) have internal reserves amounting to ¥267 trillion . Some of this money should be used to increase workers’ salaries."

Source: EDITORIALS

Time for base wage increases

Japan Times

March 18, 2013

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2013/03/18/editorials/time-for-base-wage-increases/#.UUuhbBdnqVE

Solitary non-employed persons or SNEP's rising in Japan according to reports

"Solitary Non-Employed Persons ... “SNEPs”. ....the term can be applied to anyone of the working age 20-59 years who is not enrolled in education, is unemployed, unmarried and has no ties outside of one’s family. ...according to reports online, Japan is witnessing a sudden increase in these such people."

Source: Japan sees increase in Solitary Non-Employed Persons (SNEPs)

By Andrew Miller

LIFESTYLE MAR. 06, 2013

Japan Today

http://www.japantoday.com/category/lifestyle/view/japan-sees-increase-in-solitary-non-employed-persons-sneps

American versus Japanese feelings toward compliments survey results

"Communication researcher Hiroko Matsuura took a survey of Japanese and American students' feelings about complimenting."

 Read the results here

 Source: CULTURAL CONUNDRUMS

I'll take that as a compliment!

 Kate Elwood 

The Daily Yomiuri

 Feb. 18, 2013 http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/language/T130213004791.htm