Japan Inc. articles from July 2008

Japan Inc. archives from July 2008

Message from the publisher.
July 1, 2008... Japan has to be one of the noisiest consumer markets in the world, with product messages coming at you from every imaginable surface, sight, sound, human interaction--and recently smell and taste. This of course is not a new thing and even...

Message from the editor.(Editorial)
July 1, 2008... Dear Readers We took great pleasure in compiling and editing the articles in this month's magazine, our first issue as a monthly publication for quite a few years. With marketing as our focus we offer articles covering a range of hot...

Letters to the editor.(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2008... Dear Editor I am writing in regards to last issue's 'Sending the Right Signals' article. Joseph Greenberg makes mention in paragraph two of what seems to be a uniquely Japanese 'shotgun approach' to sending products to market. I have long...

iPhone touches down.(Business Break)
July 1, 2008... Big news of late was the announcement in June by SoftBank that it will be bringing Apple's iPhone to Japan later this year. With the wild popularity of the iPod in Japan, there is bound to be a big rush on the phones when they come out. It will...

Xenesys Inc.(Business Break)
July 1, 2008... A promising method of clean power generation called 'Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion' (OTEC) received a boost when Hyogo Prefecture-based Xenesys received a [yen]2 billion order for a power plant from the Kuwait National Petroleum company....

New indoor lighting source: the sun.(Business Break)
July 1, 2008... Tech blog Digital World Tokyo reports that two Japanese companies are utilizing 19th-century technology to provide environmentally friendly lighting for 21st-century buildings. Ishikawa Optics & Arts and Inosyo have both developed technology to...

IPO report.(Business Break)
July 1, 2008... The big news on the IPO front is actually that there is no news. April and May saw just two IPOs with prospects for summer not looking much healthier. Postlisting performance by recent IPOs has been mixed, but this doesn't seem sufficient to...

Facebook.(Business Break)
July 1, 2008... Social Networking goliath Facebook finally got around to releasing a Japanese version of the site in May. The launch was marked by a one day visit to Japan by CEO Marc Zuckerberg on May 20. It remains to be seen if just releasing a Japanese...

Brightcove.(Business Break)
July 1, 2008... Internet TV platform Brightcove announced the formation of a Japanese subsidiary, Brightcove KK. The new venture will be formed with US$5million in funding from big local players Dentsu, J-Stream (the biggest content delivery network in Japan),...

Trends in Japan: digital shopping technology makes models out of consumers.
July 1, 2008... Thanks to a jumpstart from web 2.0 innovations, online shopping is going from a solitary, static, and ultimately convenient alternative, to an instantly gratifying social experience that aims to bring in as much from the terrestrial shopping...

Exclusive interview: Philip Greenan Vice President.(Ireland Japan Chamber of Commerce)(Interview)
July 1, 2008... What is the nature of the Irish business community in Japan? The Irish corporate landscape is very much shaped by the global economy. A lot of multinational companies choose to have their European headquarters in Ireland, and as a result,...

Measure for measure.(Statistics & company information)
July 1, 2008... Mobile Telephony * Approximate number of mobile phone subscribers in Japan: 103 million * Approximate number of new mobile handsets sold each year: 50 million * Number of new SoftBank Mobile subscribers in May 2008: 173,700 *...

Retail focus: Super Hotel.
July 1, 2008... While the words 'business hotel' in Japan are often synonymous with the image of dark and smoky rooms that would make even a seasoned salary man shudder, Super Hotel has been working since 2000 to change that image into one that feels welcoming...

The healthcare revolution.(Healthcare)
July 1, 2008... The rise of the 'medical mall' Japan's demographic problems are putting pressure on the healthcare system and the government seems to be endlessly chasing its own tail in its efforts to implement secure financial and organizational...

CEO interview.(Armani Exchange)(Interview)
July 1, 2008... Please can you tell us about the Armani Exchange (AX) brand? The basic concept of the brand is young, urban and sexy--there is a strong association with music and the club scene. Not only do we produce CDs mixed by popular DJs from New York...

Standing out from the crowd.(Retail banking in Japan)
July 1, 2008... How do you shout loudly enough to attract the attention of 120 million customers, with 130 competitors lined up doing the same thing? Especially when some of those 130 are the largest of their type in the world? This is a challenge faced...

Tokyo queues for you: why you have to wait two hours for a doughnut in Japan.(Marketing doughnuts)
July 1, 2008... Queuing is nothing special in Japan. Every day, television programs show long lines of people queuing for up to one hour even in front of regular noodle shops, only to finish their food within less than ten minutes. Now, the Tokyo branches of...

Hey, big spender.(Luxury brands in Japan)
July 1, 2008... At first glance, Yukina Abo, 22, is one of many million reasons why Japan consumes 41% of the world's luxury goods, according to JETRO. Her impressive collection of luxury accessories includes Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Prada and Coach....

The eyes of the beholder: understanding the Japanese consumer in the digital age.(Marketing & Technology)
July 1, 2008... Japan, and its population of demanding consumers, has always been a famously tough market to crack. Several of the world's favorite brands, including Colgate Toothpaste and eBay, are simply not present here, and those that are often struggle in...

Marketing 101.(P&G in Japan)(Company overview)
July 1, 2008... Global consumer goods giant Proctor & Gamble (P&G) entered the Japanese market in 1973, acquiring the Nippon Sun-home Company--just three years later, its first product in Japan, the laundry powder 'Cheer' had become a best seller. An...

Marketing services directory.(Directory)
July 1, 2008... NAME PHONE URL ACNielsen 03-5573-9300 jp.en.acnielsen.com Corporation Japan Adams 042-483-3636 www.aaa.co.jp/adams/e Communications Co Ltd AIP Corporation...

Deconstructing Dentsu.(Advertising industry)
July 1, 2008... The advertising industry in Japan is a unique creature and many believe that it is driven, like so many other facets of Japan's history, by one major ruling body. In the marketing realm, the Shogun is Dentsu. Dynamic they may not be, yet all...

Going up?(Schindler Japan)
July 1, 2008... Learning the hard way Global elevator and escalator manufacturing giant, Schindler, came to Japan in the late 1980s, entering the market via the acquisition of Nippon Elevator Industry Co Ltd. Its business here expanded and by the...

Bridging the Gulf.(Japan and Arabia)
July 1, 2008... New centers of wealth Most descriptions of Arabia these days command superlatives: The world's tallest tower; the world's first 7-star hotel; the world's three largest man-made islands, shaped as palm trees. The list goes on and makes the...

Inside out: business in India.(Business in India)(Company overview)
July 1, 2008... As the opposition to British rule in India mounted at the turn of the 20th century, the populace (second-largest in the world) began to push for self-rule and total independence. The outcome was a closely guarded society, eager to administer...

Can Japan please stand up? Japan's bid for a UNSC permanent seat: pipe dream or viability?(Japan and the UN)
July 1, 2008... There seems to be one point agreed on by almost everyone when it comes to the United Nations Security Council: It's a time capsule of the post-World War II global power structure, hardly representative of the 21st Century political landscape,...

The perfect suit.(Bespoke tailoring)
July 1, 2008... The difference between the perfect business suit and one that is merely adequate can mean the difference between a strong first impression and one that is instantly forgettable. Too many men settle for suits that are not quite the shade or...

Tokyo's secret scuba: the best dive this side of Izu.(Scuba diving in Hachijo-jima)
July 1, 2008... I was thankful to finally step off the ferry and on to my destination. Not because I was eager to leave the Sarubia Maru, whose spacious quarters had been my home for the overnight voyage, but because I had been staring at Hachijo-jima in the...

Arrivals & Departures; In collaboration with Santa Fe Relocation Services Japan KK, the Japan Inc Arrivals & Departures column takes a look at some of the key figures in Japan's expatriate business community who are either just landing in Japan or flying off to new places.
July 1, 2008... Arrivals Lounge 01 Name: Jeremy Gibb Nationality: British Family: Married with two children Personality: Driven, committed, sociable Job Title: Partner Company: Norton Rose Arrived in Japan: February, 2008 ...

Back & forward.
July 1, 2008... Higher costs, falling profit... In the January-March quarter, pretax profit at Japanese firms fell 17.5% year-on-year, as sales slid 1.5% during the same time. It was the third straight quarter that profit fell at firms in Japan, and the...