The Office of Commercial Affairs,
Royal Thai Embassy in Tokyo, Japan
Japanese Food Firms Targeting Growth In Muslim Markets
TOKYO (Nikkei)--Faced with a shrinking domestic market, major Japanese food companies are looking to develop a presence in overseas countries with large Muslim populations that follow Islamic dietary laws.
A production line at Nippon Flour Mills Co.'s Thai plant has been approved as halal, or permitted under Islamic dietary laws, by a local certification organization, a first for the company. It has begun shipping premixed flour to food producers in Dubai and plans to supply items to Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia next year.
Nippon Flour intends to assign about 20% of the Thai plant's output capacity, or an annual 4,000 to 5,000 tons, for countries with large Muslim populations. Yakult Honsha Co. has boosted the daily production capacity for its mainstay Yakult lactic acid drinks in Indonesia, where around 90% of the population is Muslim, by 40% to 2.45 million units. Indonesian sales currently total around 1.6 million units a day, accounting for more than 10% of its Asian tally, and they are growing at a pace of around 20% a year.
Yakult Honsha obtained halal certification in 1998, operating 35 sales bases in Indonesia. It plans to add around five such bases a year. Ajinomoto Co.'s eponymous seasonings and other products are certified halal in Indonesia and seven other countries. Such items generated about 70 billion yen in sales in fiscal 2009, accounting for around 30% of Ajinomoto's overall food sales abroad.
The company has a marketing base in the United Arab Emirates, and plans to set up other offices in the Middle East and elsewhere. Food makers have ramped up efforts to expand overseas, but they have lagged in developing a presence in markets requiring halal certification.
Muslims total an estimated 1.6 billion worldwide, representing about one-quarter of the global population. As a way to lift their overall earnings, Japanese food producers are setting their sights on the market for halal food, which is estimated at 50 trillion yen annually.
Source:The Nikkei Dec. 21,2010
Japan's Exports Moderately Recover In Nov
TOKYO (Kyodo)—According to the government data, Japanese exports rose 9.1 % in Nov. from a year earlier to 5,441.1 Yen billion ($64.9 billion), showing signs of moderate recovery after a recent slowdown.
Total exports increased for the 12th straight month while the rate of increase expanded for the first time in nine months following the 7.8 % rise in Oct., the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report. On a monthly basis, exports grew a seasonally adjusted 1.7 percent from Oct. for the third consecutive monthly gain.
Analysts said some signs have emerged that Japanese exports are about to exit the worst period in the current slowdown, given the prospects of recovery in Asian and U.S. economies. However, Japan's trade surplus shrank 55.4 % from the previous year to 162.8 Yen billion, the first decline in three months, as imports were up 14.2 % to 5,278.3 Yen billion for the 11th straight monthly growth, partly due to hikes in crude oil and other commodity prices. The year-on-year figures were measured on a customs-cleared basis before adjustments for seasonal factors.
Exports to China and other Asian economies expanded 13.0 % to 3,045.9 Yen billion for the 13th consecutive monthly gain, as shipments of steel products and metal processing devices increased.
The pace of increase rose for the first time in 10 months, suggesting an end is in sight to production falls in some emerging market economies. Imports from the region rose 17.6 % to 2,437.9 Yen billion.
In trading with China alone, Japanese exports rose 18.3 % to 1,090.7 billion yen while imports were up 19.3 % to 1,244.7 Yen billion. Exports to the European Union rose 10.1% to 656.7 Yen billion, the first increase in two months, on robust shipments of vehicles, auto parts and mineral fuels. Imports from the 27-nation bloc dropped 2.0 % to 481.3 Yen billion.
Exports to the United States advanced 1.2 % to 869.7 Yen billion for the 11th consecutive monthly hike. The rate was the slowest in 11 months as the yen's strength dropped the value of exports denominated in the U.S. dollar. Imports were up 12.1 % to 511.1 Yen billion, the first rise in two months.
Kyohei Morita, chief economist at Barclays Capital Japan Ltd., said that Japanese exports are about to return to a steady recovery stream.
He also added that as it becomes unlikely the U.S. and Asian economies, including China, would suffer a double dip (recession), they are not expecting a further slowdown in Japanese exports. He projected acceleration in exports could come in the April-June period along with recovery in high-tech production in such economies as Taiwan and South Korea.
Source:The Nikkei Dec. 22,2010
E-reader Boom Inspires Digital Manga Championship
UTSUNOMIYA--Aspiring manga artists no longer need paper, pens and correction fluid to bring their dreams to life--as reflected by the first national high school championship for digital manga that will be held next year in Utsunomiya.
Titled Digital Manga Koshien, the championship will be hosted in April by Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions Co., a subsidiary of major manga publisher Shogakukan Inc. High school students will vie with each other to create manga to be distributed on computers and mobile phones.
The company decided to host the event following the release of a number of electronic readers this year, including the iPad from Apple Inc. Some observers have dubbed 2010 as Year One for e-books in Japan.
Many people now use computers and other digital devices for some or all of the elements of creating manga, such as layout and adding color. As the number of manga distributed online has been increasing rapidly in recent years, the use of digital devices in the field is also expected to rise.
The April championship was modeled after the annual Manga Koshien, a national high school championship in Kochi where students compete in hand-drawn manga.
Utsunomiya-based Bunsei University of Art, which has a manga course, invited the event to the city.
Contestants will have to create an episode on the theme of typical daily occurrences in the lives of high school students.
The president of the board of examiners is leading manga artist and Bunsei University of Art Prof. Tetsuya Chiba, known for the series Ashita no Joe (Tomorrow's Joe). Winners will be selected April 3.
Source: The Yomiuri Shimbun Dec 25, 2010
‘Business Hotel for the Dead’ Opens in Tokyo
A facility to temporarily house bodies until funerals have been arranged has recently opened in the Shin-Kiba area in Tokyo's Koto Ward.
Dubbed a "business hotel for the dead," the facility was established by Tokyo-based nonprofit organization LISS System, which has arranged funerals and estate settlements for 17 years. The building called LISS Center Shin-Kiba is three stories with a floor space of 550 square meters and can hold a maximum of 37 bodies.
Bodies are identified with bar codes to avoid mix-ups, and the room is equipped with anti-bacterial lights. The facility also has Japanese-style rooms so families can discuss the funeral arrangements in relative comfort. The center's staff is available to give advice on choosing a mortician and deciding on funeral details.
Rates at the "business hotel" run 7,350 yen a night, or 3,675 yen for 12 hours. Renting a room for a funeral costs 2,100 yen an hour.
There are not many other NPOs that have built such a well-equipped facility for the dead. "Bereaved families usually are rushed to decide on a mortician and often have problems later regarding the funeral," Nyokai Matsushima of LISS System said.
"We want the families to have time to think, so they can decide on a satisfactory ceremony while their deceased relatives have a place to rest [temporarily] at our 'business hotel.'"
Source: The Yomiuri Shimbun: Dec. 27, 2010
Japan's Per-Capita GDP Down 3.6% In FY09
TOKYO (Nikkei)--Nominal gross domestic product per capita fell 3.6% to 3.71 million yen in fiscal 2009, shrinking for a second straight year, according to data released Friday by the Cabinet Office.
The back-to-back declines, attributed in large part to the autumn 2008 financial crisis, were last seen in the fiscal 2001-02 period -- a time when bad-debt woes gripped the nation.
Nominal GDP sank 3.7% to 474.04 trillion yen in fiscal 2009, down 8% from fiscal 2007, highlighting a sharp contraction in the economy. In addition, per-capita income fell 3.5% in fiscal 2009.
But in dollar terms, nominal per-capita GDP increased for a third consecutive year, thanks to the yen's appreciation. It rose 3.2% from 2008 to 39,530 dollars in 2009. The greenback traded at an average rate of 93.54 yen last year, marking a 9.5% surge from 2008 for the Japanese currency.
In an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ranking, Japan made 16th place in 2009, rising three notches from 2008 to overtake the U.K., Italy and Iceland. Japan ranked No. 2 in 1993, after Luxembourg. But its standing fell in the wake of the bursting of the bubble economy.
Japan accounted 8.7% of global GDP in 2009, up from 8% the year before, mainly because of the strong yen.
Source: The Nikkei Dec. 25 morning edition
Consumers go on Christmas spree
Tired of pinching pennies, Japanese start putting on the ritz Japanese, who have been spending less and less on themselves in recent years, are now splurging on expensive Christmas gifts. One factor lifting their spending spirits appears to be that Christmas Eve falls on a Friday this year.
And that means romance. Luxury hotels are receiving bookings for overnight stays on Dec. 24 at more than twice the pace of a year ago. Not only that but the average rate of the rooms being reserved is 20% higher than in 2009.
At ANA InterContinental Tokyo, in Minato Ward, pricey rooms on the higher floors were the first to go when Christmas Eve bookings started coming in. These rooms start at 43,000 yen ($518) for a twin. By the middle of December, 90% of the hotel's rooms had been reserved for Christmas Eve, 10 points higher than at the same time a year earlier. At Rihga Royal Hotel Tokyo, in Shinjuku Ward, a 400,000 yen plan to stay the night in a suite, which the hotel refrained from selling last year, has already been sold.
The upscale hotel booking site "yoyaQ.com," operated by Kakaku.com Inc., has received 140% more bookings for Dec. 24 than a year earlier. The average rate so far is 22,000 yen (for a twin) in the Tokyo area and 17,000 yen in the Osaka area, an increase of a little more than 20% from last year in both areas. Consumers' quest for luxury is also being felt in jewelry shops, where high-end items are being snapped up.
Shiny gifts
According to an official at Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd.'s Ginza Mitsukoshi department store, in Tokyo, necklaces, rings and other pieces of jewelry "priced at 100,000 yen or so are selling briskly." That is far above the 30,000 yen average that hot sellers have been priced at in recent years.
The flagship store of major jeweler Mikimoto & Co. has noticed the same trend. There, expensive pieces of jewelry with price tags of around 1 million yen are selling steadily. The store's sales on Dec.
4-5, the first two days of its Christmas campaign, surpassed those on comparable days last year.
On Rakuten Inc.'s special site for Christmas-related goods, necklace sales have been up 51% from a year ago. "The unit price of necklaces purchased is also slightly higher than that of last year," a Rakuten official said.
Reflecting on Christmas
As for Christmas gifts for children, a survey by leading toymaker Bandai Co. found that parents are budgeting an average of 7,218 yen per child, 5.3% more than a year earlier. The somewhat fat budget is attributable to more parents planning to buy costly video game consoles or mobile music players, industry analysts noted.
The more enthusiastic Christmas spending this year suggests that consumers are tiring of squirreling away their money, many economists pointed out. Explained Naoko Ogata, senior researcher at Japan Research Institute: "The growing trend these days is that people live frugally from day to day while splurging on special occasions. Consumer behavior during the Christmas shopping season is simply reflecting this."
Source:The Nikkei Weekly Dec.20,2010
Consumers Spending More For Year-End Holiday Celebrations
TOKYO (Nikkei)--As the end of the year approaches, consumers are loosening their purse strings and showing a willingness to splurge a little with their holiday celebrations.
"More people are spending a little extra to inject some fun into their everyday lives," says an official at the Hakuhodo Institute of Life & Living.
Seven & i Holdings Co. unit Ito-Yokado Co.'s sales of traditional New Year's Day meals are up nearly 20% on the year on a value basis. Meals inspired by a famous inn, priced in an upper-tier range of around 21,000 yen, have been popular.
At Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd.'s Isetan Shinjuku department store, orders for Christmas cakes are up from last year as more people plan holiday parties.
The pickup in spending has also benefited hotels. As of last Friday, the Shinagawa Prince Hotel was roughly 90% booked for New Year's Eve, a 16-point increase on the year. Reservations for New Year's Day and beyond are also brisk as families book multinight stays, according to a hotel official.
Improving incomes appear to be encouraging households to spend more to celebrate the holidays than in previous years. The average cash earnings pocketed per worker rose for an eighth consecutive month in October, according to the Labor Ministry.
"An exporter-driven recovery in corporate earnings has led to a mild recovery in income, a factor that will lift consumer spending slightly next year compared with the prior year's level," says Atsushi Matsumoto, an economist at Mizuho Research Institute.
Recovering share prices are also supporting consumer spending for big-ticket items such as jewelry.
Department store operator Takashimaya Co.'s sales of jewelry and watches rose 13% on the year between Dec. 1 and Sunday, while sales at fellow retailer Matsuya Co.'s main store in Ginza were up a whopping 40%.
But consumers, wary of an uncertain economic outlook, continue to be frugal with their day-to-day spending. Maruetsu Inc.'s sales of cakes and New Year's Day meals are up 10-20% on the year, but its per-customer sales this month are slightly lower. A full-fledged recovery in spending is not likely until next fall or later, predicts Tsutomu Okuda, chairman of department store operator J.Front Retailing Co. .
Source:The Nikkei Dec. 21,2010
Toshiba To Farm Out System Chip Production To Samsung
TOKYO (Nikkei)--Toshiba Corp. will outsource fabrication of system chips to South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co., freeing up resources for its memory chip operations, The Nikkei learned Thursday.
For new orders starting next fiscal year, the world's third-largest chipmaker will design system chips that meet the needs of a broad range of clients and outsource production to Samsung, the No. 2 firm.
Toshiba will continue to fabricate the system chips it currently supplies to customers.
System chips are used in various products, including such consumer electronics as mobile phones and televisions as well as automobiles. As with other chipmakers, Toshiba has continually improved their functionality and trimmed circuit widths in response to demand for smaller, more energy-efficient equipment.
Plant constructing costs have ballooned to about 300 billion yen due to the need for expensive production equipment. The partnership with Samsung enables Toshiba to save money by eliminating the need for capacity upgrades.
Toshiba currently makes system chips at plants in Oita and Nagasaki prefectures. The Oita facility will specialize in image sensors, which are enjoying global growth in demand. The Nagasaki plant will be sold to Sony Corp. Through these steps, Toshiba expects to turn its unprofitable system chip business around.
The company recently reached a basic agreement with Samsung after considering several potential partners for more than a year. The South Korean firm was chosen for its advanced technologies and its ability to churn out large numbers of high-performance chips at low cost.
Japan Economy Digest Dec.21-27, 2010 7
Samsung has been beefing up chip production under contract in addition to those it develops and makes on its own. However, its capacity to produce chips on behalf of others is small compared with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which specializes in such operations. The deal with Toshiba is expected to provide a boost to this business.
Toshiba will focus on memory chips. It is the world's No. 2 supplier of NAND flash memory, holding a market share of 34.9% to Samsung's 39.3%. The firms will continue to compete against each other in this field.
Source:The Nikkei Dec. 24,2010
HIT PRODUCTS 2010: Consumers shout, 'Get me out of this place!'
They buy smartphones, travel through Haneda, cool down with ice cream
The Nikkei Marketing Journal's 2010 consumer hit rankings crowned smartphones and Tokyo International Airport at Haneda as yokozuna. Both grand champions are tools that connect consumers to the world.
Japan's economic future is shrouded in uncertainty. This year, the yen became ascendent, Japan Airlines Corp.
became one of the nation's largest corporate failures, the government began malfunctioning and global warming dealt the country a searing summer. Amid the tumult, a number of prospective items heralding a new era of consumption ranked high.
Smartphones climbed to the yokozuna slot through the more prestigious higashi(East Japan) division; the rankings borrow sumo wrestling terminology. Fiscal 2010 domestic sales of function-packed handsets are projected to grow 88%, to 4.4 million units, according to MM Research Institute Ltd.
While the domestic market has so far been dominated by the iPhone, offered by Softbank Mobile Corp., rival handsets featuring U.S. Google Inc.'s Android operating system made a late splash.
Clockwise from top left: NTT DoCoMo's Xperia, Haneda's new international terminal, Gari Gari Kun and Zacrich treats, the high-school girl baseball manager who tuned into Peter Drucker's ideas, the Forever 21 outlet in once-posh Ginza, "One Piece" comic books, Keisuke Honda taking that shot, Tokyo Sky Tree, inside a gyudon eatery, 3-D TV shoppers.
NTT DoCoMo Inc. released Xperia in April and Galaxy S in October. In November, KDDI Corp. came out with the IS03, which kept some popular features peculiar to Japan, like an e-wallet function.
Haneda airport resumed regular international flights for the first time in 32 years with the opening of a fourth runway and an international terminal in October. Outbound flights will connect to Honolulu and 16 more foreign cities by spring. The airport's new international status is expected to have an annual 1 trillion yen ($12.05 billion) effect on the nation's economy.
The government's "eco-point" subsidies for purchases of energy efficient products finished right behind smartphones, thanks to all the air conditioners, refrigerators and televisions they helped to sell. 2010 sales of flat-screen televisions grew an estimated 80%, to slightly over 25 million units, from last year and 150% from 2008, according to GfK Marketing Services Japan Ltd. In October, the number of eco points awarded to buyers of new eco-friendly houses scored a 36% increase from September.
Summer cool-me-downs finished as higashi division sekiwake. Initial sales of Lotte Ice Cream Co.'s Zacrich cones were 100-200% higher than expected. Akagi Nyugyo Co. saw sales of Gari Gari Kun ice-cream bars leap 65% in July from a year earlier. Fast Retailing Co.'s Uniqlo stores sold about 17 million fast-drying undergarments, double last year's total.
Appetite for gyudon beef-over-rice bowls was whetted by extremely low pricing, below 300 yen. Cheap beef bowls, higashi division komusubi, show consumers remaining penny-conscious. Zensho Co.'s Sukiya chain cut its gyudon price by 50 yen, to 280 yen, while Matsuya Foods Co. offered a 320 yen bowl, down 60 yen. To compete, Yoshinoya Co. offered a gyunabedon of beef, tofu and vegetables at 280 yen.
In the nishi division, high-tech products seen as the everyday items of tomorrow gained ozeki status. These include all things three-dimensional, like the string of 3-D movies that each surpassed 10 billion yen at the box office. Hollywood's "Avatar," released in Japan last December, registered a whopping 15.5 billion yen in domestic revenue. In April, Panasonic Corp. debuted Japan's first 3-D-compatible TVs.
Light-emitting diode fixtures carved a wider niche, accounting for a 20% or so share of the domestic bulb market, triple the January ratio. "Ryomaden," a period drama aired by Japan Broadcasting Corp., gained a huge TV following. Sakamoto Ryoma (1836-1867), played by popular singer Masaharu Fukuyama, tugged at hearts around the nation as the drama zoomed in on the high-minded hero's enthusiasm and vision of a modern Japan.
Edutainment
Also in the rankings: thought-provoking books and theoretical guides for life. This year's best-sellers in the publishing industry include "Moshi Koko Yakyu no Joshi Manager ga Drucker no 'Management' wo Yondara" (Girl Assistant of High School Baseball Team Reads Drucker's "Management"). The adolescent-themed novel stirred people's interest, and sales topped 1.7 million copies. It also helped buoy sales of economist Peter Drucker's management books.
Harvard University Prof. Michael Sandel hit pay dirt with "Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?" Hayakawa Publishing Corp.'s translation has sold more than 600,000 copies. There was also movement in the laundry detergent sector, with liquids gaining ground. Sales of Lion Corp.'s Top Nanox liquid from January through September were 30% higher than original projections.
Tokyo Sky Tree, currently under construction, is a reminder that Japanese technology continues to reach to the heavens. The broadcast tower, which at 634 meters will be the world's tallest when finished in 2011, is already a tourist attraction. If you find yourself in Sumida Ward, just look up.
Ginza, the nation's most prestigious commercial enclave, is transforming into a more inclusive shopping destination. In September, Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd.'s Ginza Mitsukoshi department store reopened its doors in the heart of Tokyo's once-tony district.
Other department stores grabbed attention by adding fast-fashion lines. Matsuzakaya Co.'s Ginza store invited Forever 21 Inc., a U.S. low-price apparel chain to set up inside it. Lumine Co., another operator of fashion emporiums, will move in after Sogo & Seibu Co. later this month moves out of its Seibu Yurakucho department store. Laox Co., a big electronics and appliance retailer now owned by a Chinese corporation, also set up shop in Ginza.
Low prices continued to win over consumers. Operators of izakaya pubs now serve drinks and food items at a flat price just below 300 yen. Sanko Marketing Foods Co. and other chains took the lead, with industry biggie Watami Co. to follow in August.
Red but not so hot
In the food sector, there was Karaso de Karaku-nai, Sukoshi Karai Rayu, a munchable chili oil to season white rice and other humble foods with a pleasantly hot, spicy tinge of fried garlic flavor. If you need a translation, try this: Looks Hot And Spicy But Is Not So Hot. It became a hit as soon as Momoya Co. released it in August 2009. Rival oils soon followed.
Suntory Liquors Ltd. raised its annual sales target for its All-Free beer substitute to 2 million cases of 20 633ml bottles, double initial projections. Suntory at one point had to suspend sales because it could not keep up with demand.
Back to the struggling publishing industry, which found hits with two other titles. One was "Gegege no Nyobo," an autobiography by Nunoe Mura, the wife of manga artist Shigeru Mizuki, famous for "Gegege no Kitaro" (Ghost Boy). A TV drama adapted from Mura's autobiography got an average 18.6% rating in the Kanto region around Tokyo, according to Video Research Ltd. The other title was "One Piece," about a group of pirates. Sales have surpassed 200 million copies since the serial began in 1997.
In the slumping music industry, K-pop girls are big. At the end of November, a single from five-girl Kara reached shipments of more than 150,000 CDs. "Mister" was released in August. Girls' Generation, a nine-girl group, found its way to Japan with its debut single "Genie." The girls' good looks and sophisticated moves captivated Japanese girls in their teens and women in their 20s.
Japan went mad for the World Cup, in South Africa. Keisuke Honda became a hero after scoring on a free kick with a knuckling shot. Mizuno Corp. also scored on the shot. Honda was wearing shoes from its Ignitus series, which were introduced last December and went on to sell 120,000 pairs through November.
Source: The Nikkei Weekly Dec. 13,2010
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