TOKYO (Kyodo)--A free trade agreement between Japan and India entered into force on Monday to scrap tariffs on goods that account for 94 percent of the two-way trade flow over 10 years. Under the agreement, tariffs on goods exported to India, such as automotive equipment, steel products, peaches and persimmons, will be scrapped over the next five to 10 years.
While tariffs on goods imported from India will be eliminated, including tariffs on nearly all manufactured products, curry powder and tea leaves, the tariffs on such farm products as wheat, beef and pork imported from the country will be exempted.
South Korea and others have already made inroads into the vast South Asian market, making it one of the priorities for Japanese businesses to raise their profile in India, where continued economic growth is expected, through increased trade and investment. The negotiations for concluding an FTA between the two countries began in 2007. The agreement was officially endorsed by Prime Minister Naoto Kan and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh in October 2010.
Source:The Nikkei August 1,2011
TOKYO (Nikkei)--Vietnam has agreed to adopt Japan's one-stop system for trade and customs procedures, marking the first success in the Japanese campaign to streamline commerce with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The Nippon Automated Cargo and Port Consolidated System, or NACCS, won out over a rival bid from South Korea. This electronic system provides a single window for all the administrative procedures needed to move goods into and out of the country, slashing paperwork by half.
As part of its pitch, the Japanese side offered full technical information and cooperation in training personnel. "The high reliability of Japan's system and our offer of extended support were what sealed the deal," a Ministry of Finance official says.
Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda will officially announce the agreement as early as Tuesday. Vietnam will aim to bring the new system online in fiscal 2014. For Japanese companies, which complain of frequently changing customs duties, inconsistent application forms and other red tape, the changeover is expected to eliminate much of the hassle of commerce with the Southeast Asian country.
With NACCS, import permits take less than a day to process for air shipments and 2.6 days for ocean cargo, compared with about 20 days under Vietnam's current system. The MOF will try to parlay its Vietnamese success into new orders for the system in the region, starting with Indonesia and Malaysia.
Source:The Nikkei Weekly July 26,2011
TOKYO (Nikkei)--Skepticism is growing over whether Japan will be able to open itself wider to the rest of the world for the sake of growth.The March 11 earthquake and tsunami struck just as the nation was looking at ways to attract people, goods and money from overseas, to grow together with the world. But politicians are too preoccupied with political battles tied to their near-term interests. Japan can determine how to recover from the disaster by tackling reconstruction with a global mindset, rather than using the catastrophe as an excuse to adopt an inward-looking stance. And Japan needs to start this process while it is still in the good graces of the world.
Europe, for example, is already showing signs of irritation at Japan's indecisive attitude on an economic partnership agreement, after agreeing in May to start preliminary talks. On July 7 in London, British Prime Minister David Cameron told Hiromasa Yonekura, chairman of the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, that he cannot bring unenthusiastic European countries to the EPA negotiating table unless Japan shows it is willing to discuss the removal of nontariff trade barriers.
Japan and the European Union held preparatory talks in early July, but the meeting was kept secret out of "consideration to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries," as one Japanese government official put it. The government does not want to be seen taking a positive stance on the EPA, an issue that makes farmers nervous. This is partly due to the lack of progress on efforts to restore and rebuild agricultural and fishing operations in the parts of the Tohoku region that were devastated by the March 11 disaster, the official said.
In mid-July, an ultra-partisan group of lawmakers led by former Agricultural Minister Masahiko Yamada visited South Korea, which has concluded a number of free trade agreements, to assess the impact on the country's agricultural industry. Despite the March 11 disaster, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Foreign Ministry are promoting preparations for Japan's participation in negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact, Yamada said, with obvious irritation.
Impending collapse
A "new growth strategy," worked out by the government of Prime Minister Naoto Kan last year, includes the promotion of EPAs with other countries. The administration also expressed its willingness last autumn to participate in the TPP negotiations.But when the earthquake and tsunami occurred, there had been barely any coordination on free trade pacts between the relevant parties concerned. The policy of opening up Japan is now on the verge of collapse, along with the unpopular Kan administration itself.
As Japan faces this messy situation, other countries are competing fiercely to expand their presence in the world's main growth centers. Australia started talks on a bilateral FTA with India in mid-May. Canberra's EPA negotiations with Tokyo have been shelved since the disaster and are unlikely to resume in the near future, even though Japan had been eager to wrap them up in June. In fact, Australia is now turning away from Japan for free trade arrangements.
South Korea, whose FTA with the EU went into effect earlier this month, has doubled its exports to Germany over the past five years. But exports from Japan to Germany have remained virtually flat throughout this period. In addition, exports from Germany to South Korea have surpassed 10 billion euros, edging closer to the level of the country's exports to Japan, which are now worth 13 billion euros.
National inaction
Clearly, Japan is wasting time. "The Kan administration has started with significant tasks and should promptly launch the necessary studies by taking the post-disaster situation into account," said Motoshige Itoh, professor of economics at the University of Tokyo.Kenichi Kawasaki of the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry, a government-affiliated research institute, said Japan should focus on China, to pull out of its inward-looking posture and leverage global growth to recover from the March 11 disaster.
If Tokyo and Beijing concluded a free trade pact, China would become the biggest contributor to the expansion of Japan's real gross domestic product. It would lift it by 0.66%, Kawasaki said, much more than the 0.36% expected from a similar pact with the U.S., which would be the second largest contributor.The Japan External Trade Organization expects that an FTA between Japan and China would increase exports from Japan to China by 46.6 billion dollars, or nearly equal to 10% of the nation's total annual exports.
Japan has lagged far behind other countries in holding FTA talks. It is just starting negotiations with the EU, while merely holding study sessions involving academics and officials from government and industry with China and South Korea. For trade with the U.S., Japan only has its possible participation in the TPP negotiations.Japan is "racing against time" to catch up with a world that is steadily moving forward, Kawasaki said.
Source:The Nikkei July 28,2011
By SHINJI FUKUKAWA
Ten years since the concept of a free-trade agreement (FTA) among Japan, China and South Korea was proposed, some visibly significant moves have gotten under way recently. The three countries, at their leaders' summit talks held in Japan on May 21 and 22, reached agreement to conclude the industry-government-academia joint studies on the FTA issue this year and begin intergovernmental negotiations next year.
In the wake of the agreement, three research institutes of the three Asian neighbors launched a joint economic and trade forum in Seoul on June 3 to help promote regional economic integration from a private sector's standpoint in preparation for the coming government-level talks.
The tripartite forum was set up after about a year's preparations at the proposal of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, a think tank created with the Chinese government playing a central role, and with the participation of the Japan-China Organization for Business, Academia and Government Partnership and the Korea International Trade Association.
The three-way FTA concept goes back to the idea of a framework designed to strengthen economic relations among the three nations, which was proposed in 1998 by then Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi. Complying with his request, I took part in the preparatory work with some leading members of the Japanese business community. Government leaders of Japan, China and South Korea, at their summit held in Manila in October 1999, agreed to have the National Institute for Research Advancement (Japan), the Development Research Center of the State Council (China) and the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (South Korea) start joint studies on ways to "strengthen economic cooperation" among the three countries.
Their research projects covered a wide range of related matters including the content and effects of the trilateral FTA and resulted in the positive conclusion that the proposed FTA will help accelerate the economic growth of the three nations and expand their trade. In those days, Chinese and South Korean leaders' responses were positive and they showed considerable interests in the FTA issue.
But the Japanese leadership's reaction was regrettably not positive, perhaps in view of political obstacles such as Japan's agricultural problems.
Japan's trade policy began to get oriented toward promoting FTAs and economic partnership agreements (EPAs) around 2000 in line with the currents of the world but lagged far behind the moves of South Korea, which concluded FTA accords with the U.S. and the European Union, and the trends of ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries, which were widely promoting FTA networks.
The negotiations for formulating the Japan-South Korea FTA started in December 2003 but were suspended about a year later. The FTA issue with China still remained at a concept-drafting stage. So, Northeast Asia was then in a state of vacuum in terms of regional trade and economic cooperation.
In November 2010, the Japanese Cabinet approved the government's basic policy for a comprehensive economic partnership, clearly indicating that the government, under its principle of opening up the country to the international community and paving the way for sustained progress in the future, was set to promote studies for a Trans Pacific Partnership (PTT) while enhancing its efforts to implement FTA plans. This development was a matter of course if Japan aspires for growing further together with other countries of the world.
The March 11 earthquake, tsunami and Fukushima nuclear power plant crisis inflicted enormous damage not only on Japan's northeastern coastal area, but also on the Japanese economy as a whole. But, if Japan hopes to survive its national crisis and get on a new track for growth, it must make serious efforts to promote FTAs as well as to study ways to forge the TPP.
I would like to emphasize that Japan's strengthening of cooperative ties with China and South Korea ? which are close to Japan geographically, historically and culturally, possess high growth power and are faced with economic and social problems similar to those of this country ? is an important policy task for Japan, along with the issue of TPP creation. At the Seoul conference, Chinese and South Korean delegates expressed positive views on promoting FTA ties. Main points of their remarks are as follows:
(1) Trilateral FTA relations will produce larger economic benefits for the three countries than bilateral FTA ties.
(2) A wide rage of content such as not only trade and investment, but also industrial structure, employment, global environment, energy, intellectual property, technological innovation and human resources development should be covered by the FTA arrangement. (3) In consideration of the three countries' economic standings in East Asia, it is important to introduce a framework for supporting the economic development of the region in preparation for the formulation of an East Asia Community.
(4) The three countries can develop further if they can successfully cope with difficult domestic problems ? agricultural and other issues ? they are facing.
(5) They should promote cooperation in improving nuclear safety technology and study the possibility of creating a framework similar to the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom).
Meanwhile, questions are being raised abroad as to which trade deal Japan is giving priority to ? a comprehensive TPP or a Japan-China-South Korea FTA. There is some difference between the TPP and the tripartite FTA in that TPP is aimed at forging a highly advanced system of a market economy.
In my view, it is advisable for Japan to push FTA ties as far as to cover the area of the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum) in order to achieve a new framework for regional growth, that is a FTAAP (Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific), and it is appropriate for Japan to promote negotiations for the TPP and the tripartite FTA step by step in parallel to move forward toward the goal of Asia-Pacific regional integration.
After the Seoul conference, the delegates, including myself, paid a courtesy call on South Korean Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik. I was strongly impressed by the prime minister's remark. He said that the system of economic integration centering on the tripartite FTA will pave the way for a new era. Shinji Fukukawa, formerly vice minister of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (now the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) and president of Dentsu Research Institute, is currently chairman of the Machine Industry Memorial Foundation.
Source:Japan Times July 26,2011
HANOI (Nikkei)--With Japan looking to export more technology and the U.S. hoping to broaden its influence across Asia, the two countries have agreed to work together on public-private infrastructure projects in Southeast Asia.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will cooperate to fund projects and build legal foundations in the region to lend more credibility to projects and make them more business friendly.
The agencies will provide assistance to public-private partnerships (PPP) at every project stage -- from planning through design, procurement, construction and operation. They plan to carry out the first project in Vietnam, and on Thursday will present Hanoi with a plan that includes the establishment of a fund next year.
Demand in Vietnam for such funds over the next 20 years is expected to grow to around 30 trillion yen. JICA will launch a 400-500 million dollar fund to finance PPP projects next March, and contribute to it in the form of investments and loans. It will also enlist support from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.
USAID will guarantee up to 50% of loans to projects using this fund and seek cooperation from financial institutions in Vietnam and the U.S. Projects in the scheme include power plants and other energy facilities, information and telecommunications, roads and other transportation, and water supply and sewage systems. JICA and USAID also plan to provide aid to countries in the region such as Indonesia, the Philippines, Laos and Cambodia.
Source:The Nikkei July 26,2011
The administration is considering a Yen 10.3 trillion tax hike plan over a five-year period to secure funds for reconstruction work following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, officials said. It is also eyeing securing extra revenues of around Yen 200 billion by selling its holdings in subway operator Tokyo Metro Co. and other government-owned assets, while aiming to ensure around Yen2.4 trillion over four years from fiscal 2012 by scaling down its key policy spending, including monthly child allowances.
Vice Finance Minister Fumihiko Igarashi said Monday the government is weighing selling assets including shares in NTT Corp. and Japan Tobacco Inc. to pay for earthquake reconstruction costs. "I've already ordered officials internally to make their best efforts" to sell government assets, including equity holdings, Igarashi said at a news conference. "I don't think it would be a big sale though."
The tax hike proposals were presented at a meeting of economic ministers who discussed how to finance the rebuilding of quake-hit prefectures through government-sponsored projects, which could cost a total of Yen23 trillion, according to a government estimate. The government wants to incorporate the proposals in the basic guidelines for reconstruction that it is aiming to complete over the coming week.
But the provisional tax hike, which could raise corporate and individual income taxes, is likely to face criticism from within the ruling coalition for increasing the burden on taxpayers instead of additional asset sales or spending cuts. The tax hike is expected to help the government formulate a huge third extra budget for the current fiscal year by issuing new debt.
Given the deterioration in public finances, some have argued that the government should not issue any new bonds without securing funds to service them through tax hikes or other measures. On Monday, the Diet enacted the Yen2 trillion second supplementary budget for fiscal 2011 through March, following the first extra budget of Yen4 trillion.
The government did not issue any new debt to compile the two budgets, instead tapping surplus funds from fiscal 2010. Some officials have said the planned third extra budget could amount to more than ฅ10 trillion. The government is setting the next decade for reconstruction and planning and is aiming to spend more than 80 percent, or Yen19 trillion, of the Yen23 trillion in total expenditures during the first half of that period.
Excluding Yen6 trillion spent under the first and second extra budgets as well as several trillion yen raised from cuts in policy spending, the government will have to find another Yen10.5 trillion by issuing "reconstruction bonds," which will be managed separately from existing conventional government bonds.
The government will service the reconstruction bonds with the potential tax increase and asset sales, and try to prevent any sudden rise in long-term interest rates, a sign that markets are judging the country's fiscal restoration efforts as insufficient.
Some lawmakers have argued that the Bank of Japan should underwrite such emergency bonds rather than introducing higher taxes. But BOJ Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa showed his reluctance to this again Monday, warning at a seminar that a central bank seen by market participants as monetizing government policy will only do harm to economic and financial stability.
Source:The Japan Times July 27, 2011
TOKYO (Nikkei)--Warning of a dire impact on the economy, two powerful business lobbies on Thursday asked the government not to raise income and corporate taxes and instead use a consumption tax hike to fund post-quake reconstruction.
"Increasing income and corporate taxes will skew the burden toward taxpayers and profitable businesses and impair economic vitality," an official of the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, said in a hearing on the fiscal 2012 taxation reform.Raising the consumption tax would be "the most neutral option in terms of economic impact," the official said during the hearing by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
The Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry was united with Keidanren, rejecting higher income and corporate taxes and favoring a consumption tax hike. Describing a consumption tax increase as regrettable but unavoidable, the group proposed offering remedial steps to offset the burden on residents of the disaster-hit areas, as well as ending the tax increase after two years or so.
The government estimates the total cost of reconstruction efforts over the next five years at roughly 19 trillion yen. Aiming to raise roughly 10 trillion yen through taxation, the government is weighing various tax hike options, with the focus on income and corporate taxes.The business community's argument is that increasing the consumption tax is a faster and surer way to secure sufficient funds.
A 1 percentage point increase in the consumption tax rate from the current 5% is estimated to generate 2.5 trillion yen in added annual revenue. This suggests the 10 trillion yen target can be achieved by lifting the rate by 2 percentage points for two years.
But the government is reluctant to resort to a consumption tax hike for funding reconstruction. With plans to raise the consumption tax rate to 10% in the mid-2010s as part of integrated social security and tax reform, the government is wary of the possibility that repeated talks of consumption tax hikes may rouse a public backlash.
In light of the requests from the two business groups, the government's tax panel will consider various revenue increases options, including raising income, corporate and consumption taxes when it starts discussions as early as next week.
Source The Nikkei July 29,2011
TOKYO (Nikkei)--The yuan and other Asian currencies are tumbling against the yen, eroding the competitiveness of Japanese companies against their regional counterparts. On Friday, the yuan hit -- for the third straight day -- its strongest level against the dollar since Beijing adopted a more flexible rate system in July 2005. Compared with the pre-financial-crisis rates as of the end of 2007, the Chinese currency has appreciated by 13% against the dollar, while it has weakened about 20% against the yen.
Beijing has repeatedly intervened in the foreign exchange market, selling the yuan and buying the dollar. This has slowed the yuan's rise against the greenback and, in turn, made the currency fall against the yen.
Limited impact ... for now
So far, the yen's rise against the yuan has generally had only a minor impact on the Japanese economy. That is because in overseas markets, Japanese companies face competition with Chinese players in only a handful of sectors. Also, the practice of shipping components from Japan to China and assembling products there for import to Japan helps mitigate currency risks.
However, the situation is changing now that China is increasing its presence as a market, not just as a place for production. For example, a 1% rise in the yen against the yuan would bite a 1.7 billion yen chunk out of the operating profit of Komatsu Ltd. (6301), which manufactures and sells construction machinery in China.
About 30% of the components used at Komatsu's Chinese plants come from Japan and are traded in yen, but yuan-based prices of machinery cannot be easily raised. So the yen's rise increases production costs and thus pushes down profit. On another note, a 1 yen rise against the yuan, or an increase of about 8%, would slash sales at Shiseido Co. (4911), which sells cosmetics in China, by 5 billion yen. This is largely because a stronger yen reduces the yen-based value of its sales in China.
Won, baht jitters
Actually, rises in the South Korean won and the Thai baht against the yen have a bigger impact on Japanese businesses than a strong yuan. Compared with levels at the end of 2007, the won has dropped about 40% against the yen, while the baht has fallen roughly 30%. Such currency movements are increasingly prompting Japanese firms to shift production overseas. Toray Industries Inc. (3402), for example, will open a carbon fiber plant in South Korea.
"The yuan is serving as an invisible ceiling," said a forex dealer at a Japanese megabank, explaining why Asian currencies are not rising as strongly against the dollar even when the yen is appreciating vs. the greenback. In Asian economies whose exporters compete with Chinese companies, monetary authorities guide their currencies while paying close attention to the yuan's movements against the dollar. This practice, which could be described as a loose yuan peg, is the reason why Asian currencies are weakening against the yen.
The yen's rise against the baht is drawing automakers and component manufacturers from Japan to Thailand. Nissan Motor Co. (7201) and Honda Motor Co. (7267) have started turning out new models in the Southeast Asian country, while Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (7211) and Suzuki Motor Corp. (7269) are building new factories there. Nippon Steel Corp. (5401) and JFE Steel Corp. plan to build Thai plants for turning out automotive-use steel sheet.
Hollowing-out ahead?
Since the March 11 earthquake, Taiwan has stepped up efforts to encourage Japanese companies to launch plants there, taking advantage of corporate concerns about the strong yen and potential hikes in power bills. The recent currency trends are especially troubling because Japanese companies are increasingly focusing on Asian markets. Yutaka Mizukoshi, co-head of Japan operations at Boston Consulting Group, warns that this may lead to a further hollowing-out of Japanese industry.
Source:The Nikkei July 25,2011
SINGAPORE - The Asian Development Bank on Thursday revised downward its forecast for Japan's economic growth in 2011 due to the weaker than expected recovery in the wake of the March 11 disasters.
Its projection now is for a contraction of 0.5 percent from growth of 1.5 percent projected in April. For 2012, the bank expects the economy to grow 3.2 percent in a turnaround fueled by reconstruction demand, it said.In a report titled "Asian Development Outlook 2011," the Manila-based bank says private consumption and investment in Japan will be weighed down in 2011 by the impact of the disaster and the nuclear crisis.
The bank said electricity supply constraints and disrupted supply chains in the manufacturing sector are likely to continue to affect production. The yen's rise is also expected to hurt exports, it added.
The report points out that a slow recovery may affect Asian economies, adding that prices of raw materials such as oil are rising amid the nuclear crisis, which may accelerate inflation in the region. The ADB projected a growth of 7.8 percent in Asia excluding developed economies such as Japan in 2011 and 7.7 percent in 2012.
Source:The Japan Times, July 29,2010
Retail sales rose in June, the first gain since the March catastrophe and another positive signal of economic recovery, data showed Thursday. Sales rose by 1.1% year-on-year, lifted by purchases of machines, appliances and electronic equipment, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said.
Salse of household appliances and electronic products jumped 15.2%, driven in part by the rush of consumers to change to digital TV before the July 24 end of analogue broadcasting. Apparel sales were also up 4.1%as were food and beverage sales, which increased 3.2%.
However, automobile sales were down 17.3 % with consumers deferring purchase and automaker production levels still recovering after postquake power and parts supply short-ages.
Source:The Japan Times, July 29,2010
The worst of the post-quake slump appears to be over for luxury goods sales, which generally turned upward in June and continue to rebound this month. Sales of high-end jewelry, precious metals and artwork were up 11.8% on the year in June at Daimaru Matsuzakaya Department Stores Co. Following declines of 15.5% in March and 1.5% in April, sales grew 7.5% in May - before the even stronger surge in June. Even items in the price range of 3 million yen and higher are selling well, according to the J.Front Retailing Co. subsidiary.
At Sogo & Seibu Co.'s flagship Seibu store in Tokyo's Ikebukuro area, sales of big-ticket items climbed 6% in June and are up 8% so far this month. Jewelry sales per customer are up 15%, at around 150,000 yen. "The effects of the quake are gone," said one official of Sogo & Seibu, which is a Seven & i Holdings Co. group firm.
Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd.'s Isetan flagship department store in Tokyo and Hankyu Hanshin Department Stores' flagship store in Osaka reported double-digit growth in sales of designer goods and jewelry last month. Takashimaya saw a 5% gain. The luxury revival is not confined to department stores. The number of imported cars newly registered in June was up 44%, according to the Japan Automobile Importers Association. Sales of Mercedes-Benz E-Class models and other 6-7 million yen cars are solid, according to Yanase & Co.
High-end furniture retailer Cassina Ixc. Ltd., which saw sales rise 5% in June, is seeing a similar pace of growth this month - a turnaround from double-digit declines in April and May. Four months after the March 11 disaster, the mood of self-restraint has faded. Well-heeled shoppers appear to have made up for lost time in June, as shown by the jump in luxury goods sales. But what lies ahead is less clear. There is plenty to worry retailers, including the strong yen and weak stock prices. "It is going to take time for high-end goods to sell broadly," an Isetan Mitsukoshi representative said.
Source:The Nikkei Weekly July 25,2011
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Major department store chain operator Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd. will open small outlets in railway station buildings from next spring, selling sundry items such as cosmetics and fashion accessories, the company has announced.
Many firms have in recent years made increasing efforts to capitalize on the high volume of pedestrian traffic inside railway stations.
Isetan Mitsukoshi plans to launch boutique outlets at several railway stations in Tokyo in spring 2012, and at several dozen stations across the country within the following five years, according to the firm, which operates both the Mitsukoshi and Isetan department store chains. No department store chain has to date opened small branches inside railway station compounds, but many merchants have found success with similar strategies.
East Japan Railway Co. (JR East) has aggressively developed a retail presence inside its station buildings--mainly terminal stations--with stores that offer fashion goods, ready-made meals, snacks and other products. Benefiting from their convenient locations, thriving railway station shops have contributed to a decline in visitors to department stores, Isetan Mitsukoshi said.
For its entry into the station-shopping game, the firm said it decided to push sundry goods because they are reliably strong sellers at its main outlets, and because the firm has a highly developed network of suppliers of such products.
To keep set-up costs low, floor space at the boutique outlets will be no greater than 200 to 300 square meters--a little larger than an average convenience store. The small scale of the boutique outlets will make it easier to change stock in response to consumer needs, company officials said. The department store industry is struggling with an extended decline in sales, and many operators are seeking new business models.
Some department stores in big cities have tried increasing floor space to lure more shoppers, but such efforts have largely failed to generate higher profits, according to analysts.
Source:The Yomiuri Shimbun July 25,2011
The Office of Commercial Affairs, Royal Thai Embassy in Tokyo, Japan
Source : http://www.depthai.go.th