Damage caused by the recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Japan has so far been limited to Miyazaki Prefecture, but the possibility of the disease becoming a nationwide problem cannot be ruled out, as calves born in the prefecture are used as breeding cattle all over the country.
In late April, after the outbreak, seven markets handling calves in the prefecture voluntarily suspended their operations. If the problem is prolonged, it could affect meat producers who purchase calves. Such producers now face the difficult decision of whether to wait for shipments of Miyazaki cattle to resume, or to search for suppliers from other regions.
Kiyofumi Seko, 61, vice chairman of a Matsusaka beef liaison council that represents businesses in the industry, said measures would need to be taken if the suspension of beef shipments continues for a long time. "If it settles down in three or four months there'll be no problems, but if it lasts longer than that we think we'll start buying from the Tohoku region," he said. However, an attachment to Miyazaki beef remains.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries' Livestock Industry Department maintains that "at the present stage the supply of calves is not greatly affected," but if there are no prospects of resuming trade of calves produced in Miyazaki Prefecture, then the issue of securing a supply could rise to the forefront on a national level.
Source: Mainichi Japan, May 17, 2010
Japan, China and South Korea should consider unifying their standards for manufacturing products as part of the process toward a three-way free trade agreement, the head of Japan's top business lobby told a news conference Thursday.
"Cooperation on setting common standards for environmental friendliness, quality and other aspects is necessary (for Japanese and Korean businesses) to further develop their operations in China," said Fujio Mitarai, chairman of the Japan Business Federation, or Nippon Keidanren.Mitarai met Wednesday with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who Keidanran officials say welcomed the Japanese proposal.
Yet any technical cooperation aimed at helping China create a set of industrial standards "must be accompanied by its commitment to protect intellectual property," Mitarai added. "We were able to have substantial discussions with important Chinese officials in a short span of time," Mitarai said.
Source: The Nikkei May 14, 2010
Some 55.7% of manufacturing firms intend to expand overseas production, according to a survey released Tuesday by the Cabinet Office.
In fiscal 2009, 67.5% of manufacturers had production activity abroad, up 0.4 point from a year earlier, with the proportion of overseas production rising to a record 17.8%. This ratio is expected to climb to 20.1% in five years. On why overseas production is important, 77% cited the need to "capture local demand." The most common reason in a fiscal 2006 survey was "cheap labor costs," cited by 45.3% this time around.
Asked how they plan to strengthen their business, 55.9% said "by tapping overseas demand," 46.6% "by developing new products and services" and 33.7% "by tapping domestic demand." Meanwhile, 64.9% said they will maintain domestic production. But 13.3% intend to scale down or withdraw their output in Japan, on a par with the 13.1% that seek to expand it.
The survey covered 2,457 publicly traded companies, with 1,032 responding.
Source: The Nikkei May 12, 2010
The baby-boomer generation, born soon after World War II ended, had lifted the war-ravaged nation to dizzying heights of economic growth. Now in retirement, they are still seen as a key group that can get the economy, specifically consumer spending, back firmly on a recovery track.
When they began to reach the retirement of 60 in 2007, manufacturers, retailers and financial companies expected them to lavishly spend their long-cherished savings. But the shock of tumbling stock prices and economic turmoil following the collapse of Lehman Brothers in autumn 2008 prompted them to tighten their purse strings. Amid the economic recovery led by the government's stimulus measures, however, they are starting to spend again. Companies hope that spending by the older generation will spread to younger people, who continue to save amid concerns about their jobs and mortgages.
The strict definition of the baby-boomer generation refers to people born between 1947 and 1949. But the definition is often expanded to include those born in the first half of the 1950s. Under the wider definition, baby boomers make up 12 percent of Japan's population.
To tap into this market, business operators are altering their services and products. One surprising result of the baby boomers' spending power was the popularity of Honda Motor Co.'s sporty hybrid CR-Z, which went on sale in late February. Of the 3,912 buyers of the car as of the end of March, 35 percent were in their 30s. Customers in their 60s and older accounted for about 10 percent. Although Honda also had buyers in their 50s in mind for its CR-Z campaign, it did not expect so many older customers.
Source: Asahi Shimbun, May 15, 2010
Izakaya pub chain Watami Co. will launch a joint composting program with Kentucky Fried Chicken Japan Ltd. and Green House Foods Co., an operator of tonkatsu pork cutlet restaurants.
Starting next month, food waste will be collected from 55 Watami locations, 10 KFC outlets and five of Green House's pork cutlet restaurants in Tokyo's Shibuya, Shinagawa and Ota wards and composted by a feed and fertilizer firm in Yokohama. Watami will then use the compost at its farm in Chiba Prefecture, serving the vegetables grown there at its restaurants.
Until now, Watami's kitchen waste recycling was limited in scope, covering only certain restaurants.
Source: The Nikkei May 11, 2010
Having sharply expanded their store-brand offerings in recent years, supermarket chains are now moving to weed out unpopular products in hopes of improving profitability.
Aeon Co. plans to reduce its roughly 5,000 store-brand products by about 500 within three years. It will discontinue around 10% of the offerings in each category, such as clothing and food. Sales of Aeon's store-brand products rose 20% in fiscal 2009. But at roughly 440 billion yen, they did not meet its expectations. While culling unsuccessful offerings, Aeon aims to create 300 store-brand products that sell 1 billion yen or more a year each.
Following the explosion of store-brand products in recent years, many supermarkets are now carrying products that do not sell so well. Some store-brand products are also facing tough competition from name brands, whose prices deflation has pushed down far enough to pose a threat. These developments have raised the risk of supermarkets ending up saddled with large inventories of hard-to-sell store-brand products. While Aeon and other supermarket operators aim to continue bolstering sales of store-brand goods, they also intend to reduce inventory risks by consolidating their lineups.
Source: The Nikkei May 15, 2010
The Office of Commercial Affairs, Royal Thai Embassy in Tokyo, Japan
Source : http://www.depthai.go.th