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Japanese Anime is Captivating the World

Hayao Miyazaki's animated film THE BOY AND THE HERON won the US Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film. Compared to about 20 years ago, when director Hayao Miyazaki won the same award for "Spirited Away," Japanese animation has made great strides worldwide...

Raisin Prices Hit Record Highs

Domestic trading prices for raisins used in bread and confectionery reached their highest level in about 44 years. The 2023 crop failed in the US and Turkey, the main production areas and shortages were felt worldwide...

Daikin Takes on the Challenge of Conquering the Southern Hemisphere

Daikin Industries, the world's leading air conditioning company, has launched a strategy to capture the "Global South," including Africa. They have grown through energy-saving technologies and skillful mergers and acquisitions (M&A)...

Tsuruha and Welcia Towards Business Integration

AEON announced that its subsidiary Welcia Holdings, the largest drugstore operator, and Tsuruha Holdings, the second largest, have entered into talks to merge their operations...

Japanese Ice Cream is Popular in Asia

Ice cream from Japan is becoming increasingly popular in Asia. The unique taste and texture of mochi (rice cakes), which have been cultivated in Japan, have won the hearts of local consumers...

Exporting Sake and Wagyu Beef to Europe may Become Difficult Due to EU Packaging Material Regulations

The European Union is considering new regulations for food packaging. If realized, this could make exporting sake and wagyu beef in the region difficult. The Japanese government will step up its efforts to have them removed from the list...

Suntory Beverage & Food Will Increase Beverage Production in Southeast Asia

Suntory will invest more than 15 billion yen in beverage factories in Thailand and Vietnam to increase production capacity for coffee drinks, typified as "BOSS." ...

Daikin Industries Will Establish a Residential Air Conditioning Production Network in Africa

Starting with establishing an assembly line in Nigeria, Daikin is preparing for production in Algeria. It will take a step forward from the development of Africa, which is based on product imports...

Fujifilm Aims to Triple Sales of Instant Camera "Instax" in 10 Years

Fujifilm will increase its instant camera "Instax" business sales by about 15% from the fiscal year ending March 2023 to 150 billion yen in the fiscal year ending March 2025...

Cosmetics Manufacturers Develop New Consumption Opportunities for Foreign Visitors to Japan

With the number of inbound tourists recovering, driven by the weak yen and other factors, cosmetics manufacturers are restarting their efforts to create related consumption...

Loading Computer Graphics Data with AI and Cutting Animation Production Time in Half

KaKa Creation Inc. (Tokyo), founded in June 2023, embarked on producing short animated films using artificial intelligence (AI)...

In November, Pocketalk Corporation will Launch an Online Service that Uses AI to Translate Conversations as Fast as Simultaneous Interpretation

A tablet or smartphone listens to the conversation and follows along to display the translated text on the screen...

Maruha Nichiro will Sell "cultured fish meat," Made by Culturing Fish Cells, Overseas in the Fiscal Year 2027

The company will establish a low-cost technology to produce fish paste products like kamaboko (fish cake) with a start-up company in Singapore...

Nichirei Fresh, a Subsidiary of Nichirei Corporation, has Begun Test Marketing Cholesterol-free Salmon Roe-like Products on the Internet

It is made from an ingredient called alginic acid found in seaweed and is said to be similar in taste and texture to natural salmon roe...

DAIZ will Increase the Production of Plant Meat Raw Materials

DAIZ Inc. (Kumamoto, Japan), a startup developing and producing soybean-derived "plant meat" ingredients, will double its annual production to 8,000 tons by 2025...

Shiseido Launches Beauty Supplement Business

Shiseido announced that it will enter the beauty-related supplements and beverages business in earnest. It is diversifying its business in anticipation of saturation in the domestic cosmetics market...

Air Water Inc. will Invest approximately 13.5 Billion Yen to Build a New Industrial Gas Plant in Eastern India

The plant will supply oxygen to SAIL, India's state-owned steel company, and is expected to start operations in October 2025...

Toyota Motor has Finalized its Plan to Increase the Global Production of the "Toyota Motor/Lexus" Brand to Approximately 10.2 Million Units in 2023

This is a 10% increase from 2022 and a significant break from the record high in 2019 (9.05 million units). The shortage of components such as in-vehicle semiconductors is easing...

In Mexico, Kaga Electronics will Build a New Assembly Plant for Electronic Devices for Automobiles and Air-conditioning Equipment

The total investment will be approximately 5 billion yen, and operations will begin in April 2024. Following the trend of manufacturers moving their manufacturing hubs from China to Mexico against U.S.-China friction...

PockeTalk has Signed a Business Alliance Agreement with Softbank

"PockeTalk" is a mobile translation terminal developed by the Japanese company PockeTalk. They plan to collaborate in creating the domestic corporate market and expanding global sales channels, and selling 1 million new units over the next three years...

Vending Machines are Evolving with Cutting-edge Technology

Ito En (green tea mega-brand) has begun a demonstration test using artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze users' facial expressions and suggest products that match their moods...

Iseki & Co., Ltd. will Make All Models for Europe Compatible with Biofuel by 2025

Iseki will make all its mowers and other agricultural machinery deployed in Europe biofuel-compatible by 2025. It aims to reduce environmental impact and expand its market share in Europe, where emission regulations are strict...

There is a Growing Trend among Major Chemical Companies to Make Plastic Raw Materials from Plant-derived Alcohol “Bioethanol"

Asahi Kasei will begin domestic production in the 10,000-20,000 ton scale by about 2027. Sumitomo Chemical also plans to start mass production around 2025. Amid domestic and international demands to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions...

The Rapid Decline in the 18-year-old Population will Bring a Surplus of Universities in the Future

The birthrate is declining faster than the educational community anticipated. The number of Japanese born in 2022 was 770,747, falling below 800,000 for the first time since statistics began...

Danish Company and Daikin will Use Renewable Fuels for Transportation

"Renewable Diesel (RD)," a renewable fuel made from waste cooking oil and other materials, is expanding. A.P. Moller - Maersk (Denmark), the world's second-largest container shipping company, has partnered with Daikin Industries to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions...

All Nippon Airways (ANA) and EL AL Israel Airlines of Israel have Agreed to Cooperate in Code-sharing (Joint operation) and Mileage Exchange

This agreement is the first overseas tie-up for a major Japanese airline after the new coronavirus. The two companies will soon sign and announce a partnership agreement, restarting in anticipation of a full-fledged recovery in mobile demand after COVID-19...

Microsoft (MS) will Open a Development Hub in the Field of "IoT" Technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Kobe in the Summer of 2023

This hub is the first in Japan and the fourth in the world. In collaboration with a consortium of companies, including Kawasaki Heavy Industries and the City of Kobe...

Economic Losses Due to Hay fever, a Japanese "National Disease," may Exceed 380 Billion Yen

These figures became clear by private estimates. The government launched measures to curb health hazards and economic losses in May. The main focus will be to promote the cutting down and replanting of cedar trees that are the source of pollen...

ASKA Pharmaceutical Medical will Release a Kit in July that Can Test for Stress based on Hormone Levels Accumulated in Hair and Nails

It is easier to perform than blood or saliva test kits and can measure chronic conditions. The group aims to utilize its strength in hormone testing technology and adapt it for use in corporate welfare programs...

Cluster Inc. will Start a Contracted Development Business of Contents for the Metaverse Overseas

Cluster operates the virtual space "Metaverse" and raised 5.2 billion yen in a capital increase through third-party allotment with SPARX Asset Management and others as underwriters, to be used for human resources recruitment and advertising...

MatsukiyoCocokara & Co. is Expanding its Advertising Platform Business called "Retail Media."

The company receives advertising fees from clients to promote its products on its e-commerce (EC) sites and apps. It is unique in that it uses accumulated data on consumer purchases...

Samsung Electronics Korea will establish a new semiconductor development hub in Japan

The company will invest over 30 billion yen to build a prototype line for advanced semiconductor devices in Yokohama. It is also coordinating to utilize Japanese government subsidies and will promote joint research with Japanese material and manufacturing equipment manufacturers...

Imported Whale Meat will be Distributed in the Domestic Market for the First Time in Four Years

In Japan, commercial whaling resumed in 2019, but there are restrictions on the hunt, and the supply is unstable. Kyodo Vessel (Tokyo), a whaling company, sells whale meat imported from Iceland. It seeks to reopen markets that have shrunk over the years due to supply constraints...

Through its subsidiary Orbis, Pola Orbis Holdings will Begin to Develop Unattended Cosmetics Stores

An online counseling section will also be available for visitors to the shop. It aims to respond to the shortage of beauty department staff by opening new stores and renovating existing stores and aims to have up to 15 stores in three years...

Hiroshima University and Kewpie have Developed Eggs that do not Contain Specific Proteins that Cause Food Allergies

Hiroshima University and Kewpie utilized genome (complete genetic information) editing technology to alter genes. When heated, it has almost no allergens and may be eaten by people with egg allergies...

FamilyMart and Don Quijote Will jointly Use their own Customer Data Starting in May

The data will amount to over 30 million customers, making it one of the largest in the country. The plan is to analyze consumer behavior after anonymization so that coupons and other sales promotion activities can be accurately launched....

Colowide, a Major Restaurant Operator, Will Increase its International Openings

By the fiscal year ending March 2030, Colowide will increase the number of directly managed stores to 700, five times the number at the end of March 2023...

Five Companies Have Been Unofficially Selected as Operators of "Flying Cars" Aiming for Commercialization at the Osaka-Kansai Japan Expo 2025

Flying cars will be a near-future means of transportation in urban areas, and their development and commercialization are spreading worldwide...

Meiji Entered the Chinese Market with their Soy Protein

Meiji is developing the "Zavas" series of powdered soy protein in Japan, but it has entered the Chinese market this time...

New Innovations Will Sell Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based Commercial Robots to 100,000 Stores

New Innovations (Tokyo), a developer of artificial intelligence (AI)-based commercial robots, will launch an automated cooking robot for restaurant chains by the end of 2023...

The Japanese Government Will Make the Osaka-Kansai Japan Expo Held in 2025 an All-Cashless Means of Payment

Twenty-eight million people will visit the Expo. Cash payment will not be available at the venue of Osaka-Kansai Japan Expo, only credit cards, transportation IC cards, and QR codes...

The Export Value of Agricultural Products in 2020 Increased by 50%

On January 6, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) announced that the export value of agricultural, forestry, fisheries and food products in 2022 reached 1243.3 billion yen by November...

Daikin Industries to Start Mass Production of New Refrigerant for Use in EV Air Conditioners

The investment will be several billion yen, and the plant will be operational and begin sample production in 2024. Air conditioning accounts for a large proportion of EV power consumption...

The Number of M&A Related to Japanese Companies in January-December 2022 Reached a Record High of 4,304

In addition to an increase in the number of acquisitions of Japanese companies by domestic and foreign investment companies, the number of business successions also grew. On the other hand, the number of M&A cases worldwide is declining ...

Conveyor-belt Sushi Companies are Focusing More on Opening New Stores Overseas

The company that operates "Sushiro" will open up to 60 stores overseas in 2023, more than double the number of stores it has opened in Japan. In some countries, the COVID-19 pandemic has begun to subside, and restaurant visits are recovering as curfew restrictions are eased...

RIKEN, the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research, is Collaborating with Fujitsu on a Supercomputer, "Fugaku," toward the Early Commercialization of a Quantum Computer

Quantum computers have the potential to compute more than 100 million times faster than supercomputers, but there are many challenges...

Korean and Chinese Companies are Increasing their Presence in Developing Metaverse (virtual space) Terminals

Regarding the number of related patents, Korean firms such as LG Electronics ranked first and second, with Chinese firms in fourth place. The terminal will likely become the next leading electronic device after smartphones...

Major Pharmaceutical Companies are Focusing on Training Biopharmaceutical Engineers in Cell and Gene Technology

Kyowa Kirin will build a new dedicated training facility, and Daiichi Sankyo will increase its technical staff by about 30%. The mainstream of large-scale new drugs is shifting from conventional small molecule drugs...

Tsutomu Foods Started Selling Konjac Products in Europe and the United States

Gunma Prefecture accounts for more than 90% of the nation's konnyaku potato production. Tsutomu Foods (Tomioka City, Gunma), which manufactures konjac products and shirataki using local ingredients and clear water, began working to expand its own brand overseas in 2018...

Bridgestone Recycles Used Tires into New Ones

Bridgestone will put recycling to practical use in 2030 through making new tires from used ones. It is estimated that about 100,000 tons of tires will be treated annually, equivalent to about 10% of the total amount of tires disposed of in Japan...

Developing a Flying Car

Skydrive, a startup developing a flying car, has raised 9.6 billion yen from 13 companies including Suzuki mainly through capital increase through third party allotment (announced on September 26)...

Walt Disney will Begin Training Filmmakers and other Creators in Asia

The program will select 100-200 participants from Japan, Korea, and other countries to enhance their skills in filmmaking...

Kao Announced to Strengthen its Fragrance Business in Europe

Kao will expand production facilities at its Oresa factory in Spain to further strengthen their fragrance business in Europe...

Tech Japan Began Operating Website that Mediates between Indian Students and Japanese Companies

Tech Japan (Taito-ku, Tokyo), a staffing agency, recently kicked off a mediating website linking Indian students with Japanese companies...

ANA has Partnered with ClimbWorks, Swiss Start-up

ANA Holdings has partnered with ClimbWorks, Swiss start-up company involved in the business of capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) directly from the air...

DNP to Start Monitoring Pirated Sites

DNP (Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.) will start a service for domestic publishers to detect and monitor manga pirate sites and request removal of works on their behalf, starting from August...

NH Foods will Begin Full-scale Exports of Soybean Meat to the US

The first product to be launched in the US market will be fried chicken made by cooked and processed soybean meat (meat substitutes)...

NEC will Make a Full-scale Entry into Services of Face Recognition Payment

This service is to enable payment at concession stands and other locations by recognizing faces with tablet terminals without the use of cash, credit cards, or smart phones...

Itochu will Launch Sales of Plant-Based Foods

Itochu will plan and develop products using soy-based ingredients from Fuji Oil Holdings, a group company, for consumers...

Google and Others, to Focus on Discovering and Fostering Creators of “Short Videos”

Google, which operates YouTube, has established a fund that will pay contributors a total of $100 million (about 13 billion yen) by 2022...

Toppan and NICT to Develop IC Card Using New Encryption Technology

Toppan Inc. and the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) will develop an IC card using a new cryptographic technology later in the month...

FamilyMart Will Introduce Product Replenishment Robots

FamilyMart will install robots that automatically replenish beverages on display shelves in 300 stores by fiscal year 2024...

A Technology to Identify People by the Way They Walk

Fujitsu has developed a technology that can identify people based on video images of how they walk...

Daikin Industries announced to build energy-saving heater plant in Poland

Daikin will invest a little over 40 billion yen to build a new air conditioning plant in Poland. It will start operation in 2024 and produce energy-efficient heating equipment to be sold in Europe...

Japanese companies are leading the way in R&D of "all-solid-state batteries," which are considered to be the mainstay of next-generation batteries for electric vehicles (EV)

According to an article by Nikkei on 7 July, a study of the number of patents related to all-solid-state batteries worldwide showed that Toyota Motor was the leader...

Companies are successively strengthening their measures against counterfeit products including fake brand goods

Pigeon, famous as a top brand of baby bottles, introduced a system that uses QR codes to determine whether the product is legitimate, and Panasonic Holdings began monitoring video sites...

NTT will have 30,000 people telework from July

NTT Group will introduce a system that allows employees to live and work freely anywhere in Japan starting in July...

Skylark will increase the number of self-checkout stores to more than 800

Skylark Holdings, the largest family restaurant chain operator, will introduce unattended self-checkouts at more than 800 restaurants, including its mainstay "Gusto" and "Bamiyan," by the end of 2022....

OKAMOTO just launched their original brand “CACA”, entirely new and uniquely Japanese umbrellas

Umbrella manufacturer OKAMOTO, which celebrated its 120th anniversary in 2020, has announced its original brand “CACA”...

Imported Chicken Reached a High Price for the First Time in Ten Years

Domestic wholesale prices of imported chicken and pork are rising due to the prolonged Ukrainian crisis...

Kintetsu Miyako Hotels Will Start Renting Out their Hotel Guest Rooms as Small Offices

Some guest rooms of Sheraton Miyako Hotel Tokyo (Minato-ku, Tokyo) have been renovated recently, and meeting rooms and a lounge for the exclusive use of residents were also prepared...

The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. Announced to Acquire Trelleborg Wheel Systems (TWS), a Swedish Company

On March 25, the Yokohama Rubber announced to acquire TWS, a leading global supplier of tires and complete wheels for off-highway vehicles and specialty applications...

NTT Forms a Strategic Alliance with the Largest Australian Investment Fund Provider in the Data Center (DC) Business

NTT will sell a part of their DC holdings in Europe and the US for approximately 100 billion yen and switch to joint ownership, as well as jointly construct a new hub in the future...

Google will Expand the Capabilities of their Video Conferencing System “MEET”

It is anticipated that telecommuting will partly continue even after the new coronavirus infection is contained, and Google will hurry to develop services that support “hybrid” work styles...

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Will Launch a Practical Application of "Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC)"

OTEC is a form of renewable energy that uses the point where the temperature of seawater varies greatly between the surface and deep layers of the ocean to generate electricity....

Thailand's Mitr Phol Group, Asia's Largest Sugar Company, is Entering the Bioplastic Business

Mitr Phol Group will ally with Marubeni (Japan’s trading conglomerate) to produce and sell products that will be used as materials primarily for bags, using sugar cane and starch as raw materials...

Shionogi has Applied for Marketing Approval from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare for a New Coronavirus Medication on February 25

Shionogi calls for the application of the "conditional early approval system," which allows commercialization before all clinical trials are completed....

The Number of Births in Japan in 2021 Reached a Record Low of 840,000

On February 25, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced that the number of births in 2021 (preliminary figures) was 842,897...

Onward will Link Almost All of their 1,300 Stores with EC (Electronic Commerce) by 2024

Onward intends to increase the percentage of EC sales from 30% to 50% by 2030, wanting to ensure low-cost operation of stores...

Hitachi, Ltd. will Expand "Job-type Employment" to All Employees in July

Job type is a common way of working in Europe and the U.S. and specifies the skills required for each job in job descriptions...

Low labor productivity in Japan

According to a report by the Japan Productivity Center, hourly labor productivity (added value per hour of employment) in 2020 was $49.5...

Fast Retailing Recruits Digital and Other Workforce From Around the Globe for High Compensation

Starting in 2022 this year, Fast Retailing will raise the annual salary for mid-career hires to a maximum of ¥1 billion...

Olympus and HOYA Enter the Disposable Endoscope Business

Demand increased due to the coronavirus disaster, and the market for disposable endoscopes is rapidly expanding

Major Beverage Companies Cultivate New Coffee Demand in Southeast Asia

Suntory enters the market with no sugar and Nestlé collaborates with Starbucks

Japanese companies are ahead of other countries in decarbonization technologies

Data-analysis company Astamuse examined the value of decarbonization technologies and patents held by the world's leading companies and ranked them on the scale of carbon reductions expected in 2050.

Food exports will exceed 1 trillion yen for the first time

Exports of Japan's agricultural, forestry, and fishery products and foodstuffs are growing amid the new Corona Virus

Kawasaki Heavy Industries Recover CO2 from the Air

To be commercialized in 2025 as one step further measures of global warming

Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Opens up a New Market in Asia with Health Promotion-Type Insurance

Mitsui will develop health promotion insurance that links health data with insurance premiums

Food Delivery Companies Enter Online Product Delivery

Amid a labor shortage, the number of door-to-door delivery service providers will increase

ENEOS and Mitsubishi Chemical Embark on a Business to Reuse Waste Plastics

Returning plastic waste to a state close to crude oil and reusing it as a raw material

Six Domestic Startups Exceeding ¥100 billion

Companies with strong ability to create new businesses are advancing

Zero Female Directors Account for 51% of Major Listed Companies

In fiscal 2021, 48% of major listed companies in Japan did not appoint either women or foreign people as directors.

Employing Overseas IT Personnel Remotely

Japan is increasingly using digital personnel across national borders

Seven Eleven Expands Into India

Starting the first branch in Mumbai with a local conglomerate

Big Companies Expand Investments in Startups

What fields is Japan’s CVC (Corporate Venture Capital) investing in?

Flotsam Bottles and Kimono are Transformed

Upcycling recycles unwanted items into treasure

Japan on the Offensive in Advanced Materials

Advanced materials are indispensable for raising the performance of AI and EVs

Sony Shoot Movies Without Locations

Next-generation LEDs Bring a Revolution in Movies Images

Toyota Show Their Competitiveness With EV Patents

The Japanese car industry has an edge in electric vehicle (EV) technology

Small and Medium Companies are Promoting Intellectual Property Mixes

Making the most of technical strengths with the combination of patents and trademarks to promote brands

Daiei and NTT Data Develop Fully touchless “No-checkout Stores”

Opening stores where you can buy products with smartphone authentication, without going through checkout

MOS Burger Tests Customer Service Robots

Working towards fully touchless customer service with remotely-operated robots

Numbers of M&As Among Japanese Companies are Accelerating

The number of M&As between January and June set a record, and the level remained high in July

Nippon Shokubai is Working Towards Mass Production of Raw Material for Plant-derived Paper Diapers

A move in response to consumers and investors who demand action for the environment

Moving Away From China in Drug Feedstock Procurement

Shionogi and other Japanese pharmaceutical companies are starting to rethink their reliance on foreign sources

Kameda Seika Aims to Become a Global Food Company

Evolving from a “rice cracker and snack manufacturer” to “the ‘Better for You’ food company”. We interviewed Mr. Ichiro Nishikura and Ms. Eri Udagawa, driving force behind Kameda’s mission to “deliver delicious plant-based protein”, at their office in Tokyo.

Shionogi Moves Away From China in its Drug Feedstock Procurement, to Domestic Production

Japan’s pharmaceutical industry is looking at its drug feedstock production and starting to rethink its reliance on foreign sources...

Euglena Uses Fuel From Euglena Gracilis in a Civilian Aircraft for the First Time

Successful test flight when introduced into a privately-owned jet...

Komatsu, Working to Slash Construction Costs

Recreating construction sites in 3D to optimize worker allocation...

Door Dash, the Major US Home Meal Delivery Company, Moves Into Japan

A stream of foreign and domestic companies is entering the home meal delivery market, which is booming because of Covid-19...

Working to Reduce Plastic Usage

Nissin Foods Scraps the Seals That Hold the Lids of its Main Cup Noodle Products...

Coupang, the Major South Korean Online Shopping Company, Expands Into Japan

It provides the mall-type e-commerce site Coupang, which aims to be the Amazon of South Korea...

Ricoh Enter the Data Business With AI

The first example of a major precision device company moving into analysis of customer companies’ data...

The Ever-growing Pet Food Market

Thai Union, the canned tuna giant, is entering the Japanese pet food market...

UNIQLO Adopts Plant-based Polyester

UNIQLO will launch “UNIQLO+ (Plus)”, an environmentally conscious sports apparel worldwide from June...

Four in Ten Companies in the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange Have Zero Female Directors

The state of empowerment of women in companies is an essential factor for their growth, and is taken into consideration in investment decisions...

Kao Collaborate with Popular Buyers in China on Social Media

Kao publicize their high-end cosmetics through social media and similar channels, to make cross-border e-commerce (CBEC) sales...

Honda to Switch to EV and FCV for All New Vehicle Sales

By 2040, Honda will stop selling new vehicles which emit CO2 while driving, including hybrids (HV)...

Toray Develop a Biochip Able to Test for Allergies from One Drop of Blood

This testing biochip imposes little physical burden on the subject, and is usable on infants as well as on general subjects...

Half-price Synthetic Diamonds are Within Reach

“Synthetic diamonds”, artificially made from carbon for use in jewelry, are spreading in Japan...

Kewpie Isn’t Just About Mayonnaise: It Also Makes Robots

Kewpie aims to move away from being a company that only sells foodstuffs...

Nissan Introduce Their Self-developed Online Sales Negotiation System

Nissan will provide services that can complete everything from sales negotiations through to car delivery remotely, from a smartphone...

The Domestic Olive Oil Market for Household Use Grows to $400 Million

A $500 Million Market is in Reach With Further Development of Latent Demand and Mining of Gift Demand...

Tokyo Electron Operates With Remote Maintenance

Remote support using tools such as Smartglasses is developing into a center of earnings...

Taisei Corp. Contributes to Decarbonization

Taisei has developed technology to make concrete from CO2...

A New Trend in Antiviral Materials 

Materials companies are launching streams of products with antiviral effects...

Uniqlo Opens Up the Children’s Apparel Market 

In its 2021 spring and summer lineup, Uniqlo announced products jointly developed with leading brands...

Major Japanese Shipbuilders Start Developing New Ships as Climate Change Countermeasures

Mitsubishi Heavy Industry will develop the world’s first CO2 carrier ships for practical use by 2025...

Challenging the "72-hour wall" with drones

The "72-hour wall" refers to the sharp drop in disaster victim survival rates from 72 hours after a disaster, and drone technology is developing in a bid to break it down...

Sony Aim to Dominate in Content

Sony clarifies its transition from an electronic device company to an entertainment-centered conglomerate...

Kubota Aims to Open Up Digital Agriculture

Kubota will develope driverless tractors, and polishing its automatic driving technology with artificial intelligence tech from the US semiconductor company Nvidia...

Uber Eats is Starting Home Deliveries of "Pro Ingredients"

Uber Eats is teaming up with the food wholesaler Eiwa Bussan to enable delivery of the latter's ingredients, starting in Eastern Tokyo...

Shiseido Looks for its Way Forward in High-priced Products

As the COVID-19 pandemic shakes the selling environment, Shiseido is changing direction towards high-end products aligned with its core strengths, such as skin care...

Canon Electronics Starts Selling Satellites

Canon Electronics is starting sales of small satellites, able to image the Earth's surface and space, to meteorological and data analysis companies...

Asahi is Switching to Renewable Energy at All its Factories Around the World

Asahi GHD is taking action first in Europe, where wind power generation is widespread and renewable energy procurement costs are low. It aims to cover all its factories worldwide by 2050...

Ito Yokado is Rolling Out Mobile Supermarkets Nationwide

Ito Yokado, under the umbrella of Seven and i Holdings, is planning to roll out mobile supermarkets, with goods loaded onto vehicles, nationwide by 2022...

Japan's Green Growth Strategy to Achieve Decarbonization by 2050

The government has drawn up a roadmap to reach zero effective greenhouse gas emissions by 2050...

Workman Aims to Double to 2,000 Stores

Workman is expanding into low-priced outdoor wear. It plans to double its current number of stores, to 2,000 by 2040...

Intensifying Struggle for the Initiative in Video Streaming

Sony are buying US companies and movie companies are joining in, to counter Netflix...

"Unicorns" Double in Two Years. There are 500 "Unicorn" Companies Worldwide, with 70% of them in the US and China

The number of large startup companies, dubbed "unicorn companies", has grown to 500 worldwide. Their number has doubled in the last two years, backed by IT mergers with existing companies and the advance of artificial intelligence...

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Will Make All New Cars Electric by 2030

Governor Yuriko Koike has presented the policy of switching to hybrid vehicles (HV) and electric vehicles (EV)...

Companies with Enterprise Value Over JPY10 Billion Increase by 30%

The growth of unlisted startups continues, even amid the Covid-19 pandemic...

Japan Shows its Presence in Planetary Exploration

Hayabusa 2 Asteroid Probe achieved seven world firsts before returning its capsule safely to Earth...

Three Out of Ten Japanese Companies Allow Side Jobs

It is becoming increasingly common for company workers to have a second job outside the company. The proportion of companies allowing side jobs has risen to 30%, and 70% or more of company employees are interested...

Towards CO2 Emission Reduction

Nippon Yusen is going to switch 40 ships, roughly half of its fleet of specialized car transporter ships, to burn liquefied natural gas (LNG) rather than fuel oil by as early as 2030...

The Japanese Government is Collaborating with India in the Data Communications Field

The Japanese government is scheduled to sign a memorandum with the Indian government in December on comprehensive collaboration in the data communications field...

NTT Starts Towards 6G Comeback

Reflecting ruefully on its late start with 5G, NTT Group is consolidating the technologies that are scattered across the Group, and aiming to take the lead in 6G, the next high-speed communications standard...

This New Entertainment Out of Japan is Expanding Fast

Virtual Youtubers (V-Tubers), who take the appearance of anime-like characters in their streamed video, are expanding their economic reach...

US Retailer Walmart has Started Taking Orders Online and Transferring the Goods to Customers in Store Parking Lots

Walmart is stepping up its service which allows shoppers to place orders online and pick up their goods in store parking lots, without getting out of their cars. It will double the number of "picker" employees in readiness for the end of year sales season...

Shobunsha HD Uses Data in its Tourism Strategy

Shobunsha Holdings has begun a service that uses maps and data to predict and analyze the behavior of travelers in tourism spots...

Post-gasoline Vehicles Accelerate Worldwide

A succession of regulations on gasoline vehicles is coming into effect around the world, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions...

Fugaku Super-Computer Remains at the Pinnacle

Fugaku, the super-computer developed by Riken and Fujitsu, has kept its top spot in the latest global ranking of computation speed competition published on 17 November...

Around 60% of Japanese Companies Are Making Recycling into a Business Opportunity

According to a "SDGs Management Survey” by the Nikkei Shimbun, 60% of Japanese companies take the view that environmental action will be important for both future growth and maintenance of existing business...

Aluminum Cans are Getting a Boost from the Move Away from Plastics

Major aluminum roller UACJ aims to expand its worldwide production capacity of aluminum sheet by 40% from the 2019 level by 2022. It is expanding production in expectation of global demand growth...

Kuraray Begins Development of Fishing Gear that Prevents Marine Pollution

Japanese chemical manufacturer Kuraray has started developing biodegradable fishing gear. It is looking to expand this business to Western countries with high environmental awareness, and elsewhere...

Japan Aims to Commercialize Hydrogen in 2030

Hydrogen is becoming a rapidly growing presence amid decarbonization moves, which are accelerating around the world. The use of hydrogen is essential for honoring the Paris Accords, which set the path for climate change countermeasures...

A Canadian Realty Fund will Invest JPY1 Trillion in Japan

Bentall GreenOak (BGO) acquired a large office building in Tokyo in April this year. In 2017, the company attracted attention by spending JPY20 billion to buy the whole of the 8th floor of the Ginza Six building...

Apparel Companies are Working on Shifting Business Models

Within FY2020, Onward Holdings will open new bricks-and-mortar stores that are only for trying clothes on. Purchases are made online and the products are delivered...

Unattended Stores Have Started to Spread in Japanese Retailing

From November, Ministop, the mid-range convenience store chain, will roll out around 1,000 compact stores, where customers process their own payments. The stores will be in locations such as corporate offices...

M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions) Between Japan and China are Increasing

According to Refinitiv, the total value of M&A worldwide from January to September was around USD2.32 trillion, down 20% from the same period of last year...

There are now over 40,000 home meal delivery workers

In the food service industry, the novel coronavirus is causing ongoing restaurant closures and employee layoffs, prompting people to migrate to home delivery in search of work. The home meal delivery business is starting to change the nature of the food service industry...

East Japan Railway is increasing its "Ekinaka" in-station office personal spaces, to meet teleworking demand

East Japan Railway will increase business-use private spaces both inside and near the station. Currently, there are about 30 hubs such as Tokyo Station, which will be expanded to major stations in the suburbs of Tokyo...

Developing Digital Personnel through Re-education

Public support for recurrent education (re-education) that fosters digital human resources is spreading in Europe and the United States...

Japanese-affiliated Retail Companies in Southeast Asia ~From department stores to discount stores~

The balance of power among Japanese-affiliated retailers in Southeast Asia is shifting from department stores to discount stores. Mitsukoshi Isetan Holdings has closed its flagship branch in Bangkok, Thailand...

Saizeriya's New Business Type: Compact Branches

Saizeriya, an Italian restaurant chain with over 1,500 branches, is opening compact branches with around 60% the floor area of its ordinary branches....

Will Quantum Technology Propel Innovation in the 21st Century?

It's increasingly likely that the digital society that semiconductor technology has supported will be followed by quantum technology as the driver of innovation in the 21st Century...

Glassware Market in Japan

Glass is non-porous and more hygienic than plastic, giving it an advantage amid the coronavirus pandemic...

Soap Market in Japan

The market for solid soap was worth JPY22.9 billion (USD215 million) in 2019. In 2020, sales are expected to increase due to the impact of the coronavirus...

Apparel Retailers and Supermarkets are Focusing Investment on E-commerce

Apparel retailers and supermarkets, which had been lagging in moving online, have started devising new policies with their eyes on the “post-coronavirus” situation...

Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association

Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association is the largest group in Japan’s alcoholic beverages industry, with 1,691 member breweries and distillers. It disseminates information, inside and outside Japan, about the appeal of Japanese sake, its trends, new ways of drinking it, and more...

Now We Need Flexible Minds and Strong Will to Change

The products and services that consumers are looking for have been transformed by the behavior of avoiding contact with other people. Revenues in land and air transport are down by 70%...

Japan Ranks Fourth in the World in the Number of Academic Papers

On August 7th, the research agency of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology announced that China had overtaken the USA to take first place in the number of papers published in natural science fields...

Production of Plant-based Artificial Meat is Accelerating

Global food manufacturers like Nestle, the world’s largest food company, as well as new companies, are competing to develop artificial meat. With the impact of the novel coronavirus, artificial meat is also attracting attention for its health aspects...

Rapid Growth in “Tea Cafés” that Attract Female Customers

"Tea cafe", which provides black tea, Japanese tea and Chinese tea is growing rapidly. In July, Starbucks Coffee Japan and a major Chinese tea company opened their first stores in Japan one after another...

Products Specialized for Takeout Sales are a New Trend in Food Service

Yoshinoya is a major gyudon (rice bowl topped with beef) chain. It is also known overseas as a symbol of Japanese-made fast food. When in lived in the USA, I often ate at Yoshinoya when I missed the tastes of Japan...

Japanese Wine Market is Expanding

Wine market in Japan is now expanding. According to statistics, the total taxable volume for domestic and imported wine amounted to 377,430 kiloliters in 2019, up 4% from the previous year...

Coronavirus Acccelerates “Factory Sharing”

With the coronavirus crisis causing sharp declines in demand for products such as cars, “factory sharing” is advancing as a way to apply the resulting surplus factory capacity to new purposes...

Nissan Roll Out Subscriptions Nationwide

Automakers are expanding subscription services which allow users to use cars by paying a flat fee. Nissan will extend their service nationwide by September...

Onward Announced a Tie-up with ZOZO, Seeking for E-commerce

The fusion of the Internet and the real world is proceeding in the sluggish apparel industry. Onward Holdings and ZOZO will tie up in the manufacture and sale of clothing using digital technology...

The Seeds of New Products and Services (July 2020)

As digitalization moves forward in government administration and in companies, online identity authentication services are starting to spread. Until now, such services have been used for identity checks when opening bank accounts, for e-commerce payments, and the like...

Fujitsu aims to halve its office floor area in three years, based on working from home

Responding to the spread of the novel coronavirus, Fujitsu, including its Group companies in Japan, will be halving its office space. Fujitsu aims to complete the process in three years and has started working towards...

Japanese-made Supercomputers Reclaim their Global No.1 Rank

The latest global ranking of supercomputers contending over computation speed was published on 22 June. It showed Fugaku, developed by Riken and Fujitsu, in the top spot....

Manufacturing Industry will Go Remote

Remote working has become the new norm due to the growing impact of COVID-19 and there is a growing trend in the manufacturing industry to utilize virtual reality (VR) and other remote technologies...

Expansion of Sales of Products with Antimicrobial Properties

In response to the heightened awareness of hygiene due to the spread of Covid-19, textile manufacturers and others will expand sales of products that have antimicrobial properties....

Increasing Use of Job-description Employment

Japan’s Labor Standards Law, enacted after the war, has asked companies to manage the working hours of workers. With the shift to job-description employment...

Home Centers are the People’s Friend

Amid the stream of stories about companies reeling from the coronavirus shock, like department stores slumping and a famous long-established apparel company collapsing, home centers are increasing sales...

The Global Tourist Industry in Crisis

The industry faces losses of around USD1.2 trillion if countries maintain their travel bans to December in response to the spread of novel coronavirus infection...

Japan Begins Setting Policies on Measures Against Plastics

There are expanding business opportunities associated with developing new materials and technologies in the move away from plastics...

Japan’s Tourism Industry is Taking Its First Steps Towards Recovery

Getting past the current situation is not the most important thing for the tourism industry today. It will take at least a year and a half to establish a vaccine or treatment method for the novel coronavirus...

The Seeds of New Products and Services (June 2020)

Startups are developing IT-based services. They include services to tell customers how crowded the interior of a store is before they enter, or to stream video of store interiors, while taking...

The Wave of Subscription Services is Spreading to B2B

Subscription services, such as movie and music streaming, were directed first at general consumers. In contrast to leasing, subscriptions have short-term contracts that can be easily...

Top 100 Companies Spending Money on Social Contribution

The novel coronavirus state of emergency was fully lifted on May 25. But, the impact, economic as well as medical, has been enormous, and the social chaos looks set to continue...

New Entries Into the Online Medical Treatment Field

The spread of the novel coronavirus has prompted a succession of new entries into the online medical treatment field, particularly from new companies. From April, such treatment was allowed for even first-time examinations...

The Size of the Home Remodeling Market in FY2019 was JPY6.6 Trillion (up 4.3%)

Yano Research Institute has announced its estimate that the size of the home remodeling market in FY2019 (April 2019 through March 2020) was JPY6.557 trillion...

Textile Industry Ready for an “After Corona” World

When the novel coronavirus infection was spreading in China, and Wuhan and many other areas were in lockdown, it was still possible for apparel imports from China to pass....

The Impact of COVID-19 on Consumer Consumption Trends

The novel coronavirus has thrown everyday life into turmoil and greatly changed product consumption trends....

In the Spotlight! The Burgeoning Drugstore Industry Reached JPY7.7 Trillion Market Size After 20 Years of Continuous Growth

According to the Japan Association of Chain Drug Stores, total sales revenue of its 401 companies nationwide grew by 5.7% in FY2019...

Industries in Japan

Japan’s industries are tabulated below by genre. There are a total of 136 genres. We plan to compile summaries of the current situation, trends, and future outlook in key industries..

Foreign Trade 2020

The following is an excerpt of information and data presented in “Foreign Trade 2020”, published by the Japan Foreign Trade Council, Inc. (JFTC). The reader should note that it was prepared before the spread of coronavirus infection...

Twelve Business Types Hit Hard by the Coronavirus in Japan

Numbers of bankruptcies related to the novel coronavirus have started to be reported since February 20th, caused by a sharp drop in inbound demand as the entry restrictions etc. that began in February...

The Seeds of New Products and Services (May 2020)

People wearing masks has been an everyday sight in Japan before, and doesn’t feel strange to anyone. Masks are essential for hay fever sufferers and people with colds...

Top Articles
INTERVIEW
Textile Industry Ready for an “After Corona” World

When the novel coronavirus infection was spreading in China, and Wuhan and many other areas were in lockdown, it was still possible for apparel imports....

Industry
Industries in Japan

Japan’s industries are tabulated below by genre. There are a total of 136 genres. We plan to compile summaries of the current situation, trends, and future outlook in key industries...

Trade
Foreign Trade 2020

The following is an excerpt of information and data presented in “Foreign Trade 2020”, published by the Japan Foreign Trade Council, Inc. (JFTC). The reader should note that it was prepared before the spread of coronavirus infection...

Business
List of Major Trade Shows

Check out the list of major trade shows that are held in Japan.

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