by carterjmrn | Jun 26, 2014 | Carter Group Viewpoints, Japan Sentiment Tracker
After years of reporting on a Japanese consumer in retreat, we believe we are starting to see a sea change. Even in recent weeks, the tone of our conversations with people around us has become much more positive. The cautiously optimistic are turning into the simply...
by carterjmrn | Feb 14, 2014 | Carter Group Viewpoints, Food and Lifestyle
The beginning of 2014 marks the end of my fifteenth year in Japan. That’s more than enough time in one place for any self-respecting expat so, on visits back home, despairing friends and relatives will often ask what on earth I’m still doing here. I just point to my...
by carterjmrn | Jun 27, 2013 | Carter Group Viewpoints, Marketing Trends and Insights
Those of us who have lived in Japan for some time will often marvel at how quickly and definitely the seasons change. One day it’s winter and the next it’s spring — such is the speed with which the seemingly entrenched weather pattern can change. So also it seems with...
by carterjmrn | Jun 24, 2013 | Carter Group Viewpoints
On a recent business trip to Singapore I was taken aback when told by someone well connected in the American business community there, “Japan? Oh that’s just a niche market, nobody’s that interested in it anymore”. What a wake up call for anyone who has devoted his...
by carterjmrn | Nov 24, 2012 | Carter Group Viewpoints
There’s no polite way of saying it. It seems to me lately that Japan is turning into a nation of cheapskates. But, truth be told, Japanese have always adopted a defensive stance when it comes to spending money. This is one of the reasons why it is so important to...
