by carterjmrn | Oct 22, 2019 | Carter Group Viewpoints
Dominic Carter of The Carter Group, a market research and strategic consulting firm based in Tokyo, is a specialist in understanding consumers. Throughout his many years studying the Japanese market, he has identified four macrotrends pervading the country: “the...
by carterjmrn | Oct 7, 2019 | Carter Group Viewpoints
Kokusaika (internationalism) was a cherished expression of Japan’s elite back in the nineties. Those worthies predicted that the Japanese would break out of their insular mindset and embrace global norms and practices. So the Japanese flocked abroad to get MBAs,...
by carterjmrn | Sep 20, 2019 | Carter Group Viewpoints
As a consummate Japan watcher for nearly 35 years, I’ve often commented on the changing psyche of the Japanese consumer. We “Westerners” (i.e., North Americans and Europeans) have long held the belief that Japanese consumers are homogenous, that they are “followers,”...
by carterjmrn | Sep 13, 2019 | Japan Market Entry
The Japanese are continuously obsessed with food–turn on the TV at any time of the day and it’s a safe bet the show will have something to do with cooking or dining. Food is an integral part of Japanese culture and will always remain so. So it is no surprise that the...
by carterjmrn | Sep 9, 2019 | Changing World of Work
5 Lessons on business in Japan Japan’s entertainment scene was shaken last month when Yoshimoto Kogyo Co. said it terminated its management contract with 49-year-old Hiroyuki Miyasako. Yoshimoto is Japan’s largest entertainment agency, with several...
by carterjmrn | Sep 2, 2019 | Japan Market Entry
Why does the Japanese market seem so hit and miss when it comes to western brands being able to make a ‘go’ of it here? Starbucks and Disney are wildly successful in Japan. On the other hand, Sephora and Vodaphone failed miserably despite being huge success stories...
by carterjmrn | Aug 15, 2019 | Carter Group Viewpoints
You can knock on the doors of millions of residences in Japan 24/7—especially out in the countryside—and get no answer. That’s because these places are akiya, a term usually translated as “abandoned houses” but which also applies to properties that are simply...
by carterjmrn | Jun 27, 2019 | Changing World of Work
What’s life like for the average worker in Japan? First, endure a stressful, claustrophobic commute on one or more vacuum-packed trains. Next, sit at desks in an open-plan workspace—the cube farms of Dilbert’s world are rare here—and unless they’re...
by carterjmrn | Jun 11, 2019 | Carter Group Viewpoints
Whether you call it solo katsu, the super-solo life or ohitorisama (“doing things on your own”), living single is big in Japan. I’m not talking only about so-called parasite singles, either—I mean fully independent individuals who are putting a mostly...