Consumer Goods

Kizuna, the Japanese word meaning “bond,” was undoubtedly one of the most-used words over the past year.

Coming from a land of suburban castles, it’s sometimes a little surprising for Americans to see the relative lack of focus Japanese place...

Given that the market for luxury in Japan has been shrinking in recent years, Hankyu’s decision to double down by opening a luxury...

At the beginning of last year, I predicted a “perfect marketing storm” in terms of the rapid evolution of both distribution channels and...

Most marketing efforts related to fashion, cosmetics and grooming in Japan are directed toward women, but it looks as though men are gaining...

Luxury brands are one of the most interesting of all consumer products here, since the Japanese have long prized them, and indeed, still...

The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, or GEM has pointed out that in “2000–2009, Japan recorded one of the lowest rates of entrepreneurial activity amongst...

In the autumn of last year I reflected upon the extraordinary summer heat we had experienced, and the effect of seasonality upon near-term...

At the beginning of this year, I predicted a “perfect marketing storm” in terms of the rapid evolution of both sales/distribution channels and...

Japan is without a doubt the hottest consumer laboratory in the world for consumer connectivity. Looking at “mobile” subscribers, there are some 69...

It was back in 2006 that columnist, Maki Fukusawa, alerted us to the possibility that Japan’s fabled salarymen were mutating into something rather...

I’ve always chuckled at the way Japan seems to think it is the only place in the world that actually has “4 seasons,”...