J@pan Inc Magazine
Publisher's Message: Liquid Assets
Terrie LloydBy Terrie Lloyd
Lehman’s dealmakers continue to slip through Nomura’s fingers.
What a tumultuous month October was—the world stood at the edge of a precipice in terms of a major recession, or possibly even a global depression, and November promises just as much action. We went from having four major independent US securities firms to now having none.
Editor's Message
Michael CondonBy Michael Condon -- October continued what September started with the global financial meltdown, as it’s now being widely called, spreading even further afield. The big news in Japan being the Japanese megabanks, such as Nomura and Mitsubishi UFJ Group (MUFG), buying into Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley respectively. Also the Tokyo Stock Exchange continued to make headlines around the world, fluctuating wildly, mainly in the downward direction.
Letters
As someone who has worked in the manufacturing industry here for almost a decade, I am increasingly worried by the continued increases in the cost of raw materials. On reading the article “Steelmakers unite” in the October issue of J@pan Inc, it made me realize just how much Japan can be held ransom to those who mine the minerals we need to survive.
Business Break & Measure for Measure
Toyota has developed the world’s first rear window curtain-shield air bag to protect back seat passengers in the event of a rear-end collision. The airbags are hidden in the top lining of the rear window, inflating in the shape of a curtain that becomes a protective barrier between the passenger’s head and the window.
Trends: CScout Japan
By Nikolai Proske - CScout Japan
Pets get their own signature style
Dog lovers in Japan are notorious for accessorizing and spoiling their pooches. Now it’s possible to customize a personal hanko—personal stamps registered by individuals to serve as their signature—with a graphic of your pet!
Retail Focus: Smart Cards
By Sarah Noorbakhsh
The plastic revolution continues.
In almost any busy retail space, a harmony of blips, beeps and hums can be heard as customers slide cards and mobile phones across the colorful pads of smart-card readers to pay for transactions.
The Deal: Right Place, Right Time
James GowBy Shaun Davies
The sale of currency trading Website FXOnline to IG Group will come to epitomize the dream of the foreign entrepreneur in Japan.
Technology: I Want My 1seg TV
By Robert Sanzalone
If Japanese consumers don’t even really want TV on their cellphones, why has it been such a hit?
Edge of Communication -- Executive Interview: Frank Sanda
Frank SandaBy Chris Betros
Frank Sanda founded Japan Communications Inc. as the world’s first Data Mobile Virtual Network Operator (D-MVNO).
Creating Credit
Tadatoshi SenooBy Anna Kitanaka
Freshly launched in October, Maneo.jp is Japan’s first social lending site, providing an online auction platform for borrowers and lenders to create their own customized loans.
Economic Outlook: Rounding the Corner
By Michael Condon
So the banks have been saved, what’s next?
After weeks of headlines about the “Nightmare on Wall Street,” one thing has become clear—it’s good for headline writers. But for all the news and analysis, the true nature of the financial meltdown and what will follow has remained decidedly murky.
Bank Buyouts: The Circle of Strife
By Hugh Ashton
In the bubble years, Japanese companies roamed the globe, seeking status symbols to adorn their corporate portfolios. Now, is history repeating itself?
Inside Out: Thailand
By Ellen Boonstra
A regular column concerning business in an emerging market, and its relationship with Japan.
Eye on Trade: More Than Just Pistachios
By Sarah Noorbakhsh
Although under increasing pressure from the US to sanction Iran, Japan has upheld steady ties with the controversial nation.
High Expectations
Michael AlfantBy Darius Jones
When opportunity knocked Michael Alfant took notice, building success from scratch not once, but twice.
Publisher's Message: A Role for Market Entry Consultants
Terrie LloydBy Terrie Lloyd -- It is no secret that market entry consultants everywhere have developed a bad reputation for being expensive and simply telling you things that you already know. But the fact is that countries where most outsiders don’t speak the language, such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and China, not having a bilingual person on the ground could lock you out of that market completely.
Editor's Message
Michael CondonBy Michael Condon -- September was quite a month to take over the reins at J@pan Inc magazine. As we went to print, the world’s markets were still reeling from the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy and the fallout that followed. Japan’s leaders, from both the political and business worlds, were calling crisis meetings to decide how best to deal with the situation. Yasuo Fukuda was downplaying the situation, despite the fact that Aozora and five other Japanese banks were among Lehman’s top 10 unsecured creditors.
Business Break & Measure for Measure
The future is here -- Battery stations that recharge electric cars were installed in Tokyo last month... -- A new spin on the same old ... -- Convenience store chain FamilyMart opened the first in a line of new “eco-friendly” stores in Chiba, with plans to build about 1,000 more nation-wide within the next five years... -- Geeks rule and bankers drool? -- According to calculations by the Financial Times, employees at Nintendo earn more per head than those at investment banking mammoth Goldman Sachs... -- Puts hair on their chests -- Asahi Breweries Ltd. Announced that beginning in October, they will start selling Asahi Ginger Draft, a low-malt beer containing ginger extract with a lower carbon content and only 4 percent alcohol... -- Post office goes postal -- Japan Post began a project to renew and make the present post offices more efficient by renting out spaces to florists, department stores, and convenient stores... -- It’s not a silver bullet, but it’s better than nothing. -- Masamichi Adachi, senior economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co, responding to the Bank of Japan’s decision to let the US Federal Reserve supply dollars in Japan to ease financial tensions after the fall of Lehman Brothers on September 15... -- IPO Report -- There were seven completed or forecast IPOs for the first half of September and the latter part of August...
Trends in Japan
By Michael Keferl -- CScout Japan -- UB Mansion -- A group at the Chiba University Graduate School of Engineering has developed a concept apartment building where everything is connected through an interactive system of touch screen monitors and near-field communication... -- Concept phones -- Japanese mobile carriers are changing the way we think about phone design by making them resemble handsets as little as possible... -- Digital Retail -- Monitors displaying digital ads have been around for ages, but we’re noticing them less and less...
Retail Focus: Sample lab!
By Sarah Noorbakhsh -- Product paradise in Tokyo’s consumer hot spot. -- It’s often observed that Tokyo is a jungle of advertising, where the uninitiated are bombarded by the colorful sights and sounds of advertising mayhem while natives are all but deaf and blind to these siren calls. To combat the oversaturation, Japan’s kuchi komi, or word of mouth, culture is highly developed, with consumers turning to everything from their best friends to message boards on mobile Web sites to learn the ins and outs of the latest products.
