The Japanese Automotive Market: Driving Strong Demand in 2021 and Beyond

27 July 202215 September 2023

By Emma Regan

Japanese automotive sector. Car manufacturing plant. — Source: Shutterstock

After the second world war, Japan needed to boost its economy and did so by manufacturing vehicles. Now, the nation is world-leading in the automotive industry and is widely known for its cutting-edge technology and invigorating ideas. Here, we look at how Japan has catered to the domestic and global market through its peculiar characteristics, response to globalized supply chains, shift to green technology, and how the worldwide pandemic has affected the Japanese automotive market.

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Industries

Vegetarianism and Veganism in Japan – Why Vegan Products Should Be in Japan Now

13 July 202215 September 2023

By Giulia Ferraro

Photo of "kaiseki" small plate vegan food in Japan. — Source: Chie Takamoto

There is a longstanding history of vegetarianism and veganism in Japan, stemming from Buddhist traditions that began to take root in the 6th Century AD. Among a recent wave of change, including vows by high-profile politicians to remove the “shackles” on the vegan food industry by establishing clear labelling guidelines, we look at the current landscape of vegetarian and vegan cuisine in Japan, and how a weak yen and a huge gap in the market means that foreign vegan products should be in Japan now.

Consumer Insights

Growing Trends of Personalised Beauty in Japan 2022

5 July 202215 September 2023

By Giulia Ferraro

Source: Medulla

Kindled by the power of the internet and social media, the beauty industry has grown exponentially on a global level, driving trends like that of “personalised beauty” in Japan. Nowadays, it is easy for anyone to view and purchase beauty products from abroad. Japanese cosmetics companies are often considered some of the top beauty manufacturers, popular amongst both domestic and international consumers.

In this article, we give an overview of the Japanese beauty industry, and go into the trend of personalised beauty that has been gripping the country.

Industries

Anime in Japanese Advertising – 4 Impactful Examples

29 June 202215 September 2023

By Kana Kono

Miley Cyrus holds a bottle of Gucci Flora while standing next to a Japanese anime version of herself in this piece of Japanese advertising. — Source: Tokyoesque

Japanese animation, or anime, is loved worldwide. With Ghibli films, and anime series such as Naruto, Attack on Titan and many others making international headlines, Japan is renowned for its animation industry. As anime increases in popularity worldwide, it continues to lead the way for Japan to export its culture to the world, and continues to bear a large presence in Japanese advertising.

As more and more people continue to watch and enjoy anime, many companies have realised the commercial opportunities that anime characters hold for them. With this revelation, there are increasing numbers of commercials featuring anime characters in Japan today. However, it is not only in Japanese advertising that we see anime-based commercials – foreign companies are beginning to catch on as well.

Last year, internationally renowned Italian fashion brand Gucci came out with an advertisement for its “Flora” perfume, starring an animated version of Miley Cyrus in a style similar to that of Japanese anime. Japanese animator Terumi Nishii (the chief animation director and character designer for ‘JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable’) designed this anime-version of Miley Cyrus, and it gained a lot of traction and admiration for its cuteness and novelty, proving a highly effective marketing strategy. Gucci has even collaborated with Doraemon – a popular Japanese children’s anime character – to feature on their products. Anime has clearly proven its place as an important marketing tool in Japanese advertising, and international companies are picking up on this.

Culture

Japan’s Gender Gap Index Shows High Inequality

21 June 202215 September 2023

By Honoka Karikomi

businesswoman's outdoor image in Ginza, a famous commercial district of Tokyo, photographed naturally without heavy processing — Source: savvytokyo.com

Through the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 and a period of rapid economic growth, Japan has grown to become the third largest economy in the world by GDP. Thanks to its thunderous automobile and electronics industries and bold economic reforms of the 1960s, its global position has risen considerably since the immediate post-war period.

However, there is an area which Japan still lags behind in compared to the Western world: the Gender Gap. According to the World Economic Forum, in 2021 Japan’s Gender Gap Index (GGI), which measures the levels of equality between men and women in a country, ranked 120th out of 156 countries. In this article, we will delve into the current situation of gender inequality in Japan, and how this is affecting Japanese businesses.

Marketing

The 6 Things A Business MUST Do When Translating Your Website Into Japanese

15 June 202215 September 2023

By Giulia Ferraro

Are you on the cusp of translating your website into Japanese? Or perhaps you’ve already launched your sparkly new Japanese website – you’re proud to share this with Japanese customers and partners, proving your business is serious and ready to make a dent in the sizable Japanese market.

In the world of web design, there are many tips and tricks that we know to make our brand stand out, to communicate our product or service’s message effectively, and to ensure the viewer finds the most important information that can lead to conversions as efficiently as possible. But the question that Tokyoesque asks is this: When you set about translating your website into Japanese, are you translating it with the Japanese market and audience in mind?

Let’s take a look at the 6 things you must do to effectively translate your website into Japanese in order to maximise your ROI and grow your business in the Japanese market.

Industries

Growth and Innovation: Overview and Opportunities of Agritech in Japan 2022

1 June 202215 September 2023

By Samuel Arnold-Parra

Agriculture workers next to a tractor on a Japanese farm. — Source: Wikipedia Commons (User: On-chan)

What is Agritech?

As the name implies, ‘agritech’ is the intersection of agriculture and technology. Agritech, sometimes referred to also as agrotech, refers to the application of technology of all kinds to make farming easier and more efficient. Agritech encompasses a vast range of different technologies, ranging from advances in hydroponics and drone technology to the use of AI and data analytics for monitoring crops. Globally, the agritech market is set to grow in both size and importance as societies increasingly seek sustainable and effective methods of cultivation in the face of issues like climate change.

Agritech

Innovative Sustainability: How 5 Japanese Companies are Implementing SDGs

25 May 202215 September 2023

By Kana Kono

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) for sustainability. — Source: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/

The 14th of May was World Fair Trade Day. World Fair Trade Day, organised by the World Fair Trade Organisation (WFTO), is a day dedicated to thinking about and raising awareness of “alternative solutions to the planet’s economic and ecological challenges”.
Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, are an increasingly important set of goals for our planet to achieve sustainability, peace and prosperity. In the United Nations’ 2030 agenda, the following 17 SDGs were put forth, with aims to achieve them 2030.

Currency

The Power of Yen: Understanding How Foreign Exchange Influences The Japanese Market

18 May 202215 September 2023

By Tokyoesque

Foreign Exchange yen — Photo from unsplash

A recent NHK World-Japan report discussed how the Japanese yen briefly fell to ¥120 to the dollar, the lowest level it’s been over six years. Traders are selling yen in anticipation that US interest rates could rise more quickly than previously expected, after the US Central Bank suggested they might raise rates by twice as much. The yen, in turn, lost its ground after the Bank of Japan announced its plans to maintain its massive monetary easing program for the time being.

The Japanese yen (JPY) is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange (forex) market after the US dollar and the euro, as well as being an important reserve currency. The yen is strong due to Japan’s strong economy, as the country exports more goods than it imports. When inflow is larger than outflow, a country has a huge investment resource — which is why Japan is a large creditor nation.

With the pandemic, however, the Japanese government’s stimulus package has weakened the JPY exchange rate. And although a weaker yen has long been seen to boost the Japanese export economy, its status as an anaemic currency has recently become unfavourable with the surge of importation. In this article, we’ll explore the power of JPY over the Japanese market.

Industries

SDGs: How Greenery Day Contributes To Japan’s Cut Towards Carbon Neutral

4 May 202215 September 2023

By Luke Denhart

As the springtime bells ring in the season on the other side of the globe, Japan gets Golden Week underway and prepares for its string of featurette holidays. Amongst these holidays stands the celebration of nature – Greenery Day. Greenery Day remains a focal jumping-off point for brands interested in solid SDG (Sustainable Development Goal) action plans; companies looking to reshape the world positively and sustainably. Join Tokyoesque as we chronicle the rich and fascinating history of Greenery Day, the companies that strive for a more sustainable future in their bid for Japan’s SDG awards through their products and services. We’ll also cross-examine the tried-and-true SDGs innovation challenges both the Japanese government and local city councils implement in their support for businesses using the public adulation for Greenery Day in the fight for the future of the environment.

Tokyoesque Insights

The Japanese Automotive Market: Driving Strong Demand in 2021 and Beyond

By Emma Regan

Vegetarianism and Veganism in Japan – Why Vegan Products Should Be in Japan Now

By Giulia Ferraro

Growing Trends of Personalised Beauty in Japan 2022

By Giulia Ferraro

Anime in Japanese Advertising – 4 Impactful Examples

By Kana Kono

Japan’s Gender Gap Index Shows High Inequality

By Honoka Karikomi

The 6 Things A Business MUST Do When Translating Your Website Into Japanese

By Giulia Ferraro

Growth and Innovation: Overview and Opportunities of Agritech in Japan 2022

By Samuel Arnold-Parra

What is Agritech?

Innovative Sustainability: How 5 Japanese Companies are Implementing SDGs

By Kana Kono

The Power of Yen: Understanding How Foreign Exchange Influences The Japanese Market

By Tokyoesque

SDGs: How Greenery Day Contributes To Japan’s Cut Towards Carbon Neutral

By Luke Denhart

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