Industries With ‘Veganuary’ in full swing, let’s take a look at what’s happening in the Japan vegan food sector.
Read more “The Unique Japan Vegan Food Sector: Trends in Veganism in Japan”
Consumer Insights Because Christmas is an imported festivity, Christmas in Japan carries very different meanings compared with how we might tend to celebrate in the west. For starters, there is no Christmas national holiday or company shutdown period. Businesses remain open until the New Year. Japanese consumers treat this event as an opportunity to make memories with their partners or friends. A 2017 Rakuten survey found that around 45% of people wanted to spend Christmas with their partner, compared with just 25% who said they would enjoy it with their children. In terms of spending, on average Japanese men are tending to fork out around $90 on gifts versus $71 among women.
Read more “Promoting Christmas in Japan 2019”
Consumer Insights Subscription-based offerings are everywhere these days. From shaving kits to medical testing and underwear to meal boxes, brands are realising how important it is to offer something regular and personalised for their customers.
Subscription services in Japan are equally growing in popularity, but not necessarily in the same way as in places like the UK where more than 58 million consumers spend around £2 billion on them. Yes, Netflix, Amazon Prime and other strong contenders are also performing well in the market, but there are many Japan-only offerings catching the eyes of consumers. As a result, subscription services in Japan rank second behind the US in terms of most prominent market, with a forecast to reach a value of $7 billion USD by 2021
Read more “The Benefits of Subscription Services in Japan”
Consumer Insights Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and other leading smart speakers have become a convenient addition to many households around the world. But what’s the smart speakers market in Japan like right now?
Tokyoesque News Tokyoesque is excited to announce that we now have a branch in Amsterdam as well as our main office in London. Our expansion to Amsterdam means we can influence your expansion, whether to or from Japan, by utilising our on-the-ground presence in Europe.
Consumer Insights 
Being familiar with the usual format, I felt there was an extra layer to the Queer Eye Japan series that was worth exploring. Understandably, there have been mixed reactions to this, and in particular, Steven Wakabayashi makes a strong critique in his recent article here on Medium, in which he outlines some key points about how the show was approached. I highly recommend giving it a read for an alternative take on the issues presented.
Read more “Queer Eye Japan: Intriguing Insights in Netflix’s 2019 ‘Queer Eye: We’re In Japan’”
Marketing From 1st October, the VAT rate in Japan was increased from 8% up to 10%, marking the first change since April 2014, when it was raised from 5% to 8%. There was significant interest among Japanese consumers in stocking up on items right before the higher tax rate officially came into effect.
Industries Before discussing 5G in Japan, let’s introduce the basics: 5G is the fifth generation of mobile network, promising to be much faster and more reliable compared to most of today’s systems, with a greater capacity and lower response times. Unlike previous mobile network generations, 5G cannot be defined by any single form of technology. It’s often referred to as “the network of networks” because of the way it binds together many existing and future standards. While 4G encouraged the spread of smartphones, 5G looks likely to affect a broader range of industries thanks to its versatility.
Beyond a simple boost in performance, 5G is set to open up a wide range of new use cases from smart factories, through to driverless cars, and infrastructure communication to remote health care solutions for patients. With the recent arrival of 5G phones and other devices such as 5G TVs, the technology has started to make its way into everyday life.
Read more “Think Japan is a tech leader? Not necessarily when it comes to 5G in Japan”
Consumer Insights Political incorrectness is everywhere we look, in one form or another. Social media has been especially instrumental in spreading concerns, and this extends to something that has become a staple in the vast majority of our lives — commercials. Platforms like social media, online blogs and forums allow for deeper discussions about problematic themes and styles of commercials.
Business As the global digital economy is expanding, cashless Japan payment methods are making their way into everyday life all around the world. Advantages include the ability to simplify payment sending and receiving process, a shrinking grey economy, a boom in e-commerce, and a sharp reduction in fraud. A study by BCG has concluded that more cash-intensive economies tend to grow slowly and therefore miss out on significant financial benefits.