Interviews
We sat down with Sandy Tung, Technology & Innovation Lead at Greater London Authority (GLA) to discuss developments, opportunities, and trends in London’s smart city space, as the government looks at ways to promote improved urban mobility and develop smart cities further.
Marketing
Japanese Department Stores, or depaato have been a staple of modern Japanese consumer luxury retail and a spectacle in marketing and architecture since the 1920s. While being a key facet of urban life amongst turn-of-the-century modernity, department stores globally have found uncertainty in the digital age, hastened by recent pandemic events.
Marketing
As the current pandemic continues to restructure how we consume media and which methods are working best for marketers, this article examines how Japanese companies have attempted to adapt their communications around the climate crisis in this ever-changing environment, and highlight how they’re responding to the issue of sustainability in Japan.
Industries
In this article, we outline the trends and opportunities that exist in the global tea industry, honing in more specifically on Japan’s tea sector.
Marketing
This article will examine the market opportunities for branding via vending machines in Japan. We look at some of Japan’s past and present attempts to increase vending machine sales in terms of; machine design, what these attempts mean to the wholesalers supplying drinks to vending machines in Japan, and how independent owners have approached marketing via this channel.
Interviews
In order to find out more about what’s happening in the Japan-Netherlands innovation space, we sat down with Maarten Hermus, Account Manager focused on Foreign Investment at InnovationQuarter. He assists international companies in horticulture & food in their expansion to Rotterdam-The Hague area.
Marketing
A certain breed of celebrities in Japan, or tarento (タレント), are media personalities appearing as guests on variety TV shows who often craft unique public personas to cater to certain demographics. They differentiate from mainstream celebrities and actors. An actor would feature on a variety TV show in order to present their latest venture, whereas a tarento would regularly appear on a variety TV show, sometimes with no promotional agenda at all.
However, that is not to say tarento are not influential in their own way. Many have captured domestic and even global audiences, helping products sell out due to their immense familiarity and impact.
Here, we give an insight into the exceptional world of tarento and why they are so popular in Japan.
Read more “Celebrities in Japan: How ‘tarento’ Promote Strong Audience Engagement”
Industries
Climate Change in Japan is already being seen in evident ways such as the reduction of snow levels in the north of Japan, the cherry blossoms opening earlier, and the autumn leaves changing colour later each year.
The topic of climate change in Japan has even permeated popular culture like in the case of the movie Weathering with You (tenki no ko) which was released in 2019, earning a box office revenue of over $193.1 million USD worldwide and 14.06 billion yen ($117.7 million USD) in Japan.
Terms like climate change, climate crisis and global warming have become increasingly used in different fields, reaching a wide variety of audiences. In this article, we take a look at some of the ways in which Japanese organisations and individuals are helping to tackle the climate crisis.
Read more “Climate Change in Japan: Implementing Fundamental Solutions to Resolve the Crisis”
Interviews
Our partner, Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC), is a full service London-based international law firm. Nigel Collins heads up the Japan Desk as a Partner and specialises in advising Japanese companies on their outbound transactions, including investments, disposals, restructuring, joint ventures, as well as mergers and acquisitions with Japan.
We interviewed Nigel back in June to ask how the M&A business was going, given the impact of Coronavirus. Recently, we conducted a follow-up session to find out whether there have been any further developments or opportunities with the Japanese market.
Read more “Expert Guidance on Mergers and Acquisitions with Japan – Follow-up Interview with Nigel Collins at RPC”
