Japan Marketing News

Japanese confectioners release special Halloween products

Until fairly recently, Halloween was rarely celebrated in Japan.

True, Kiddyland in Harajuku began sponsoring a Halloween "parade" on Omotesando some 25 years ago, but it tended to be a small affair mostly participated in by expat families.

But a few years ago something happened.

Japanese parents started bringing their kids. Then Japanese people of all ages started showing up—in costume.

Nowadays the annual parade down Omotesando has become a substantial event, and cities like Kawasaki and Yokohama have launched major festivities of their own.

For the longest time, if you wanted Halloween-themed candies, you had to go to specialty shops like Sony Plaza and Tokyu Hands, which carried imports from the U.S. But mass market retailers and national brands have started to get in on the action.

Music downloads in Japan up sharply versus 2007

According to the Recording Industry Association of Japan, paid music downloads in Japan for the first half of 2008 were up 28% (value basis) versus the same period last year. Of the various categories the RIAJ follows, music videos downloaded to PC were 2.35 times higher, marking the greatest increase in terms of value. Conversely, ringtunes downloaded to cell phones were down the most, showing just 86% of the value of those purchased in 2007.

For details on all of the categories, click the below graphic.

Japanese find better way to swirl spaghetti

While we're on the subject of quirky Japanese inventions (see yesterday's post), check out this fork from Sanyo Precision. The photo is pretty much self-explanatory; the implement is designed to help you wrangle ungovernable plates of spaghetti. If you're curious, their website has additional illustrations that demonstrate the mechanics of using the fork, known as "Calamete" (ka-la-may-tay).

Japanese company invents cotton swab comb

Had a busy week? Pulled an all-nighter? No time to shower before school or work?

Or perhaps you know someone who's bedridden, or a child that refuses to get into the tub?

Well, Japanese manufacturer Nihon Menbow, may have a solution for you.

It turns out that they've invented a kind of cotton swab comb that purports to remove oil and dirt from your hair and scalp. Just brush it through your locks to clean and deodorize. They say it's perfect for trips, camping and natural disasters. You can even give your head a quick cleaning before you leave the office for your date!

They sell the holder, a tray, and five sets of cotton swabs for about 580 yen.

BTW, I found the English copy on their package to be delightfully amusing. Click on the image at right to see an enlarged version.

Golf boom drives ball imports to Japan to record levels

During Japan's heady bubble era in the late 80's and early 90's, it seemed that every Japanese person I met proclaimed that golf was their favorite hobby. Then the bubble crashed and not a few Japanese companies went belly up—many because they had speculated in real estate, oftentimes investing in the plethora of new and exclusive golf courses being built around the country (many of those went belly up too). But when the cash dried up, it seemed like a lot of casual players lost interest; it was expensive to play and the courses were often crowded. Younger Japanese started spending their money elsewhere.

But in recent years, there's been a change. Golf has become cool again amongst some of Japan's most important trendsetters, otherwise known as OLs ("office ladies").

Effective Japanese TV ads: Shiseido Maquillage

Nice ad here for Shiseido Maquillage.

Loose translation:

Telop: Shiseido

Narrator: "[When] these moist, resilient particles take hold, [you get] perfect smoothness that cries for a caress."

Actress (Yuri Ebihara): "Care to touch?"

Telop & narrator: "Super-fine, cashmere skin. Maquillage premium powdery."

"1 Seg" and video sharing amongst top content viewed by Japanese cell phone owners

No matter where you turn in the land of the rising sun, you see people staring into their cell phones. Just what are Japanese users doing, besides surfing the web, exchanging e-mail, and looking at photos and video they've shot?

Last month, NetAsia Research conducted a survey amongst 444 people in their teens, 20's and 30's (49.8% male, 50.2% female).

Amongst the questions:

Which of the following rich content do you look at on your cell phone? (Indicate all that apply)

Choices: "1 Seg" (One Seg) broadcasts, video sharing sites, anime, celebrity promotion videos, cell phone novels, cell phone comics.

The top three answers amongst all respondents?

1. "1 Seg" broadcasts (26.1%)
2. Video sharing sites (23.4%)
3. Cell phone novels (17.1%)

Interestingly, teen males and females differed significantly in their usage.

Top 2, male teens

1. "One Seg" (36.2%)
2. Video sharing (31.9%)

Top 2, female teens
1. Cell phone novels (50%)
2. Video sharing (36%)