TOKYO (Nikkei)--The government aims to increase domestic consumption by 15 trillion yen and create 3.9 million jobs by 2020 by stimulating growth in critical industries, The Nikkei learned Monday.
Under an economic policy blueprint from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, deregulation and tax breaks would be used to combat the hollowing out of domestic industry, with a focus on three fields: health care, new energy and the creative sector.
METI estimates that focused policy efforts in these three areas would boost domestic production by 36 trillion yen. This would result in real gross domestic product growing an average of 1.5% between fiscal 2011 and fiscal 2020. If nothing is done, growth would likely languish at around 0.2%, according to the ministry.
Health care includes services related to child-rearing as well as medical equipment. New energy encompasses smart communities and energy-saving equipment and services. The creative field spans food, digital content and tourism businesses.
METI contends that some 4.8 million jobs will be lost by 2020 unless the hollowing out of domestic industry is staved off. But it sees job losses amounting to possibly only 900,000 or so if its prescriptions are put into action.
The ministry warns that Japan may start running current-account deficits as early as the latter half of the decade unless domestic industry is bolstered. The strong yen and the March 11 earthquake disaster are shrinking exports by driving out industries where Japan still had an edge, such as materials and parts. Meanwhile, the nation could see fossil-fuel imports increase. Without a sufficient inflow of funds, financing government debt domestically could become difficult, so METI is urging swift action on policy.
The ministry aims to include the blueprint in a progress report by the Industrial Structure Council to be presented at a Tuesday meeting of a subcommittee. By urging other ministries to flesh out policy details, METI hopes to make its economic policy vision a pillar of the national revitalization strategy that the government is working toward finalizing in the middle of next year.
(The Nikkei Nov. 29 morning edition)
TOKYO (Nikkei)--Deliberations on hiking the consumption tax rate are gaining momentum as Japan can no longer hold off deciding the burdens each person must carry to ensure a stable and healthy society.
The government seeks to simultaneously reform both the social security and taxation systems, fearing it would otherwise be unable to keep the pension system and medical services going.
The Finance Ministry, for instance, has begun a serious review of the system that allows doctors in private practice to make rough estimates of expenses when they file for tax returns. The system started more than half a century ago as a way to reduce clerical burdens at small hospitals. It is now used by some 40% of doctors in private practice.
But the Board of Audit says the system is being used to cheat tax payments as estimated expenses are often much larger than actual ones, prompting the ministry review and even the potential abolishment of the practice.
The ministry is concerned that if the practice is widely seen by general taxpayers as an unfair break for doctors, it will be difficult to win popular support for a consumption tax increase. Demographic necessity
Japan introduced its consumption tax in 1989. Since the tax rate was last raised in 1997 from 3% to 5%, the outstanding balance of long-term government debts has roughly doubled. This debt is growing at more than 1 trillion yen a year due to a natural increase in social security expenses from the rapid aging of the population.
Of 108 trillion yen a year in social security expenses, 60 trillion yen is covered by insurance premiums. Without the about 40 trillion yen a year from national and local tax revenues allocated to cover the shortfall, the pension system and medical services would collapse.
Finance Minister Jun Azumi speaks to Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda during a Budget Committee session in the House of Councillors on Nov. 16.
The simultaneous social security and taxation reforms are aimed at filling the gap between revenues and expenses through both a streamlining of the systems and an increase in the consumption tax. Finance Minister Jun Azumi has been urging ministry officials to remove all barriers to a consumption tax increase.
The government considers the tax hike unavoidable for reform, citing demographic changes. The number of people in their productive years of 15 to 64 will drop to 73.6 million in 2020 from 85.9 million in 1990, while the population of those 65 and over will reach 35.9 million, a 2.4-fold increase. This means Japan will have a persistent drop in premium payers and a rise in receivers. If the current taxation system based on income and corporate taxes continues as is, the burden of taxes and premium payments will center on businesses and working people. Hard pill to swallow
A hike in the consumption tax, which spreads the financial burden out on a wide range of people, including senior citizens, will "help ease generational tensions," says Kazumasa Oguro, associate professor at Hitotsubashi University. But such a view is not widely felt by the public.
When Senior Vice Finance Minister Fumihiko Igarashi met with voters in the town of Moroyama, Saitama Prefecture, which is in his constituency, he was hit with a barrage of questions from people fearing the planned simultaneous reforms would hurt pensioners and low-income earners. He responded by saying the government will consider returning part of the tax increase to those with lower incomes.
But an increase in tax refunds to low-income earners would hinder the government from securing tax revenues as planned, while economic vitality could be hampered if the government, as a way to ease the sense of unfairness among taxpayers, reinforces a progressive tax system that imposes higher taxes on high-income earners. The latter option could result in putting the cart before the horse by shrinking economic activity, which is the foundation of tax revenues.
Azumi, together with Administrative Vice Finance Minister Eijiro Katsu, met Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Thursday to discuss a timeline for compiling the fiscal 2012 budget and the reform of the social security and taxation systems.
"The prime minister is determined to stay the course," Azumi said after the meeting. But given strong opposition to a consumption tax increase among many lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, the tug of war to craft an outline for the simultaneous reforms by the end of this year will only intensify.
The pressing question is whether the government can streamline the pension and medical service systems. The time for procrastinating on bold decisions is coming to an end.
(The Nikkei Nov. 27 edition)
TOKYO (Dow Jones)--the Japanese government said Friday it is prepared for any contingencies that may result from the widening sovereign debt crisis in Europe, and is in lockstep with the Bank of Japan in dealing with potential contagion risks.
"The recent spread of credit woes to Italy poses a grave risk to the Japanese economy," said economic and fiscal policy minister Motohisa Furukawa in a press conference. "The government and the Bank of Japan share strong concerns and have agreed to work closely with each other." The statement came after the Cabinet Office disclosed Thursday that Japan's financial institutions have the most exposure to Italian sovereign debt among foreign banks after those of France and Germany.
The government and the BOJ are studying how the crisis could play out and how they should respond, according to a Cabinet Office official. "They are also exchanging information to stay ahead of the curve," the official said in an attempt to reassure financial markets about Japan's ability to handle such a crisis. The official noted that after the financial crisis that began in the U.S. in 2008, Japan swiftly enacted economic stimulus measures with the support of massive liquidity injections from the BOJ.
The statement was adopted in a meeting of senior government and BOJ officials Friday to review the progress of measures to cope with the strong yen introduced last month.
In the meeting, Deputy BOJ Gov. Hirohide Yamaguchi noted "the crisis of confidence has reached major economies of Europe and has caused a failure in a bond auction in Germany," according to officials present at the meeting.
"Amid growing risk aversion, investors tend to pile into perceived safe assets such as the Japanese yen," Yamaguchi was quoted as saying.
Deputy Finance Minister Yukihisa Fujita warned, according to the officials, that "the yen has been rising in a one-sided manner and posing a downside risk to the Japanese economy." The meeting agreed the government should continue to monitor the foreign exchange market closely and deal with excessive movements appropriately.
The administration of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda last month unveiled a series of measures to deal with the soaring yen, which has threatened to derail the post-disaster recovery in the country's export-driven economy. The measures included loans to firms acquiring companies outside Japan and increasing financing for the development of overseas natural gas and other resources. The administration secured funding for these measures this week by enacting a Y12-trillion third supplementary budget for fiscal 2011.
Economy Minister Furukawa said the best way to curb further yen surges is to implement the measures as promised. He noted that two Japanese companies--Kyushu Electric Power Co. (9508) and Marubeni Corp. (8002)--have already received funding from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation to acquire rights to extract natural gas in Papua New Guinea and Australia.
(The Nikkei Nov.25 edition)
TOKYO (Dow Jones)--Japan's economic growth, which had picked up due to public and private sector reconstruction spending following the March earthquake, is again falling back as the strong yen and weak global growth cut into exports, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Monday.
In its latest global economic outlook, the OECD said it expects Japan to post moderate growth of 2.0% for 2012 and 1.6% in 2013. Japan recently announced that third-quarter gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 6.0%, but that it expected this to tail off due to the yen and the uncertainty caused by the European debt crisis.
The OECD said that despite the growth, the large output gap would mean deflationary pressures will continue through 2013.
At the same time, it said the gross government debt load will likely rise to 230% of GDP in 2013, even if planned tax increases and spending caps are fulfilled. It said this would push Japan's public finances, already the worst among the OECD nations, further into uncharted territory. "A detailed and credible fiscal consolidation plan to meet the government's target of achieving a primary budget surplus and stabilizing the public debt ratio by FY 2020 is a top priority," the report said.
It recommended that an "objective fiscal assessment body" should be created with a stronger legal foundation for medium- and long-term fiscal targets.
(The Nikkei Nov.28 edition)
NUSA DUA (Kyodo)--Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda announced Friday at an Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit that Tokyo will provide 2 trillion yen worth of aid for development projects within ASEAN to strengthen regional integration, Japanese officials said. At the one-hour summit with leaders of 10-member ASEAN on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, Noda also expressed his commitment to boosting cooperation with the region over maritime security and safety amid China's increasing assertiveness at sea.
In a joint declaration issued afterward, Japan and ASEAN mapped out five strategies to promote peace, stability and prosperity in the region which include deepening political and security ties, cooperation in ASEAN community building and improving links between ASEAN and Japan. Thirty-three infrastructure projects are expected to be funded by Japan's official development assistance, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and private sector funds, the officials said, adding that the country will also work with the Asian Development Bank.
Japan's aid for ASEAN is aimed at boosting ASEAN "connectivity" via better infrastructure in such fields as transport across borders and simplifying customs procedures. These efforts to improve links within the region are part of the ASEAN vision to create an economic community by 2015.
The declaration mentioned maritime security in the wake of recent tension in the South China Sea, where China is involved in territorial disputes with four ASEAN members -- Brunei, Malaysia, and most recently and notably, Vietnam and the Philippines.
Japanese and ASEAN leaders in their 2003 Tokyo Declaration touched on the peaceful settlement of disputes in the region but did not specifically mention maritime security issues. Noda and his ASEAN counterparts said they will deepen their cooperation in accordance with universally agreed principles of international law including freedom and safety of navigation and peaceful settlement of disputes under relevant maritime laws such as the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The leaders also welcomed the adoption during an ASEAN-China foreign ministerial meeting in July of the guidelines for implementation of their countries' Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.
The declaration was signed by China and ASEAN in 2002 but a regional code of conduct, in the form of a legally binding document, is still in the works. Although Japan is not directly involved in the South China Sea, it is keen to help ASEAN resolve disputes peacefully, given tension over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, which are administered by Japan but claimed by China and Taiwan.
Among other issues, Japan and the ASEAN members also vowed to work together on disaster management and preparedness, especially since several ASEAN nations are vulnerable to natural disasters such as typhoons and floods, most recently exemplified by Thailand's massive flooding. Japan, having recently suffered the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami, is keen to help improve countries' resilience to natural disasters, the officials said.
(The Nikkei Nov.18 edition)
TOKYO (Nikkei)--Negotiations between Japan and Australia for an economic partnership agreement, set to resume in December after a 10-month break, could serve as a test for Japan's resolve to pursue a more ambitious Trans-Pacific free trade pact.
Talks between Japan and Australia started in 2007 but were halted after the March 11 catastrophe. With Japan having decided to participate in the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks, many are now urging the government to quickly wrap up talks with Australia, which is also taking part in TPP negotiations.
Behind the sudden rush is the desire to protect Japan's agricultural market. The Japanese government believes that during TPP talks, the U.S. will try to maintain the protection of its sugar industry agreed on with Canberra under a free trade pact that went into effect in 2005. This has given hopes to Japan, which also wants to exclude key agricultural products from the TPP's rigid no-tariff principles.
In addition, the TPP negotiating countries noted in their joint statement that some products are treated with consideration under existing free trade agreements, signaling that some exceptions may be allowed under the TPP.
Australia is a major agricultural exporter whose products could deal a devastating blow to Japan's small-scale farms.
The average acreage per Australian farm is around 1,900 times larger than that for Japan, which slaps hefty tariffs on Australian beef, wheat, dairy products and sugar to protect its market. Hokkaido government officials warn that removing the protections will slash the value of agricultural production by 445.6 billion yen and take away 47,000 jobs on the northern island alone.
By clinching special exemptions for these agricultural products in an agreement with Australia, the government and the Democratic Party of Japan envision focusing on formidable negotiations with the U.S. in the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks.
But this scenario may not play out as planned since Australia's aim is to ramp up agricultural exports to Japan.
"Unless Japan compromises for agricultural products, Australia will lose all reason to rush EPA talks," said Kazuhito Yamashita, research director at the Canon Institute for Global Studies, referring to the economic partnership agreement negotiations. "It will probably wait for the TPP, which is designed to eliminate tariffs in principle."
But whether Japan can compromise considerably on agricultural products is a tricky issue. In December 2006, upper- and lower-house committees passed resolutions pledging to do all they could to ensure that important agricultural products were exempt from tariff removal or would be subject to renegotiation. They also warned against removing tariffs from key products like rice, wheat and beef. And if Japan opens first to Australia, it could spark the ire of the U.S., which competes with the resource-rich nation for a slice of the Japanese beef and wheat market.
A bilateral agreement with Australia "could influence whether the U.S. Congress decides to let Japan join TPP negotiations," Yamashita said.
Ultimately, if Japan is too bent on protectionism, the agreement with Australia will unlikely make headway and could be a drag on the pan-Pacific talks. The DPJ's task is to face the tough truth about Japan's weak agricultural sector: that it is badly in need of restructuring. It needs to come up with what will inevitably be a short list of products that truly need protection and devise a realistic strategy for the rest.
(The Nikkei Nov. 29 morning edition)
TOKYO (NQN)--Japan's merchandise trade deficit reached 332.3 billion yen in early November on the back of growing fuel imports, from a deficit of 222.1 billion yen during the same period last year, according to preliminary data released on Tuesday by the Finance Ministry.
The figure represented the second straight month that a trade deficit has been recorded for the first 10 days of a month. Exports rose 1.1% on the year to 1.68 trillion yen, supported by exports of parts for ships and vehicles. Imports grew 6.8% to 2.01 trillion yen, due to sizable imports of liquefied natural gas, which is used for thermal power generation.
(The Nikkei Nov.29 edition)
TOKYO (Nikkei)--The widespread flooding in Thailand has taken a toll not only on bilateral trade, but also business and consumer sentiment, according to the government's monthly economic report. The report, released Thursday by the Cabinet Office, shows Japan's exports to Thailand dropped 16% on the month in October, while imports from the Southeast Asian country fell 11%.
"We're concerned about the possibility of parts supply disruptions negatively impacting on domestic production," Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Motohisa Furukawa said at a news conference Thursday.
Based on a Cabinet Office analysis, parts and semifinished machinery account for more than 90% of Japan's exports to Thailand. Because the Thai units of Japanese companies halted operations due to the floods, exports of electronics parts and car engines declined in October. Shipments of personal computers from Thailand to Japan also declined that month.
The report assessed the overall condition of the domestic economy as mildly recovering, but noted the downside risks posed by the Thai floods, as well as the financial market turmoil stemming from the European debt crisis.
(The Nikkei Nov. 25 morning edition)
TOKYO (Nikkei)--With the worst of the flooding in Thailand over, 70-80% of affected factories will resume nearly normal production as early as the start of next year, a government official in charge of reconstruction told The Nikkei on Monday.
Seven industrial parks housing factories of Japanese firms were inundated in this year's floods, bringing production to a standstill. And the floodwaters reached Bangkok, where local units of Japanese companies have offices.
Virabongsa Ramangkura
Most of the roads, airports and railroads around the capital will be restored by month's end, said Virabongsa Ramangkura, chairman of the Strategic Committee for Reconstruction and Future Development. The former finance minister said work at industrial parks is going smoothly, with drainage equipment and pumps running at full capacity.
Virabongsa arrived in Japan with Deputy Prime Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong. He is expected to stay until Wednesday to explain the Southeast Asian country's reconstruction plans to the Japanese government as well as seek cooperation on flood control projects.
The Thai government will draw up both short- and long-term reconstruction plans to ensure that confidence in the country does not suffer from similar flood damage in the future, Virabongsa said. Short-term measures will include dredging and strengthening the dikes of the Chao Phraya River, which had overflowed, and linking canals together, he said.
For the longer term, Virabongsa pointed to the need to deal with the decline in the land's water retention capability caused by deforestation. Thailand will create a comprehensive flood prevention system through such steps as building reservoirs and installing warning equipment, he said. Virabongsa is also expected to ask Japanese casualty insurance firms not to sharply increase premiums for Japanese companies operating in Thailand as well as those seeking to enter it. He is slated to visit three insurers, including Tokio Marine Holdings Inc. (8766), on Tuesday.
(The Nikkei Nov. 29 morning edition)
TOKYO (Nikkei)--The number of movie screens in Japan is likely to fall to around 3,350 at the end of this year, slipping for the first time in 18 years as smaller theaters close shop and the burst of cinema complexes slows.
The total number of movie screens came to just 3,378 as of September-end, down 34 from the end of 2010, according to the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan. Over the nine months, screens at standard movie theaters -- those with less than five screens -- dwindled by 53, and the number of multiplexes increased by a mere two to 317.
Tokyu Recreation Co. (9631) opened a 10-screen movie theater complex this month in Kanagawa Prefecture's Fujisawa, but no further openings are expected this year.
Many multiplexes are built in conjunction with large retail complexes. But openings of suburban shopping centers have fallen for three straight years since 2008, when revised laws restricting new large-scale retail centers in the suburbs came into full force.
Warner Mycal Corp. says it would open multiplexes if conditions were right, including a suitable location and population, but blames a lack of sites. Shochiku Multiplex Theatres Ltd. "has no plans to open any new complexes over the next two to three years," according to a company official. And T-Joy Co. adds that strategic openings have run their course.
(The Nikkei Nov. 29 morning edition)
TOKYO (Nikkei)--Manufacturers of energy-saving heating equipment are rushing to ramp up production in response to rising demand, as a number of power utilities are expected to ask both companies and households to slash their consumption of electricity this winter due to anticipated power shortages.
Iwatani Corp. (8088) will raise output of its compact heaters, which run on gas cartridges, by 50% to 40,000 units per month. These types of heaters are becoming popular, as they are particularly handy in emergency situations, such as sudden blackouts. The company has raised its winter sales target from 100,000 units to 130,000 units, and it has already shipped more than 80,000 heaters.
Suminoe Textile Co. (3501), an original equipment manufacturer, will raise its output of electric carpets by 30% on the year to 400,000 units, to cater to major clients such as Panasonic Corp. (6752) and Fujitsu General Ltd. (6755). Suminoe Textile's factory in China's Jiangsu Province is now operating at full capacity, even though the plant usually stops making electric carpets in mid-December. This year, it will continue production until January.
Yamazen Corp. (8051) plans to revise its sales target for "kotatsu" -- low tables equipped with heating elements underneath -- by 25% on the year to 500,000 units this year. It has asked its contract manufacturer to increase output.
Yodobashi Camera Co., meanwhile, has expanded the floor space at its store in Osaka's Umeda area for oil and gas heaters by about 20% from last year. A clerk at the store said the heaters are becoming popular because many consumers are trying to save power by using compact (non-electrical) heating devices and air conditioners together.
Kansai Electric Power Co. (9503) is expected to urge companies and households to reduce their power usage by more than 10%, while Kyushu Electric Power Co. (9508) is set to demand a 5% reduction. It remains unclear when the utilities will be able to restart their nuclear power plants, as they are currently on hiatus for regular inspections.
(The Nikkei Nov. 29 evening edition)
New Web sites hook people up who want to squeeze a chat into their day
KEISUKE NAKANO
Staff writer
A new social trend is emerging among young urban workers: connecting with strangers over lunch through Facebook, Twitter and other narrower social network services.
Why lunch? It's only an hour, which is just right when meeting someone for the first time. And it's also easier on the wallet than meeting at night over drinks.
Let's go to Roppongi, the capital's buzzworthy night-life district that also pulsates at noontime. We're in an Italian restaurant, and two pairs of men and women are enjoying a conversation about smartphones. The quartet could be co-workers but as it turns out all four are meeting for the first time.
Social dining
They connected through Social Lunch, a free service started Oct. 19 by SyncLunch Inc. Most people take their lunches with co-workers or people they know. The idea behind Social Lunch is to "bring strangers to the table so they can spend time in a significant way," said 27-year-old SyncLunch CEO Makoto Fukuyama.
To use the service, one must sign up on Facebook and create a public profile. Some feel ill at ease when meeting a stranger alone for the first time, so pairs are required to double up. Those who sign up for the service receive daily suggestions on potential lunch partners. These people can be checked out through their Facebook profiles. If you don't like what you see, simply ignore the suggestion.
Some 4,000 pairs in their 20s and 30s have signed up in Tokyo. Anri Samata, who visited a restaurant in Roppongi with a co-worker, said his lunch partner worked in the information-technology industry, like himself. "Exchanging ideas with people in the same generation and industry is stimulating, especially when considering new business opportunities," he said.
In the U.S., services that organize dinner or lunch outings among strangers are called social meals or social dining. They attract not only young consumers who want to connect with strangers but also investors who see the services as a growing business.
"Grubwithus" is a leading U.S. social dining site. It offers several eatery options between $20-40 a head. If the time, place and price look right, hit the select button, punch in your credit-card information and you're done. You can immediately see who is part of your dinner party on the site. The company gets commissions from restaurants for sending customers their way.
"Social Lunch would like to get on board with something like this by getting restaurants involved," Fukuyama said. Said Katsuhiko Ogawa, a Keio University communications professor, "The party culture is well-entrenched in the U.S., so dinner outings with drinks are perfect for people who are meeting for the first time." Lunch outings, on the other hand, are over when lunch is over, "which is perfect for the more reserved Japanese character."
Jump right in
Tetsuro Kondo, 24, has been scheduling one-on-one outings with illustrators and architects of his generation for the past two and a half years. He also blogs about his lunches. "The emotional hurdle of having dinner with someone you don't know is high," he said, "but because it's lunch, most people accept." Kondo has had lunch with about 120 people so far.
Some services help plan the luncheons. Hirukai, by Digital Garage Inc., was launched in July. Those who would like to host a lunch register on Hirukai via Twitter, specifying a time, date and theme. Most luncheons have business-related themes, but some are for people who share similar hobbies, like playing cards.
Naoko Tsubaki, who works in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward, hosts lunchtime meetings with entrepreneurs. They gather - with their own bento lunch boxes in tow - at the lounge of the company where she works. "It's low cost and cancellations are not a problem," Tsubaki said. "Because our time is limited, self-introductions are also limited and we can jump right into the main topic."
(The Nikkei Weekly Nov.21 edition)
Design duo's hit consumer product is something most people throw away
TOSHIRO SATO
A husband-and-wife team that creates humble and earthy designs that refrain from preaching the gospel of environmentalism is drawing some attention. Satoshi Hasegawa, 25, and Mayuko Tsunoda, 26, are showing that with a little design work, what we casually discard can instead be transformed into something fun.
Hasegawa and Tsunoda are the founders of design unit minna. Among their reclamation projects is packaging material. The stuff is usually thrown away after doing its job only once. But imagine opening a cardboard box and finding an order of DVDs or health supplements protected with foamy pieces shaped in the letters L, O, V and E. Does it still go straight into the trash? A lot of recipients are keeping it and coming up with ideas of how to give it a second job.
So how did the product take shape? Hasegawa and Tsunoda came across some expanded polyethylene at a general store. Unlike Styrofoam, polyethylene is sturdy and does not break during processing. Packaging worms in the shapes of letters were then only two eureka moments away:
- The discovery that polyethylene can be easily cut into shapes.
- Noticing how a lot of Japanese use and reuse shopping bags from designer boutiques. To name the stuff, the designers contracted "communication" and "power" into Compow. When they exhibited their L-O-V-E cutouts at a Design Tide Tokyo 2009 event, Compow elicited a lot of attention.
They then convinced a manufacturer that had never made consumer products to help them produce Compow and began selling the stuff in February 2010. The product, which won that year's Good Design Award, quickly gained popularity and began appearing in novelty shops.
This year, the worms spread to Sogo and Seibu department stores, where Compow was given a new identity as Valentine's Day gift-packaging material.
In another project, the couple is turning acrylic board byproducts from acrylic plants into one-of-a-kind accessories - brightly colored pierced earrings and badges.
Last fall, the husband-and-wife team became acquainted with a firm that handles waste material at a trade fair. The couple was asked to create "something that is marketable." So minna came up with
Newsed - a brand name and logo that express the concept of taking something old and resurrecting it as something new.
In less than a year, Hasegawa and Tsunoda hired three groups of designers, took over management and placed Newsed products in 60 stores.
Everyone
Other minna products include origami paper printed with images provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and a selection of 16 crayons with earthy colors.
None of minna's products are preachy about the environment, but they are meant to slowly and quietly awaken a realization about the preciousness of the environment. It is a subtlety that has also helped minna products catch on.
A store in Tokyo's Jiyugaoka neighborhood named katakana carries minna goods and attracts a wide spectrum of consumers. "If a shopper is interested in a product, we explain the background of its creation," the shopkeeper said. "And this often leads to a purchase."
The design couple met at Musashino Art University. From the time they were students, they separately exhibited their own ideas at trade fairs and presented them to manufacturers on their own. After graduating, they became partners in life and business.
Their enterprise's unconventional name - minna means everyone - reflects the direction they want to take their work. They want their products to amuse people who are not necessarily interested in design. They also want to break out of the graphic or product genre and continue creating with different manufacturers.
Toshiro Sato is a freelance writer contributing to The Nikkei Marketing Journal.
(The Nikkei Weekly Nov.21 edition)
TOKYO (Nikkei)--Form-fitting compression sportswear has been selling well in Japan, in line with the growing popularity of running and jogging.
The Skins A200 Series shirt and tights. Tight sportswear is said to help reduce fatigue when one engages in athletic activities, and it absorbs sweat and dries out more easily. Sportswear manufacturers are now hoping that these specialty garments will help revive otherwise sluggish sales in the sporting goods market.
Customproduce Inc. is a Japanese sales agent for Skins, an Australian sportswear brand that sells compression clothing. The firm has been selling the Skins A200 line since August. Retail prices for A200 shirts range from 6,300 yen to 9,450 yen, while its tights are priced between 7,350 yen and 12,600 yen.
Last summer, Customproduce worked with International Budo University and Hosei University to monitor Japanese athletes with 3D scanning technologies. This data was then used to adjust the A200 line to produce compression clothing specifically designed for the standard Japanese physique, by using stretchable mesh in areas around the shoulder blades and underarms. This fine-tuning ensures smoother mobility.
Workout wear
However, compression clothing does have some drawbacks. The garments are tight, so they can be difficult to put on or take off. But the A200 shirts feature loose necklines and the tights include special stitching around the ankles, to increase the stretchiness of the clothing.
Dome is a sales agent for Under Armour, a U.S. performance wear brand.
Skins compression clothing has another unique feature, in that the clothes are not as tight around the ankles, but are much more form-fitting in areas near the heart. This reportedly aids blood flow, which helps improve performance by reducing fatigue during athletic activities. Customproduce claims that people can also wear the A200 line on a day to day basis. Waffle weave
Dome Corp., the Japanese licensee for U.S. performance-wear manufacturer Under Armour Inc., started selling the heat-retaining Evo Cold Gear line in September. Shirts cost 6,720 yen to 8,925 yen, while the tights range in price from 6,720 yen to 7,245 yen.
Under Armour is made of a sweat-absorbing fabric. Omiya Ardija, a professional soccer team in Japan, have Under Armour uniforms, and many professional sports players are fans of the brand. Evo Cold Gear is made of waffle-weave microfiber thread, which traps heat, and the garments feature a brushed inner lining for additional warmth. The line also has a moisture-transport function that helps reduce sweat.
Ichiro Suzuki, a right fielder for the Seattle Mariners, sports Wacoal's CW-X 20th anniversary line.
Wacoal Corp.'s CW-X sportwear line, meanwhile, is the precursor to the compression clothing of today. The company is now selling its CW-X special edition line to mark the brand's 20th anniversary. In September, it also released a limited edition clothing line based around Seattle Mariners right fielder Ichiro Suzuki, who wears CW-X clothing during baseball games. The line only includes men's clothing. Wacoal developed CW-X sportswear by analyzing footage of sports injuries. "We hope that the recent marathon boom in Japan will help boost the CW-X profile," a Wacoal official said.
(The Nikkei Business Daily Nov. 24 edition)
The Office of Commercial Affairs, Royal Thai Embassy in Tokyo, Japan
Source : http://www.depthai.go.th