While there are several web sites on Japanese trends and innovation, few of them are well-known among Japanese or foreign consumer-surfers.  And although the market for TV home shopping is on the increase, viewer rates in Japan measure only a few percent.  Such big-hit products as Billy’s Boot Camp have seen mainstream success, but such TV networks are generally dependent upon a small, loyal, hungry consumer group which buys gadget after gadget on a whim.

The top four media–-catalog, direct mail, Internet and TV–-make up 75% of sales, of which TV shopping and Internet sales have shown particularly outstanding growth.

Japan is a land of gadgets and gimmicks.  Many of them have a shelf life of less than a year or two.  Come, such as Hello Kitty or Apanman, have become cultural assets with high marketing value worldwide.

The trouble is that gimmicks and hype dig into our disposable income and we should know the unbiased and un-bought testimonials of those who use these products and services.

Until now, we have been pretty much forced to rely on staged testimonials and PR blurbs distributed by the manufacturer around the concept of Product of the Week, similar to TV shopping channels in exhibiting their stuff.

Why not build a site a product in a streamed video, but dissimilar in the respect that the film producer is totally objective.  Each product will be judged according to a set of criteria such as price of competitive products, durability, practicality, etc.  Each page of the site will have paying sponsors (which would be clearly recognizable) to make the post worthwhile.

Alternatively, you could set up a site which features unique products from Japan and offers a Pay Per Click (PPC) or affiliate commission structure such as ClickBank.  This may be a lot to chew off, but the rewards in this consumer paradise (Japan) could make it well worth the struggle.

In the movie Joe Versus the Volcano, Joe, played by John Travolta, is diagnosed by his psychologist as having a brain cloud.  Now any fool would know that there is no such disease, but Joe believed he’d die from it.

Well now I have heard of a new disease called metabolic syndrome (which supposedly is real), and the Japanese government is about to insist that 57 million people between the ages of 40 and 74 be tested for it.

Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting projected that the market for anti-metabolic syndrome products would grow from two trillion yen in 2005 to 3.6 trillion yen in 2010.  They were close.  That meant Japanese spent more on these preventive drugs and therapies than they did on beer.

Just tag your health-related product with a coined logo which you could even patent saying something like “meta-syn” and start jacking prices.

A job share helps people balance life and work. In modern-day Japan that may no longer be an option.

Although the government cannot mandate firms to consider child-raising support measures and people’s attitudes toward family life, corporations can see the writing on the wall:  Make it easy for women to work after the birth of a child or watch Japan’s labor force and economic might bleed to death.

At present, less than one in five children under five years of age are in childcare.  The ones that are may not be there because the mother works; it may be due to the mother wanting time to herself.

While there are opportunities for licensed (60%) or unlicensed (40%) childcare centers, there is another related opportunity which will find acceptance in Japan quite soon.  That area is in job sharing.

To be in front of the curve, you could set up a job share portal site in Japanese.  This could include teleseminars, uploaded videos and ebook which outline the benefits of such a system to both employees and employers.

Many women, after childbirth, want to return to work but not without the consistent overtime and travel.   Dividing the workload amongst people who have retired, could boost the prospects of a company remaining competitive despite a labor shortfall.

A weekly reference point for organizations, events and people that can make your success in Japan more likely. And don’t forget to reference the 4000+ SIJ Directory at http://successinjapan.com/directory.htm

*Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) is a one-stop site for online and offline entrepreneurs. From cheap or free consultation, meeting room facilities and translation services to a “find a business partner” forum, most of the necessities for hitting the ground running are at your disposal on this easily navigated site.
*The Small and Medium Enterprise Agency of Japan is a concerted effort by the Japanese government to encourage startup business, consolidate loans for struggling small and medium-size corporations and to provide logistic support them.
*While it is still true that the distribution network in Japan is costly and inefficient in many industries, the truth is that it is changing for the better. Understanding how it works will boost your chances to participate in this lucrative marketplace. Find out more by CLICKING HERE

One of the unique recycled yarns that Teijin Fibers produces is ECOPET, which is made from recycled plastic bottles. Having been created through a one-of-a-kind process using ECOPET, this new fabric is called ECO-A-WEAR.

An American friend of mine recently reminded me of how much more efficient the Japanese government is in recycling than are the majority of non-affluent American communities.

A new effort by the Japanese government is encouraging textile makers to recycle used clothing.  The companies participating in the project are trying a variety of methods to extract textile material from clothing and turn it into new clothing and bags.  This idea was hatched after textile industry leaders in Japan observed the relatively successful campaign of U.S. outdoor goods maker, Patagonia Inc., which started collecting old underwear made by the manufacturer which was 95 percent polyester.

In Japan, a similar program has spawned using an extractor system developed by Osaka-based Teijin Fibers Ltd.  Teijin’s system can recycle ten million items each year from each plant utilizing this technology.

Japan is absolutely the most advanced nation nowadays in recycling technology.  If you have a machine or technology which can greatly benefit Mankind and save our planet, then this is the country where you could introduce your technology.  A good starting point for finding interested parties is, as always, the JETRO site.

No doubt manga and anime have a strong if not eternal foothold in many cultures outside of Japan these days.  While the majority of American adults, for example, wouldn’t be caught dead reading manga in public, their children’s’ lives are a universe removed from that sentiment.

In Japan, Tokyo University Hospital is using this generation-binder (manga) to depict a young pediatrician who is eager to save children’s lives.

No doubt, many cultures around the world dismiss this manga/anime genres as being filthy, violent and sexually titillating.  But there is equally no doubt that to reach the young generation, any means at our disposal must be used.

Manga could be used to teach manners, finances, appropriate and inappropriate touching to name just a few applications.  Moreover, it could be used to reach children for the promotion of products and services.

If you have dismissed the manga/anime genre as being unrelated to you or foul or for morons, you best reconsider.  The future will see it used to promote and market every conceivable product or service.

Jump on board now.  Remember that time when, as a child, you asked your Mom or Dad where babies came from?  Watch this video for an example of how anime can be used to give a humorous twist on birth.

Changes in the Population of Japan

Baby Boomers are retiring in droves. Unlike our grandparents, these new retirees are not satisfied with a rocking chair and a glass of lemonade while they wait for the Grim Reaper. They want to lead more active lives after retirement. The depopulated regions in Japan have a host of incentives to lure city folk back to the nature-bound countryside.

If you are here legally and have a visa which allows long-term or permanent residence, then there are a host of opportunities to live in the serene, pristine rural areas of Japan.

You could set up a pottery studio or glass-blowing studio for a fraction of the cost of doing so in big cities.

Tottori Prefecture, for example, will pay a 100,000 yen stipend for one year for all newcomers who stay longer than one month. They will also pay 30,000/mo. for dependent children. To learn about incentive programs nation-wide, please CLICK HERE.

When I first came to Japan in 1980 I was under the impression that the Japanese were great copiers of American products and of the technologies that fueled those products. It was also my understanding that Japanese were as robotic as the machines they created.

Looking back, there were some truths to those stereotypical beliefs back then. But if you carry such belief baggage forward to the year 2010, your image of Japan and its people are now light years’ removed from the reality.

Japan is a researching Mecca, and not just for applied research. While the industrial base may be hollowing out, the service industry somewhat inefficient, and the Baby Boomers retiring in record numbers leaving job chasms in several sectors – as is the case with many advanced countries – Japan is forging ahead with new cutting-edge technologies which will dramatically change the way we live.

In the Success in Japan Directory of Research and Development Facilities, I have uncovered close to 200 major R&D centers in Japan which are independent of corporations. This country is buzzing with innovation and it is a place you want to be doing business.

Let the language barrier take the hindmost!

For many years I have been a corporate language trainer at some of the most successful multinationals in Japan, so I speak not only from textbook studies and hearsay about Japan, but from the inside teaching a growing legion of dedicated, and, in some cases, brilliant researchers.

The following is a tip-of-the-iceberg sampler of five major research projects/breakthroughs in Japan:
1) Honda Research Institute in collaboration with Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International have developed a new “Brain Machine Interface” (BMI) for manipulating robots using human brain activity signals. This amazing breakthrough enables the decoding of brain wave activity in a non-invasive manner. This breakthrough promises vast possibilities for new types of interface between machines and the human brain.
2) Astro Research Corporation has developed “Tennis Mate,” a machine designed to simulate the different strokes of tennis using a real racket. From serve to drop shot, this machine does it all. The video demo is fascinating.
3) Battery technology, especially for computer-related hardware, is foremost on the mind of many companies. Several Japanese firms, such as Mitsui Mining and Metals, are now spending vast amounts of money creating the next-generation materials non-conventional, long-lasting batteries. And NEC sparked a wave of excitement in the info-communications industry recently with the curtain lifting on the development of ultra-thin, flexible, rechargeable batteries. A sleek 0.3 mm in thickness, this ultra-thin battery holds great promise for computers and other high-tech paraphernalia.
4) Forestry and Forest Product Research Institute (FFPRI) has developed a lumber-drying technique for Japanese Cedar which uses a high temperature heating system capable of maintaining dryness up to a certain degree. This technique will allow the lumber drying process to be halved, from eight days to four days. Additionally, this new technique overcomes moisture-related lumber cracks and efficiently controls the level of dryness of cedar required for various purposes.
5) On the environmental front, Japan is on the verge of initiating technology which can capture a sixth of its carbon dioxide pollution and store the gas underground. The project is expected to be fully functional by the year 2020, although critics believe that Japan doesn’t have enough underground storage area for their ambitious plan. Companies like Japan Air Gases Ltd. plan to prove the nay Sayers wrong.

To leave Japan off your map is to leave a mountain of money on the table. My site and concept is to make Japan more friendly and accessible to people throughout the world. Enjoy the sushi while you maximize your profit potential. Welcome to Japan (Irrashai.)

Office costs are usually a major perceived obstacle to opening shop in urban Japan. Your unique concepts will be attractive to young professionals escaping the noose of the corporate hangman.

That long-term reality about the Japanese legal system is about to change.  The extremely difficult bar examining committee is about to lower the bar and start letting in 3000 lawyers each year compared with the skimpy 1000 at present.

This new competition reality in the lawyer ranks means more and more lawyers are choosing to go independent earlier.  This has led to a posh office rental spaces springing up in Tokyo, Osaka and other major metropolises across Japan.

It normally costs 6-10 million yen to set up a prestigious office in urban areas, causing many aspiring lawyers to have second thoughts about going independent. The new rentals, such as those provided by Kokuyo Business Service, offers European-style office luxury with all the bells and whistles for a relatively paltry, all-inclusive rental fee of  200,000-900,000 yen per month, with initial startup costs in the one million yen range.  The lobbies of such centers can resemble those of first-class hotels.

The opportunity to design, furnish or supply such offices for up-and-inspiring lawyers and other professionals is in the making.

Because of the closed and staid nature of the legal profession up to now, maybe such websites as the Legal Store has had no Japanese equivalent.  Give a thought as to how you can take advantage of this paradigm shift in the legal profession.

With the birthrate declining rapidly in Japan and the Baby Boomer aging of its society, Japan is probably in a slow-bleed which will see future generations of businesses more and more dependent on outsourcing in Asia.

This trend toward an Asian Century is a great vehicle for forging a social, economic and perhaps political alliance among ASEAN members and other Asian countries at peace.

City and town volunteer associations nationwide are inviting Asian visitors to visit Japan, observe classrooms or factories, and actually interact with the natives.

To find out more about such scholarships, exchanges and grants, CLICK HERE or HERE.

Eventually, we will all live without borders or arbitrary restrictions. Sharing of ideas broadens understanding and DOES eventually lead to endless economic opportunities.