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Nikkei: “Devastation” awaits department stores in 2010

The Nikkei certainly isn’t mincing words when it comes to describing the state of Japan’s department store industry. In an article entitled “More Devastation Awaits Dept Stores In ‘10,” the paper made its case for why the department store industry might see a record number of closures over the coming year.

The Nikkei points out that after five department stores had been shutting down each year, that number rose to nine in 2009 and ten are already scheduled to close this year. The current all-time high is 15 closures in 2000. That was the year in which department store giant Sogo collapsed. Read more

Mutantfrog: The history of department stores in Kyoto

For an absolutely awesome writeup on the history of department stores in Kyoto, check out Roy Berman’s recent post “The history of department stores in Kyoto, and Kyoto in the history of the department store” at the Mutantfrog Travelogue.

Japanese wages continue freefall

On Tuesday, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare released its figures on wages for December 2009 and for 2009 as a whole. First, taking a look at the December figures, we see a fall of 6.1% in wages at firms with at least five employees against a year ago, with the average total wage clocking in at 549,259 yen. That figure may seem high, but winter bonuses are usually paid in December, and bonus payments fell by 10.6% against a year ago. December’s overall wage decline follows a 2.4% fall in November. Read more

Hatoyama lays out growth strategy

Earlier today, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama unveiled his economic growth strategy, which is intended to…

…never mind, Hatoyama’s plan is a complete and utter farce, a sick joke with no punchline delivered to a nation of people who need real leadership. Here’s the first paragraph of the Kyodo article:

The government unveiled Wednesday a basic policy for its growth strategy through 2020, aiming to achieve an average economic growth of 3% in nominal terms by boosting demand in the environmental, health and tourism fields and creating a total of 4.76 million jobs in related industries.

The rest of the article is there, but the first paragraph already tells you how stupid, short-sighted and disconnected from reality this government is, and there’s not much need to read the rest. But if you’re in a masochistic mood, here you go: Bumbling fools reveal idiotic policies Gov’t seeks nominal 3% growth through 2020 by demand in key areas.

Asia is now the biggest market for Japan’s nonfinancial listed firms

According to Tuesday morning’s Nikkei, Japan’s nonfinancial listed firms earned greater sales from Asian markets than from the US for the first time ever in the six months to September 30.

Let’s take a look at what they mean by “earnings growth.”

It’s helpful to look into the factors behind the Nikkei’s numbers. The Nikkei appears to be cheerleading for future sales to Asia by stating, “With Japan, the U.S. and Europe mired in a prolonged economic downturn, companies are likely to grow even more reliant on Asian markets for earnings growth.”
Read more

Government sponsored mortgage discounts coming in 2010

It has been projected that in 2009, Japan’s housing starts will fall below the one million mark for the first time in 42 years. In response to this, and in a seeming attempt to spur economic recovery, the government has revealed plans to roll out a mortgage-reduction program for 2010.

From a report in today’s Nikkei:

Under the program, homeowners taking out 35-year loans from an affiliated lender will have the mortgage rate reduced by 1 percentage point for the first 10 years.

The offer will be available only for homeowners taking out such loans next year. Also, homes purchased with the loan must be one of the following: energy-efficient, handicapped-accessible or quake-resistant.

The government intends to put 260 billion yen into the lending program, which will use the Japan Housing Finance Agency to issue mortgages. Currently, rates on mortgages taken out from the Japan Housing Finance Agency stand at 2.6%, which means those taking out new mortgages under the plan in 2010 will pay 1.6% interest for the first ten years of the loan.

Links and Resources: Online Colleges’ “100 Best Blogs for International Business Students”

Online Colleges recently published their list of the “100 Best Blogs for International Business Students.” I definitely recommend checking it out, though it might be a bit dangerous and time consuming if you have some actual work to do.

The majority of these blogs were new to me, though of course I recognized Claus Vistesen’s Alpha Sources and Edward Hugh’s Bonobo Land. And, yes, this blog made the list as well. It’s an honor to be named alongside some truly wonderful blogs.

Japanese government to collect used mobile phones in lottery campaign

Earlier today, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced that it plans to kickoff a campaign to collect used mobile phones from November 21. During the campaign, which is scheduled to last until February of next year, consumers will be able to turn in their used mobile handsets at about 1,800 locations, including shops run by Kojima, Bic Camera and Ito-Yokado.

When turning in their used handset, customers will receive a ticket allowing them to apply online for a chance to win a gift voucher. The government plans to give out 800 vouchers worth 50,000 yen, 8,000 vouchers valued at 5,000 yen, and 150,000 gift vouchers worth 1,000 yen.

Of course, the government is after the rare metals that lurk inside many unused handsets. Since I have a few unused handsets lying around, I wonder how much they’re actually worth in precious metals. I doubt it’s worth 50,000 yen, but what would be the odds of winning one of those 800 50,000 yen vouchers?

McDonald’s betting on coffee for profit growth?

On Monday, McDonald’s Japan reported that its pretax profit had jumped 25% in the January-September period compared to a year ago, despite a 10% drop in same-store sales, which can be explained by the conversion of many shops to franchises during this period. Overall sales were actually up 3.3%, again hitting an all-time high. Existing store sales were up 1.7% although the number of customers actually showed a 0.6% decline.

In an effort to get more customers in its shops, McDonald’s gave away free coffee on a few dates during the third quarter. Although the number of customers at existing stores showed a decline, this figure is also mitigated by the transformation of centrally owned shops to franchises. Read more

No change for now at Narita or Haneda

After transport minister Seiji Maehara announced on Sunday that Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (formally known as Tokyo International Airport) should become a 24 hour hub for domestic and international flights, the governor of Chiba Prefecture and the Mayor of Narita City spoke out strongly against the idea. Maehara’s proposal would alter the longstanding situation in which Haneda primarily serves domestic flights to Tokyo, while Narita handles international flights for the Kanto region.

For anyone living in Tokyo, Maehara’s reasoning is sound; Narita is simply less convenient for many travelers. At the same time, the lack of a domestic hub for connecting domestic flights to international means that South Korea’s Incheon airport has become a de-facto hub for Japanese travelers heading overseas. Read more

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