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What’s Kirin going to do about Ito En?

Ito En is currently Japan’s fourth ranked soft drink manufacturer. In third place is Kirin (Coca-Cola and Suntory, respectively, are #1 and #2). However, Ito En has slowly been sneaking up on Kirin’s market share and when private label production is included, Ito En actually outsold Kirin in the January-June period.

According to Inryo Soken, which tracks soft drink and beverage sales in Japan, Kirin sold 79.3 million cases of soft drinks during the January-Japan period, down 7% from the previous year. Ito En, on the other hand, sold 79.2 million cases, an increase of 5% against the same period a year ago. When private label brands are included, Ito En’s sales are boosted to 84.7 million cases. Read more

Deflation watch: 3D TVs already 20% cheaper

The Nikkei is reporting that both Sony and Panasonic have seen about a 20% decrease in prices since launching their 3D television sets this past Spring. 3D televisions still cost about 30-50% more than their 2D flat screen counterparts. In terms of sales, 3D tellys account for 2.6% of sales of televisions 40 inches or larger, and 5.9% of overall television sales.

Why are prices falling so fast? Truth be told, 3D televisions are pretty much useless. Unless video games can exploit 3D technology in a very popular series, there’s really no reason to buy one.

While there is a niche market for hardcore gamers, it remains a mystery why this technology is being pushed. 2D TV in Japan is awful enough, the last thing I’d want is to have it in 3D.

iPhone takes baby steps ahead in Japan

Although Apple’s iPhone has thus far been sold exclusively in Japan by Softbank, Japan Communications intends to launch a service that will allow the iPhone 4 to tun on DoCoMo’s wireless network, according to various sources.

This is good news, until one looks at the price tag. While a new iPhone is supplied for free under multiyear contracts with Softbank, consumers will have to pay about 60,000 yen to buy an iPhone that runs on Japan Communications’ new DoCoMo link.

As with all technologies, prices will eventually fall. Unlocked smart phones and user-controlled SIM cards are the way of the future, and its good to see DoCoMo (reluctantly?) leading the charge toward normalcy.

The number of registered foreigners declined for the first time in 48 years last year

TBS news tells us that according to the Ministry of Justice, the number of registered foreigners in Japan has dropped for the first time in 48 years. Here is their report:

Unsurprisingly, Chinese nationals are the largest group of registered foreigners in Japan, followed by Koreans, Brazilians, Filipinos and Peruvians.

Subway opening shops in karaoke parlors

According to Friday’s Nikkei, Subway Japan opened up a small outlet inside a karaoke parlor in Ehime on Friday. Apparently the firm intends to sell sandwiches to takeaway customers as well as deliver them to rooms in the karaoke facility. Read more

Apple: iPad to go on sale in Japan on May 28

Apple announced on Friday that it intends to put the iPad on sale in Japan (Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the UK) on May 28. Advance orders can be made from Monday.

Apple released the iPad in the US on April 3, and announced it had sold one million units 28 days later.

The device that Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has reportedly dubbed “the enemy of the future” now has a definite arrival date in Japan. Now we just have to see how long it takes Apple to move one million units in Japan. Any predictions?

The DPJ really doesn’t get it or: How I learned to stop worrying and love the market

A slew of contradictory economic data is pouring out of Japan this week: McDonald’s saw net profit fall 80% in the first quarter while Uniqlo sales fell 12.4% in April. However, the Japan Center for Economic Research says that GDP increased 1.4% in March against February, for the second straight monthly rise. Miki Shoji reports that in April, Tokyo office vacancies hit an all-time high for the third consecutive month, at 8.82% - the highest reading seen since the firm starting tracking vacancy rates in 1989. Read more

Book Review - Landed: The Guide to Buying Property in Japan

Christopher Dillon, the author of Landed: The expatriate’s guide to buying and renovating property in Hong Kong, has now published a similar guide on buying property in Japan. Landed: The Guide to Buying Property in Japan is now available and will be supported by a series of public events next week (schedule at the end of this post). Read more

Fast Fashion: Forever 21 announces Japan expansion plan

In a press conference earlier today, Forever 21 Chairman Don Chang told reporters that his firm intends to open ten stores a year in Japan until about 100 locations are in business.

Forever 21 opened its first shop in Japan last April in the trendy Harajuku neighborhood. Tomorrow, it will open its second domestic location, inside the Matsuzakaya department store in Ginza. According to Forever 21, the Ginza shop will be almost double the size of the Harajuku location. Read more

Long overdue: Sharp, Panasonic, Fujitsu and NEC to standardize mobile software

With development costs per handset in the range of about 25 billion yen, it seems about time Japan’s mobile phone manufacturers got together and decided on a standardized platform. According to a report in Reuters yesterday, Sharp, Panasonic, Fujitsu and NEC and set to launch a unified core software platform when developing their next generation handsets for NTT DoCoMo. Read more

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