• Home
• About/Contact
• Economic Reports
• Research
• Advertising

• Business
• Economics
• Reports
• Finance
• Marketing
• Politics
• Real Estate
• Services
• Retail
• Tech

Subscribe

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?

Japan’s video game market shrank 10.5% in April-September period

According to gaming magazine Enterbrain, the domestic market for video game sales shrank by 10.5% in the April-September period, to 213.8 billion yen. According to the report, sales of Nintendo DS consoles increased by 29% to 1.69 million units, while sales of both the Sony PlayStation Portable and Nintendo Wii both fell. During the April-September period, the best selling game was Square Enix’s Dragon Quest IX, which moved 3.9 million copies. Read more

Softbank outpaces DoCoMo, AU for new subscribers in August

Last month, we noted that in July, DoCoMo had ended Softbank’s 26 month run as the carrier enlisting the most new subscribers. That post questioned how long DoCoMo could stay at the top, and it seems the effect of its summer roll-out of new mobile handsets has worn off.

According to today’s Nikkei, Softbank announced it gained 115,100 new net subscribers in August, down from 137,600 in July. NTT DoCoMo slipped to second place in August, with 112,900 new subscribers, down sharply from its 143,600 figure in July. Amongst the big three mobile service providers, KDDI’s AU unit once again brought up the rear, netting 77,800 new subscribers in August. However, AU’s figure was solidly up from July’s 56,600, and it was the only one of the three firms to see a rise in the number of subscribers in August.

Nikkei: 52% of Tokyoites shop with e-money

In an article appearing in Tuesday’s Nikkei, the newspaper cited research by the Nomura Research Institute which found that about 52% of Tokyo residents use e-money for shopping. With Suica, Edy, Nanaco and Pasmo cards being accepted for payment at various locations in Tokyo, these results hardly seem surprising.

Still, Nomura’s report states that the percentage of e-money users in Tokyo was up 10% in June from a year ago. The Nikkei notes that the number of e-money cards issued (130 million) exceeds Japan’s population (about 127 million). Of course, this means that there are many people not using their e-money cards for shopping.

I would be one of those people who owns multiple e-money cards but has never used one for shopping. I’m not sure why, but I think my Pasmo card is used to take trains, and I have some kind of mental block against using it as a debit card at vending machines or convenience stores. Of course, this morning I went to recharge my Pasmo card but accidentally stuck my (Fuji Bank) ATM card into the ticket machine. Chaos ensued, and 15 minutes later the front had been removed from the vending machine and my card was pulled out, seemingly intact (I haven’t used the Fuji ATM card in five or six years, maybe it’s about time to find out if it still works, provided I remember the PIN).

Point is, e-money usage is growing, despite concerns over privacy. This is a good thing for consumers, who might like to carry less cash and still be able to make purchases. I’m not sure why the consumer loan companies have not yet begun to issue e-money cards, though they might not be far behind.

Mobile phone price wars set to commence?

Softbank has announced that starting next Tuesday, it will waive its 980 monthly fee for five months for all customers who switch from another carrier and sign up for the company’s popular White Plan. Until July, Softbank had led all carriers in new subscriptions for 26 consecutive months, though NTT DoCoMo moved in front last month. This move looks designed to put Softbank back on top of that list.

Following the announcement, share prices for all three of Japan’s major mobile carriers fell, with Softbank falling 40 yen per share to 2,075. Also on Thursday, the Nikkei reported that Softbank is set to issue about 60 billion yen worth of three year notes to retail investors, with a coupon around 4.5%, sometime in September. Softbank also issued 60 billion yen worth of two year notes back in June. Read more

More on the iPhone in Japan

Over at Mobile in Japan, Paul Papadimitrou has written a good post on the perception that the iPhone has been a failure in Japan. His post looks into the structure of the Japanese mobile market while debunking many of the claims that the iPhone has been a failure, while my own article on the subject published at Japan Inc four months ago takes a look at the practical problems holding the iPhone back from dominance in the Japanese market.

It’s unfortunate, however, that one has to sign up for an account simply to post comments at the Mobile in Japan website.

Sharp looking at first loss ever in FY2008

Last year, Sharp posted an an operating profit of 183.6 billion yen. According to the Nikkei, the firm is set to post a loss somewhere in the range of 10 billion yen for FY2008, which would be the first loss in the firm’s history. At the beginning of FY2008, Sharp predicted a 6% rise in operating profit to 195 billion yen.

Sharp is apparently also looking at a 40 billion yen hit on its securities holdings, and a net loss of about 100 billion yen for FY2008. About 10.8 billion yen has also been set aside to pay fines relating to Sharp’s involvement in LCD screen price-fixing cartels.

Nikkei: Sanyo to cut 500 full-time jobs

In our post covering Prime Minister Aso Taro’s New Year’s announcement that Japan would be the first nation to emerge from the global recession, it was mentioned that the Nikkei had recently predicted that job losses would soon start spilling over from the ranks of part-time workers to full-timers.

Tuseday’s edition of the Nikkei confirms that previous report, and also what Adamu had to say on the comment thread for that post, in an article entitled Sanyo To Ax 500 Full-Time Jobs In Japan By March-End:

Sanyo Electric Co. has decided to cut about 500 permanent jobs in Japan by the end of March as it prepares to come under the umbrella of Panasonic Corp. this spring.

Sanyo, which has some 20,000 permanent employees nationwide, will begin accepting applications for an early retirement program as soon as this month. Including nonpermanent workers, the cutbacks may total 1,000 positions.

Sanyo, which suffered heavy losses in financial 2005 and 2006 before showing a slight recovery in 2007, expects to see a 34% fall in operating profit when 2008 numbers are finalized. The firm apparently intends to downsize the workforce in its semiconductor and household appliance divisions, while many employees will also be transferred to solar cell and rechargeable battery operations.

In related news, we’ve been hearing much recently that alternative energies and “green” technologies will be the hot investment sectors for 2009. Little, if any, of the contrartian viewpoint on this issue has hit the press yet.

Nokia pulls out of Japan

Earlier today, the Nikkei announced that Nokia will cease shipping handsets to DoCOMo and Softbank from January 2009. Although Nokia holds a 38% share of the global mobile handset market, it’s share in Japan’s mobile market is just under 0.5%.

Developing software for the Japanese market - and DoComo’s iMode in particular - is simply costing Nokia too much money.

Yet, Reuters is reporting that Nokia intends to launch its own MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) system sometime in 2009.

This story was also picked up by blog omJapan.

Convenience store sales up, Mos Burger in Indonesia, lower sales at Toyota and trouble with the iPhone

According to the Japan Chain Stores Association, sales at Japan’s convenience stores increased 6.6% in September from a year earlier. Total sales hit 624.0 billion yen, showing a rise for the fifth consecutive month, as customers continue to flock to convenience stores for their tobacco products. September’s figures follow a 7.5% rise in August.

Keeping watch of Japanese service brands moving overseas, Mos Burger has announced plans to move into the Indonesian market. According to the Nikkei, the firm intends to set up a joint venture capitalized at 2 million dollars. Masuya Holdings will contribute 70% of the funds, while Orix’s Indonesian subsidiary will chip in 20%. This leaves Mos with a 10% stake in the firm. Mos Burger intends to open 15 shops in Indonesia by 2011, with 50 or so being open ten years from now.

According to Attractors Lab, 62.2% of those folks in the market for a new condo in Japan believe that current prices are too high. This figure is up by 6.4% from July.

In the bad news category, Japanese steelmakers are set to cut production for the first time in three years, as demand from automakers has slowed. At the same time, Toyota’s sales are expected to slide for the first time in ten years, by 2%, in 2008.

Finally, the Nikkei is reporting that quality control problems with Apple’s iPhone are apparently “tarnishing” the firm’s image in Japan. Nikkei lists trouble with the “MobileMe” service, as well as faulty chargers, software glitches and the “freezing of the iPhone while in use” - I used to call that a “blue screen of death.” Any iPhone users out there to report?

Next Page »

Copyright © 2006-2010 Japan Economy News

Privacy Policy | Disclaimer