Cosmetics Firms In Japan Focus On Anti-aging Creams

Japanese cosmetics have long ago been considered as some of the best in the world. After all, the Japanese are well known for having pearly white skin, just like their Korean and Chinese cousins. Their secrets are well-kept and much sought after. Now, commercial firms are aiming to capitalize on these ancient secrets.

Shiseido Co Ltd, Kao Corp, and Kose Corp – do these names sound familiar? At the very least, you probably recognize Shiseido, as it is a brand that is sold all over the world. These are the three biggest cosmetics company in Japan, and they are banking on really really expensive face creams to boost their businesses. Last year (or this year rather), they all launched their own versions of a face cream that is supposed to battle the effects of aging.

Guess how much it costs? How about 120,000 yen ($1,316)? Yup, women have to shell out that much money for each bottle of this cream; women who are 40 years old and above, that is. And this is what the companies are banking on. Their products, they say, are a hit with a certain age range, regardless of the social standing. True enough, their face creams are selling quite well despite the economic problems that the country is facing. They are also targeting women of the same age range from neighboring countries – and it seems to be working well for them.

How about you, would you spend that much on a bottle of anti-aging cream?

Japanese Seeing Poverty In A New Light

Eccentricities and peculiarities aside, the Japanese people are known to be among the hardest working in the world. As a result, they have been rewarded with wealth, especially when compared to other countries. For decades upon decades, poverty as other nations have experienced it was unknown to the Japanese people; and whatever poverty they had in their shores, they were able to deal with in their own way.

With the global economic problems that have been prevailing, however, it seems that Japan is now being forced to adapt a different perspective. Recession has hit the Japanese economy – something which was quite unthinkable for a lot of the people, I think.

The Japanese government has released figures regarding their unemployment rate: a rise of 0.4 percentage to 4.8%. This is the fastest increase since 1967.

In the past, the Japanese generally saw poverty as stemming from laziness and the lack of motivation. Today, however, with even the biggest companies letting go of so many employees, the general population are seeing that poverty can suddenly hit even the most hardworking person in the face.

The government is responding with the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare at the helm. Activist Makoto Yuasa is finally being heard, as well. Yuasa has been lobbying for the government to work on providing safety nets against poverty for a long time, and it is only now that his efforts are paying off. While the situation is definitely not a happy thing, at least those that matter are paying attention now.

In Focus: Japanese CEOs

In the United States – and other countries, actually – financial troubles began partly due to the fact that corporate bigwigs received fat bonuses. The so called fat cat bonuses have long been part of their corporate culture. In Japan, the opposite is true.

Perhaps this is the reason that the country has been so successful in keeping their companies and the whole economy afloat. It is definitely the reason behind everyone’s positive outlook. In Japan, CEOs know how it is to sacrifice so that their companies can weather tough economic storms.

Let’s talk specifics. Haruka Nishimatsu. He is the president of Japan Airlines. You would think he had the money to take a car to work; even have someone drive for him. He probably does have that money BUT he chose to commute using the public transportation. He would take the bus just like the average person. Compare that to Wall Street businessmen who still want to buy their own private jets! More than that, though, Haruka Nishimatsu chooses to line up at the company cafeteria just like other employees!

Then there is Yukio Sakamoto. He is the president of Elpida Memory, a computer chip maker. In order to keep his company afloat, he went without pay for two months- all voluntary!

They are not the only ones taking this route. Toyota Motors, a renowned leader in the automobile industry, has scrapped bonuses for the year. Other companies – big or small – are doing the same thing.

Perhaps the rest of the world can learn a thing or two from them.

Xbox360 Best Seller In Japan

This is NOT good news for PlayStation fanboys in Japan and the rest of the world. According to sales figures, the Xbox 360 is has outsold the PlayStation 3 and the Wii. This is according to Media Create, an analytics company.

According to Games Industry, the latest results in terms of hardware and software are:

The Square Enix title for the Xbox 360 displaced last week’s top seller, Mario & Luigi RPG 3 for the DS, pushing it into second place.

PlayStation Portable title Idolmaster Sp took three consecutive places with its iterations Perfect Sun, Missing Moon and Wandering Star at third, fourth and fifth place respectively.

Shining Force Feather on the DS also debuted during the week, taking sixth place, followed by Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (PSP the Best) at number seven and, another debut title, Sacred Blaze on the PSP at eight.

Meanwhile, Street Fighter IV for the PS3 slipped from second place to ninth, and Demon’s Souls, also for the PS3, came in tenth.

The region saw the Nintendo DS platform dominates sales at 51,814 units, breaking down into 41,839 DSi sales and 9,975 DS Lite sales, while Sony’s PSP followed behind at 29,552 units.

Microsoft’s Xbox 360 led the home console sales with 25,334 units, beating out the Wii at 16,973 units and PS3 at 16,149 units, as well as the PlayStation 2 which lagged behind at 5029 units.

This is quite surprising, given the fact that the PlayStation and Wii consoles are both Japanese-made. There could be a variety of reasons why this has happened but that is quite beside the point right now. If Sony wants to make a comeback, they have to do something – and quick.

Stocks Still Down, 20-year Bonds Better

Early this month we had a bit of good news with the gold found at the Suwa treatment facility, however, with the still grim economic situation trhoughout the world we shouldn’t be surprised that there is more bad news for Japan and those dabbling in the Japan market.

According to government reports last week showed that the Japanese economy for the last quarter has shrunk the most since the last big oil crisis of 1974. The week ended pretty weak as well with the Yen and stocks. The Yen is said to have fallen due to the Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa’s resignation. The Topix index also ended with a dismal record of having the lowest close in 25 years.

The government is doing its best to revive growth by focusing on selling more debt. There was a positive respones, which is the good news we end with, since the week ended with the highest 20-year bond yield (that means lots of people bought 20-year bonds) for the month. Of course people are still crossing their fingers hoping that when(or if?) the Japanese government’s 10 trillion yen stimulus plan is passed it will actually be effective in staving of the worst of this recession.

Clean Diesel Engine To Be Launched By Mazda

Car lovers – this news will certainly make your day. Mazda Motor Corp., one of the biggest car manufacturers in Japan, has announced that they will be launching a new diesel engine that will be more fuel efficient. Though the engine is not set to be released till next year, and only in Europe initially at that, excitement is already running through the minds of a lot of people. AFP reports:

Japan’s fifth largest automaker plans to introduce the MZR-CD 2.2 engine worldwide but first in Europe, where diesel accounts for nearly 60 percent of vehicle sales.

The technology allows the engine to burn off soot from exhaust fumes some 60 percent faster than traditional diesel engines, the Hiroshima-based company said in a statement.

Though I am not in Europe, I know that sooner or later this engine will be released worldwide. More so, as the AFP report says, other car manufacturers are set on developing and releasing their own version of clean diesel engines. This will certainly set the trend for the global market, bringing more options to the consumers.

With the ever rising fuel prices all over the world, news like this is very much appreciated by motorists. I was just away on a short weekend trip and I was amazed at how much I had to pay for the diesel! Considering that diesel is cheaper than gas, then that says a lot. And, looking at the effects on the environment of a clean diesel engine, this development means so much more.

Women Getting Back Into The Rat Race

In some cultures, women are expected to quit working once they get married and start a family. Though Japan is not unique in this respect, the figures involved are probably significantly higher. According to a report in Japan Today, the estimated figure is about 70 percent. That is, this is the percentage of working women who quit their jobs when they get married.

The report states:

In Japan, about 70% of working women quit their jobs when they start a family. Though many hope to eventually return to the workplace, it is difficult for them to return to a full-time working environment afterwards. According to the government, approximately 2.45 million women aged between 25 and 65 wish to work full-time in companies.

As one of the measures to encourage women to return to the workforce, Japan Women’s University (JWU) started the so-called “Recurrent Education-Employment System” with the government’s financial support in September, 2007. In the one-year program, women who have bachelor degrees and working experience take courses to update their work skills, such as business English and introductory and advanced computer training. The program also provides career counseling so students can find new jobs which match their related experience and skills.

This is good news for the large number of women who may have been forced by the circumstances to give up what they have worked long and hard for. Aside from having the chance to continue what they started before they got married, these women would be able to help out with the family finances. With the way things are going in world economics today, this is something that a lot of people would welcome for sure.

Cheerleaders Pep Up Businesses

Do you work in an office in a 9 to 5 job? Do you sometimes feel that your job is getting to become to routine and that you are getting bored with your 8 hour work day? Well, maybe you should quit your job and head on over to Japan.

The newest thing to hit Japan is cheerleading concepts being applied to the business setting. Based on a report by Japan Today:

Few management consultants can cheer you up the way AMT Group’s Maki Nakayama can. Nakayama, a Washington Redskins cheerleader alumnus, is using the lessons she’s learned in over a decade of cheerleading to promote “Cheerleadership” in Japanese companies. Her idea is that Japanese businessmen can have more fun at work if they apply the same energy and enthusiasm to their job as cheerleaders apply to their cheers.

The combination of team work and independent work is important for cheerleaders and businesspeople. “As a cheerleader, team work was really important because we spend time together and we have to cooperate. Sometimes we would have a promotion and they would just tell us what time, what to wear, what to do and we would just go there to do the promotion by ourselves. We had to be independent. So I spent time with girls who are independent and can help each other.”

Very interesting concept, I should say. I wouldn’t mind learning something that can be applied to the workplace in a fun and novel way, would you?

Photo courtesy of Jeffrey Beall

Land of Louis Vuitton Lovers

Louis Vuitton Malletier à Paris (LVMH), more commonly known simply as Louis Vuitton, opened its first store in Paris on Rue Nueve des Capucines way back in 1854. More than a hundred and fifty years later it is still very much famous with its leather goods considered as a status symbol all over the world.

When the first Vuitton store opened in Japan in 1978 they expected the product to take off but never anticipated as warm a welcome as they got. In fact by the 1980s Vuitton sales in Japan alone accounted for nearly half of the ENTIRE revenue of the company. To this day Loius Vuitton is more like a cult phenomenon among Japanese females instead of just a popular but passing trend. Sales in Japan stil account for an estimated 55% of all sales. According to Akira Miura, chief editor of a fashion paper in Japan, “Almost every grown-up Japanese woman already owns at least one Louis Vuitton item.” But even then people continue on buying more Vuitton items, after all a single Vuitton trunk in your closet looks incredibly lonely.