What products and services are likely to emerge as the top hits in 2016? One, predicts the January issue of DIME, will be the Sakura Sevens, Japan’s national women’s rugby team.
Following the huge popularity of the men’s team at the Rugby World Cup 2015, hopes are high that the team of seven will shine at the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games in August.
DIME is also predicting boom-town status for the scenic port city of Hakodate, in the south of Hokkaido Prefecture. This is expected once the Hokkaido Shinkansen, linking the city with Aomori Prefecture on Honshu, commences service on 26 March. Other stations on the new line, such as Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto, are likely to be developed as tourist destinations for winter sports and hot springs.
New products aimed at promoting a restful night’s sleep are expected to make a strong showing in the coming year. The Cheero Sleepion, for example, is set atop a night table, where it issues sounds claimed to simulate those heard by a foetus. It also generates three types of aromas designed to facilitate sleep. Meanwhile, the intelligent sleep mask neuro:on, which uses built-in LEDs—the flashing of which resembles twinkling stars—went on sale in December. It supposedly enhances periods of rapid eye movement sleep.
The G7 Summit at Ise-shima, Mie Prefecture, is expected to bring a new focus on this scenic part of Honshu. It can be easily reached by the Kintetsu railway from both Osaka and Nagoya.
Theme parks, such as Universal Studios Japan—observing its 15th anniversary this year—and Tokyo Disney Resort, will continue to modify their offerings to attract more adult visitors.
In March, the Snoopy Museum Tokyo, the first facility dedicated to Charles Schultz’s beloved Peanuts comic strip outside the US, will open adjacent to Roppongi Hills. It is scheduled to operate until September 2018.
Another landmark, in April, will be the complete privatisation of electric power generation, a market estimated to eventually reach ¥8trn. New corporate players involved in the campaign will include Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd., KDDI Corporation, Rakuten, Inc., Eneos and SoftBank.
Meanwhile in its traditional year-end roundup and predictions for the coming year, the Nikkei Marketing Journal (2 December) posted a calendar of events for 2016, including the following:
- Expected launch of Nissan Motor Corporation’s first autonomous car
- Official start of the government’s My Number registration system, with a 12-digit identification number assigned to every resident of Japan
- Opening of the Shanghai Disney Resort in the district of Pudong
- The G7 conference at Ise-shima, Mie Prefecture, on 26–27 May
- Holding of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on 5–21 August
- The 2016 US presidential election on 8 November
Upcoming anniversaries include: The anime (cartoon) programmes Ultraman (50 years), Pokemon (20 years), Dragon Quest (30 years), and Chibi Maruko-chan (30 years); and the Tamagotchi electronic pet (20 years).