Tanya Batkin from Knightwick near Worcester will compete for the second consecutive year in the Gardening World Cup in Japan, the Worcester News reported on 19 September. She will be joined by two other British contestants, one of whom, Adam Frost, has won Gardeners’ World Live and several RHS Chelsea Flower Show awards.

For this year’s event, Batkin will create a “balcony garden” inspired by Aberglasney in Wales. Last year, she made a cottage-style garden.

The event is expected to attract more than 80,000 visitors during October.

Details of a famous art collection—owned by the Japanese businessman Kojiro Matsukata and thought lost—have been found in an archive in London, The Asahi Shimbun reported on 7 September.

Amassed in Europe and Japan prior to World War II, many of the works in Matsukata’s collection were lost in a London warehouse fire in 1939. Speculation regarding exactly what had been lost has been rife ever since.

Works by Edouard Manet and Vincent van Gogh are on the list.

The old adage “You’re only as old as you feel” got put to the test recently when the Nikkei Marketing Journal ran a front-page story on 19 September to coincide with the Respect for the Aged Day national holiday. To drive its point home, the publication ran a photo of Team JSCA (Japan Senior Cheer Association), a young-at-heart troupe of women, the oldest member of which is 73, cavorting in cheerleader costumes and waving white pompoms.

The front-page article ran the results from a survey of 518 men and women between the ages of 65 and 79, which was conducted by Macromil on 31 August–1 September.

When the Nikkei Marketing Journal asked subjects how they felt relative to their actual age, 21.4% said they felt their age. In contrast, the largest response, with 33.4%, was that they felt 10 years younger, while 28.8% claimed to feel five years younger than their actual age. Other replies included 15 years younger (6.2%); 20 years younger (5.2%); and 25 years younger (2.1%). Only 2.9% said they feel older than they are. When asked about their greatest concerns or anxieties, 78.2% of respondents said health and illness topped their list.

(more…)

The food and beverage industry has been struggling for business. Nikkei Business (19 September) noted that up to two or three years ago, restaurants enjoyed a brief “expensive boom”, in which the expenditure per customer exceeded that of the previous year. Prices for meat products rose in 2013, but as the Japan Foodservice Association noted: “Although prices were higher, there was an atmosphere in which customers accepted it”.

In 2014, beef bowl purveyor Yoshinoya raised its prices on the basic item in two increments, from ¥280 to ¥380. Many businesses timed their price increases to coincide with the consumption tax rising from 5% to 8% in April 2014.

A spokesperson for Nihon KFC Holdings said he was of the impression that the rise of thrift-conscious customers was a response to chains issuing redeemable points to Ponta cardholders with each purchase. “Products with added value such as spicy chicken are selling well. But from the start of this year, we have noticed a trend that they’ve stopped purchasing additional items on top of ordering regular items”.

(more…)

With the boom in minpaku (homestays), how do you feel about opening up your place as a bed and breakfast? When the Asahi Shimbun’s “be between” Internet survey put that question to its readers, it got 1,891 responses. Of those, 91% gave a resounding “No!”

The main reasons, in descending order, were “No room for outsiders”, “Worried about the traveller’s manners or possibility of an accident”; “Too much work involved in preparing”; and “Getting into the spirit of omotenashi (hospitality) seems really demanding”.

“No matter how familiar you act towards one another, both host and guest feel anxious”, said a 50-year-old woman in Shizuoka. “There are things such as food preferences, wake-up time, using the bath, the type of bedding … Accommodating strangers is difficult”.

(more…)

The first Class 385 electric multiple unit train cars produced by Hitachi, Ltd. for ScotRail have set sail for Scotland, the International Railway Journal reported on 5 August. The train forms part of an order for 70 trains worth £370mn.

The train was manufactured in Yamaguchi Prefecture, at the firm’s Kasado plant, where a further six trains will be made. The remainder will be constructed at the new Hitachi factory at Newton Aycliffe in North-East England.

The three- and four-car trains are due to enter service in autumn 2017.

Carlos Ghosn, Nissan chairman and chief executive, said in a BBC interview published on their website on 5 August that the carmaker’s future investment in the UK will depend on the post-Brexit terms agreed for customs, trade and the free movement of goods. “That will determine how, and how much, we will invest in the UK”, he said.

But Ghosn said he remained optimistic, and that the UK would continue to be a “big partner” for the EU. “Common sense will prevail from both sides,” he said.

Nissan’s Sunderland plant, which produced 500,000 cars last year and employs 6,700 people, exports most of its production to Europe. It is the biggest car plant in the UK.

British Airways announced the launch of 787-9 Dreamliner flights on its route from London Heathrow to Japan’s Narita International Airport. In a press release, the firm said the service was launched at a 19 August event, attended by British Hollywood star Orlando Bloom.

The flights will run seven days a week, with ticket prices of ¥70,000 and 350,000 for economy and business class. Until January, first class return tickets are priced from ¥1,090,000.

British Airways has been flying to Japan for 68 years. The airline operates 14 weekly flights between London Heathrow and Tokyo, where it has landing rights at both Haneda and Narita international airports.

Internet company Rakuten has opened a research centre in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the firm announced in an 18 August press release. The lab will research the potential uses of the blockchain, the main technology behind the digital currency bitcoin, in the fintech industry and for e-commerce.

The establishment of the research centre follows the earlier acquisition of blockchain-related intellectual property from the digital-payments operator Bitnet Technologies.

Sony Music’s UK arm has acquired the dance music label Ministry of Sound through its UK division, Billboard reported on 10 August. The deal will see the major label acquire Ministry of Sound’s roster, back catalogue and successful compilation series—one in every six compilations sold in the UK is released by Ministry of Sound.

The label is one of the world’s largest for dance music, with cumulative album sales topping 70mn. The deal with Sony will enable it to expand further its international presence.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has been ranked number one on Fortune’s 2016 “Change the World” list of firms performing well by doing good, the British pharmaceutical company’s Japanese subsidiary revealed in a press release on 29 August. Last year, GSK ranked 6th in the same list.

A number of the firm’s initiatives contributed to the improved ranking, said GSK Japan President Philippe Fauchet OBE, who also serves on the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan Executive Committee. Among them were GSK’s research and development projects, its vaccine candidates for Ebola and malaria, and initiatives in developing countries to improve access to the firm’s medicines and strengthen those countries’ healthcare systems.

The “Change the World” list was first issued in 2015.

The Kyoto Distillery revealed the details its first gin, KI NO BI (The Beauty of the Seasons), in a 17 August press release. This followed the distillery being awarded its production licence, which the company believes to be a first in Kyoto.

The gin, production of which is overseen by the firm’s Head Distiller Alex Davies, will be released domestically in October, and in other markets later.

“We have worked hard to make a delicious dry gin, from local botanicals where possible, which does justice to the culture of craftsmanship for which Kyoto has been famed for over 1,000 years”, said David Croll, a partner in the distillery.

Scottish Rugby, the sport’s governing body in Scotland, has inked an agreement with the city of Nagasaki, the Herald Scotland reported on 25 August. The national team will conduct a 10-day training camp in the city ahead of the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.

The deal also opens the door to possible tours of Japan by the Glasgow Warriors, Edinburgh Rugby, and Scottish all-age sides. More coaching and refereeing exchanges—there have been some in the recent past—are also in the offing.

“The confirmation of this camp, with exclusive use of world-class facilities, presents an excellent foundation for our campaign”, said Gavin Scott, the Scotland team manager.

British Olympic officials will again try to persuade the UK’s four football associations to enter British men’s and women’s football teams for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, The Guardian reported on 21 August.

The English FA was in favour of entering teams for the Rio Games, but the respective associations of the remaining Home Nations were against such a move, due to concerns it would affect their independent status, despite reassurances from the sport’s governing body FIFA. Their opposition may scupper hopes of British teams competing in Tokyo as well.

Just weeks after joining Arsenal football club, Takuma Asano has been sent on a season-long loan to Bundesliga side Stuttgart, ESPN reported on 26 August. The move comes after the 21-year-old striker’s work permit application was rejected.

Asano signed for Arsenal from Sanfrecce Hiroshima in July, and was named J-League rookie of the year for 2015 after he and his teammates claimed the league title.

The forward scored two goals for the Japanese national team at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Japan’s first Starbucks outlet, in Ginza, Tokyo, opened on 2 August, 1996. By 2013, it had opened more than 1,000 outlets in the country, and currently boasts 1,198. The company’s 20th anniversary celebration, however, was tainted by some unhappy news. While a survey of the Japanese Customer Satisfaction Index undertaken by SPRING found Starbucks rated number one in the café category in 2014, by the following year, reports Nikkan Gendai (18 August), it had dropped to third place, behind Doutor and Veloce cafés.

“In the past, the atmosphere and customer service at Starbucks was analogous to business class aboard an airline”, commented journalist Rika Kashiwagi. “As the company expanded, the quality of staff has declined, and there are also many customers who hang out there just to work, using the Wi-Fi, and it’s not the kind of place where you can relax. With the slow economy more people are trying to pinch pennies, and it has the image of being higher priced, so it shouldn’t be surprising that customer satisfaction has declined”.

(more…)

It has been observed, at various times in the past, that the ups and downs of the economy tend to have an impact on the outlays of what Japan’s consumers perceive to be healthy eating. Citing Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries data, the Nikkei Marketing Journal (24 August) noted that consumption of vegetables in 2015, calculated on a per person basis, was 90.8kg. This marked a 1.4% decline from 2014, and 5.7% from a decade ago.

Explanations for the decline in vegetable consumption ranged from there being a higher percentage of elderly people, who tend to eat less of everything, to vegetables being less popular among young people.

(more…)

An online survey in the weekly “be between” feature in the Asahi Shimbun took up the subject of whether adults were engaged in learning or study. Out of 1,915 valid responses to the question, “Are you currently learning something?”, only 34% replied yes, compared with 66% who said no. The most popular activities mentioned by respondents are yoga or Pilates (97 replies), followed by English conversation or simply English (95), singing in a chorus (46), dancing (43), calligraphy (42) and cooking (41). The main motivation for such efforts was given as self-improvement and/or upward mobility in one’s job.

Among those who said no, however, 83% admitted to having studied in the past. The main reasons they weren’t doing so any more included: “It costs too much” (588 respondents); “No time for study” (486); “Can’t think of anything I want to learn” (337); and “Too difficult at my age” (218).

To the question, “Was there something you tried but failed to learn?”, while 545 people gave negative replies, in second place, with 461 votes, was English conversation and English.

The survey also asked, “If you could revert to childhood, what would you learn?”, the top answer, with 661 votes, was—you guessed it—English conversation or English.

A 27-year-old Tokyo female noted with satisfaction that not only did she obtain certification as a yoga instructor, but her newly acquired English skills came in handy as well. “I was able to get hired by the company where I wanted to work”, she told the pollster.

The 2016 issue of the White Paper on Leisure, issued annually by the Japan Productivity Center, notes that total outlays for recreation and leisure last year showed a gain of 1.0%, having reached ¥72.299 trillion.

In terms of the number of participants, the 10 most popular activities (with the 2014 ranking indicated in parentheses only when it differs from that of 2015), were as follows: domestic travel, eating out, motor trips (4); reading (3); cinema (7); visiting shopping centres and outlet malls; visiting zoos and museums (8); listening to music (12); walking and karaoke (13).

Among the gainers were athletic shoes and sportswear, which—reflecting the growing popularity of jogging and running in marathons—leapfrogged from 28th place in terms of the number of participants in 2014, to 19th last year. Visitors to theme parks and amusement parks grew for the third straight year, setting a new record for takings of ¥764 billion. Among those reporting a drop were pachinko businesses, down 1.5% year on year. The white paper reports that operators of pachinko parlours are attempting to bring back customers by installing machines with more generous payouts.

Tokyo’s hosting of the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games is expected to result in greater sports-related outlays over the next several years. The issue also features a special report on how the declining birth rate is affecting leisure activities among children.

The full, 192-page white paper may be ordered from Amazon Japan for ¥7,560.

Horizon Nuclear Power, a British energy firm and subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd., and the Japan Atomic Power Company (JAPC) have signed a technical services contract for the proposed Wylfa Newydd nuclear power plant in North Wales, World Nuclear News reported on 7 July.

In the move, Horizon plans to use two advanced boiling water reactors, which would be the first to be used in the UK. The reactors are due to be completed at the end of 2017.

Mamoru Muramatsu, president of JAPC, said the work would utilise many years of operating experience—which began with its Tokai Nuclear Power Plant that was “introduced from the UK”—to “help ensure that Wylfa Newydd is built successfully”.

A renovated Meiji Era British Embassy villa in Oku-Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, has been reopened to the public, The Japan Times reported on 30 June.

Built in 1896 by Sir Ernest Satow GCMG, a British diplomat and Japanologist, the wooden two-storey structure shows how life was for those British diplomats who spent their summers there.

At the opening ceremony, British Ambassador to Japan Tim Hitchens CMG LVO said that the villa represents the long-lasting friendship between Japan and the UK.

London-based rock band Bo Ningen, whose members are all Japanese musicians living in the UK, have drawn comparisons between both countries’ music scenes after finally performing in their home country, The Japan Times reported on 10 July.

The quartet, which has gained critical acclaim in Japan and the UK, met in London nine years ago and consider themselves a London band.

“In Britain, the underground and mainstream are connected. I think the Japanese music scene and industry is very unique”, said singer and bassist Taigen Kawabe, pointing out that Japan, on the other hand, has a very isolated music scene.

Sano, Tochigi Prefecture, is to host the first International Cricket Council East Asia–Pacific Cup, The Guardian reported on 29 July.

The move is, in part, thanks to Naoki Alex Miyaji, chief executive of the Japan Cricket Association, who fell in love with the game during summer holidays in the UK. Miyaji suggested turning Sano into a cricket town, a proposal with which local authorities and businesses agreed. It is now home to Japan’s first dedicated cricket pitch to meet international standards.

Teams from Japan, China, South Korea and Hong Kong will take part in the competition, which is scheduled for November.

With more than a quarter of Japan’s population aged 65 or over, payday is increasingly considered to be not only the 25th of the month—the day when most employees receive their wages—but also the 15th of every even-numbered month, when the national pension system transfers funds to the accounts of pensioners.

This demographic change, reports the Nikkei Marketing Journal (4 July), is spurring more retailers to engage in commercial activities timed to correspond with the day seniors receive their disposable income.

The commercial battle for pension money, dubbed nenkin shosen, has become one of the long-term survival strategies of supermarkets, department stores, chemists and other businesses. However, to keep things simple, many businesses are extending their special deals from the 25th of one month to the 15th of the next and, sometimes, even to other days as well.

(more…)

Kansai-based IT firm, Kobe Digital Labo Inc., announced in June that it had developed an app by which office workers are able to use their computer or smartphone to verify when a toilet in the office is available.

As access to lavatories in office buildings increasingly features security systems, workers are required to use a pass or other form of ID to gain entry. Often a worker will leave their desk only to find all the toilets occupied. And that, the firm says, can be a source of unnecessary stress.

Its solution is to attach a specially developed sensor to each toilet door, and harness it to the Internet of Things, to enable people to check occupancy from their desk or workstation.

(more…)

The 4 July issue of Nikkei Business features a special section titled “Japan’s inventive power is really fantastic”. Beneath the headline a sub-head reads, “Set for production: 18 items the world wants”.

In addition to offering new inventions, Japan also claims credit for creating instant coffee, the directional antenna, chain stores (developed by travelling merchants from Omi Province, today’s Shiga Prefecture) and fast food (offered by shops during the Edo Period [1603–1868]). According to the article, vehicle airbags were invented by Yasusaburo Kobori who worked for a Swedish firm 51 years ago, while the 3D printer was invented in the early 1980s by Hideo Kodama and later purchased by US firm Stratasys Ltd.

More recent major commercial successes can also trace their origin to Japan. A forerunner of robot vacuum cleaners was sold 37 years ago by Nintendo; a pioneer came up with an early version of the smartphone 17 years ago; Casio Computer Co., Ltd. introduced data terminals that could be worn on the wrist 42 years ago; and a prototype concept for drones was introduced by Osaka-based Keyence Corporation 27 years ago.

(more…)

The Crime Writers’ Association, founded in the UK in 1953, has shortlisted a Japanese crime novel for an International Dagger award for the first time, The Japan Times reported on 29 July.

The book, Six Four, by Tokyo-born mystery writer Hideo Yokoyama, was released to bookshops in the UK in March 2015.

The award recognises the best crime novel of the year that has been translated into English for publication in Britain, and will be announced on 11 October.

Perform Group, a UK sport content and media group, has bought the broadcast rights for the J-League in a deal worth ¥200bn over the next 10 years, media reported in August.

Perform will be able to stream live all matches of the first, second and third leagues on its pay-per-view web platform and some satellite stations.

A statement on the deal noted that, “Perform Group distributes sports content in around 100 countries. It operates ePlayer, one of the world’s biggest digital platforms for sports video, and has strength in program production and sports data analytics”.

Dewazakura Dewanosato has won first place in the sake category at the International Wine Challenge, one of the world’s largest wine competitions, held in London, Japan Today reported on 10 July.

The sake was produced by Yamagata Prefecture’s Dawazakura Sake Brewery Co., Ltd., which accepted the award for the second time. In 2008, the firm received the award for Dewazakura Ichiro.

The sake category was created in the international wine competition in 2007 and is now one of the largest sake contests outside Japan.

The behaviour of London financial markets is paralleling that of those in Tokyo, The Financial Times Advisor reported on 1 August.

Since the UK’s vote to leave the European Union on 23 June, the country’s overseas earners have flourished on the expectation that their revenues would be boosted by the fall of the pound. The correlation between the weaker UK currency relative to the US dollar and a stronger FTSE is nearly at a five-year high.

The situation is similar to that of Japan, where the Nikkei has an inverse relationship to the strength of the yen.