Japan

Bottled water is set to maintain off-trade volume and current value growth in 2023. In Japan, where tap water is drinkable, the culture of purchasing bottled water for home use was for a long time uncommon. However, the Great East Japan Earthquake of…

Womenswear is set to see retail volume and current value growth in Japan in 2023, continuing the trend from 2022. Sales in the category experienced a significant decline in 2020, followed by a year of stagnation in 2021, as COVID-19 prevailed in the…

In 2023, other dairy is expected to suffer a significant decline in retail volume terms in Japan, as consumers have been tightening their belts in response to higher living costs. Other dairy manufacturers had already implemented price increases in…

Economic freedom in Japan continues to benefit the private sector, as does limited corruption, but fiscal health remains weak. Unemployment is low, but the economy faces external forces that are weakening its performance. Ageing and depopulation…

There was huge demand for televisions in the country little more than a decade ago. During the period 2009-2011, two drivers pushed up sales of televisions significantly. One was the shift of broadcasting from analogue to digital in July 2011. The…

2022 was a difficult year for players in consumer electronics. Price increases on materials, including semiconductor chips, and the weakened Japanese yen made it difficult for brands to secure profits. Some could easily apply price increases for…

Traditional toys and games in Japan maintained dynamic current value growth in 2023. There were several trends that shaped this category; amongst them, purchases by adults continued to be a major growth driver and had a wide-ranging impact. These…

In 2023, baby and child-specific products in Japan returned to current value growth for the first time since 2020. Baby and child-specific sun care and baby and child-specific skin care saw the strongest increases, with baby and child-specific sun…

On 8 May 2023, the Japanese government announced that it would reclassify COVID-19 as a class 5 infectious disease, which is the same classification as seasonal flu. As a result, decisions regarding infection control are now left to individuals and…

The leading player in apparel and footwear specialists, Fast Retailing, has been focusing on experiences in its stores. Having both an offline and online presence, the retailer aims to differentiate its physical stores by providing customers with…