I tried to pinpoint the prediction number in ratio of population that will have lifestyle disease (listed in previous entry) by 2020, but I could not find the exact prediction for Japan. I did find on Japan Ministry of Health and Labor that there are over 10 million people have diabetes and nearly 20 million… Continue reading Social Psychological View on Increasing Trend of Lifestyle Disease in Japan
Category: Business in Japan
Unique ways of business in Japan
Yossea Ikuta on Seafood Sustainability
Ikuta-san was on NHK (Japan equivalent of BBC in U.K.) "Point of View, Point of Debate" program again for the 3rd time!He reminds me of Ronald Raegan. Just In 10 minutes, he perfectly describes the current seafood resource situation in Japan.Ikuta-san begins by sharing his experience of the discoveries he made of seafood sustainability activities… Continue reading Yossea Ikuta on Seafood Sustainability
“The opposite of sadness is not happiness”
The lesson 2 of Positive Psychology class at the Penn State University World Campus started with these words: Did you know that the opposite of sadness is not happiness? The opposite of sadness is actually...the absence of sadness.What this means is that if you could get rid of everything that is making you sad, you… Continue reading “The opposite of sadness is not happiness”
Marketing And Marketing/Design Research Perspective on Japan as “Aged Society”
For some time, we heard the warning cries from critics and journalists about Japan's rapidly aging population. Well, it has happened. We are now "Aged" society. Japan has more old people who are over 65 than young people who are under 14. Now what? Society is always changing, and it will now change following the… Continue reading Marketing And Marketing/Design Research Perspective on Japan as “Aged Society”
What to localize, what not to localize in Japan
According to the World Bank, population living in Japan in 2010 was 127.5 million. Although Japanese live in small space compared, by global standard, most has high standard of living. So many companies come from overseas trying to capture the market based on the demographics, and over the past 22 years, I have taken part… Continue reading What to localize, what not to localize in Japan
Japanese SNS Activities by Market Sector
About 3 years ago, I found myself doing some SNS based PR work for my friends, and one project lead to another. It has been exciting and fun to be on this new ground, and like everything else before in my life, work came in not as result of formal education, but learning by reading… Continue reading Japanese SNS Activities by Market Sector
Research conducted in Tokyo now
Product/service development, design research related people like ethnographers, interview moderators, recruiters, coordinators, interpreters, etc. have been keeping busy in Tokyo since latter part of last year, as overseas companies are again very interested in researching Japanese market. After the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake in March 11, 2011, it has of course been an interesting study… Continue reading Research conducted in Tokyo now
Recent Ethnography Research, Particularly of Recruitment Challanges in Japan
Over the past three years, I have become more and more concerned with the difficulty in creating highly exciting learning session for foreign inspiration/innovation seeking customers of both design companies and end user companies. It has a lot to do with recruiting process for people to research. I see following problems in recruiting, some of… Continue reading Recent Ethnography Research, Particularly of Recruitment Challanges in Japan
Good way to see the Japanese culture, design and values
One good way to see the Japanese culture, design and values would be to visit TOTO showroom in Tokyo. It's a totally Japanese language, Japanese place, but that makes it even more interesting to observe. TOTO is a kitchen, bathroom ceramic goods manufacturer, and they are doing quite well. In this tough economic time, the… Continue reading Good way to see the Japanese culture, design and values
The way Japanese executives think about company responsibility
I don't know what percentage of Japanese executives feel this way, but last week, I've heard it directly from the director of major Japanese companies, like I did from many Japanese executives before. We are responsible for providing livelihood for the citizens. We have to think of ways to offer meaningful jobs for as many… Continue reading The way Japanese executives think about company responsibility
Toyota dealership visit in suburban Tokyo
http://www.flickr.com/photos/projectkobo/sets/72157612706079650/ Buying an automobile has never been an option to me since I moved from the US to Tokyo. Why would I want a car? Trains and buses are so cheap, they are everywhere, runs on time, clean, safe. Taxis aren't so expensive. If I needed to drive somewhere for some reason, I would rent… Continue reading Toyota dealership visit in suburban Tokyo
Review of the year 2008
Thank you for making my 2008 a wonderful year! It was great working together with my friends, colleagues and clients. Had this enjoyable year end meeting. A typical one we had at many cafes and diners at various places in the world.
Project Kobo Offices
Office is where people work together. I noticed when our team worked, 4 times out of 5, it was not at Project Kobo Kagurazaka Studio. It was far from my home, 1.5 hours one way. We LOVED Kagurazaka Studio. But it just didn't make sense anymore So I gave up the studio. physically, me and… Continue reading Project Kobo Offices
Sustainability effort: moving small office
I did it again..... I let a few months slip by without writing anything. August, September were really busy, then came mid October and nothing. So this is what it's like to be, affected by the economic situation of the time. Being a small operation, it was an easy decision to close my studio, especially… Continue reading Sustainability effort: moving small office
Project Kobo Corporation
My Australian friend once mentioned to me during his first visit to Japan that he noticed that eating is interacting in Japan. At many sushi place, you grinde your own wasabi. We mix chopped nori, ground ginger to our taste at the table when we eat cold soba noodle
FUJIKO SUDA 