Japan

The contraction of the Japanese population due to declining birth rates is exerting a negative impact on potential volume growth, encouraging packaged food manufacturers to focus on the development of higher-value products, particularly in mature ...

While the boom in premium honey, such as manuka honey and raw honey, calmed down towards the end of the review period, the increased popularity of premium honey established a strong consumer base for further development. Moreover, honey continued to ...

The rise in consumer interest in health and nutrition is having a marked positive impact on the performance of some edible oils, supported by prominent media attention on the benefits of oils such as olive oil and flaxseed oil. Olive oil is ...

The busy lifestyles of modern Japanese consumers, made more hectic by developments such as increasing numbers of women entering the paid workforce and an increase in single-person and dual-income households, is driving increasing demand for ready ...

The increasingly hectic character of modern consumer lifestyles leaves little time for preparing and cooking food at home, undermining demand for sauces, dressings and condiments. Instead, growing numbers of consumers are turning to convenient meal ...

The busy lifestyles of Japanese consumers, made more hectic by the growing numbers of women entering paid employment and the increase in dual-income and single-person households, is driving demand for convenient packaged food products, such as ...

Baked goods returned to growth in both current value and volume terms in 2019, having experienced decline in the previous year due to record high temperatures and rising prices. Consumers tend not to eat much during very hot weather, and especially ...

While Japan remains one of the world’s largest consumers of seafood, processed seafood has long been in decline in the market. This results primarily from changes in lifestyle, rather than from a shift in consumer taste or preference. The increasing ...

Rice saw continued volume decline in 2019, as it was negatively impacted by ongoing social and demographic developments. The increasingly busy character of Japanese consumers’ lifestyles as a result of factors such as more women entering the paid ...

Breakfast cereals returned to growth in both current value and volume terms in 2019, having experienced two consecutive years of decline. Muesli and granola, which had experienced dynamic growth in the early part of the review period supported by ...

Shelf stable fruit and vegetables stagnated in both current value and volume terms in 2019, as the category’s potential for development was constrained by a poor supply of domestic fruit and vegetables. In addition, while fruit and vegetables broadly...

Charge cards had not established a presence in the Japanese market by the end of the review period. The potential development of the category is impeded by the fact that consumers perceive credit cards to offer greater convenience and flexibility. ...

While Japan remains a strongly cash-focused society, credit cards are the most popular financial cards in the country in terms of transaction value because of their appealing loyalty programmes, which include cash-back and points systems, and ...

Japanese consumers retain a significant preference for cash supported by confidence that they are unlikely to be robbed in what they consider to be a safe society and concerns about information security associated with the use of financial cards and ...

The Japanese financial cards and payment landscape is undergoing a potentially radical transformation, supported by government efforts to promote a cashless society. Cash remained the dominant method of payment in Japan in 2019, but the expansion of ...

Pre-paid cards remain popular amongst Japanese consumers, having achieved high levels of awareness through strong promotional activity and wide-ranging acceptance. Consumers appreciate the convenience and sense of security provided by pre-paid cards....

Store cards, usually called Gaisho cards in Japan, is showing significant decline in both number of cards and transaction value. The major issuers, mainly department stores, are no longer issuing new cards, preferring to encourage consumers to shift ...

Card lending is set to be the fastest-growing area of consumer lending in terms of both outstanding balance and gross lending over the forecast period. Japan remains a cash-heavy society in which debt has historically been considered shameful. ...

The development of consumer lending in Japan continues to be constrained by the traditionally negative image of debt in the country and the fact that it remains a cash-heavy society. However, Japan is also a society undergoing significant ...

Driven by China and India, Asia’s developing economies saw healthy rates of growth in 2018. Japan’s economic prospects are less favourable however. Too many of Asia’s economies are excessively dependent on exports and large inflows of foreign ...