Sell to Japan

Contents of Japan Almanac 2006

  Someone asked me what kind of information the Japan Almanac 2006 contains. So, I'm posting the contents of the almanac for your convenience.

                                    Page
Special Topics                         2
   Neighbors: China and South Korea
   Japanese Diets
   Foreigners Increase in Number
   Election
   Horiemon
   Salaried Workers
   NEET: Not in Employment, Education or Training
   Women
   Self-portrait
   Declining Population
   Municipalities
   Recession
   Railways
   Decline in Academic Ability
   Japanese Language
   Information Technology
   Crimes
   Health
   Professional Baseball & Sports
   Earthquake
-----
Major Events in Japan and the World   66
-----
Japan in the World                    70
-----
National Land / Politics
National Land                         80
Climate                               82
Population                            83
Politics                              91
National Defense                      96
Imperial Family                       99
-----
Economy
Economy                              100
Government Finance                   107
Business, Management                 110
Labor                                119
Wages                                124
International Balance of Payments    125
Trade                                129
International Cooperation            137
Finance                              139
Insurance                            142
Securities                           145
-----
Industry
Agriculture                          148
Forestry                             154
Fisheries                            155
Mining, Manufacturing Industries     157
Energy                               173
Transportation                       181
Communications                       187
Commerce, Distribution               192
-----
Society / Life
Household Budget                     198
Commodity Prices                     202
Land Value                           204
Housing                              207
Environment                          209
Medical Care                         214
Nutrition                            218
Social Security                      219
Woman                                224
Crime                                226
Police                               231
Accidents                            232
-----
Culture Sports
Education                            234
Science and Technology               241
Culture                              243
Religion                             247
Mass communication                   248
Leisure                              254
Sports                               257
-----
History of Japan                     262
World History                        263
-----
Index in English                     268
Index in Japanese                    278

How to order Japan Almanac 2006

  As I wrote on the previous post, you can easily import Japan Almanac 2006 which is filled with interesting statistics, graphs, and analyses written in English and Japanese. The process is easy and very similar to other Amazon sites. The only tricky part is, you need to turn English mode on. Here is how:

1. Click here to see Japan Almanac 2006's product page on Amazon.co.jp.

2. You’ll see this page. (Japanese characters might be displayed strangely as garbled characters on your computer, but just disregard it.)

(Click to enlarge)

3. Make sure you are seeing the image of the Japan Almanac 2006.

4. Click "Display in English" on the upper right corner.

5. Now, you should see "Add to Shopping Cart" button in English. Click it.

6. The next page will be displayed in English and Japanese like this. Click

button meaning "Proceed to check out". (I suppose displaying the button in Japanese here is a glitch of Amazon.co.jp).

7. Then, you'll be asked to create a password. According to their help page, "Your existing Amazon.com, Amazon.fr, Amazon.de, Amazon.co.uk, or Amazon.ca account will not be recognized at Amazon.co.jp. You are, however, welcome to use the same e-mail address/password combination you are using for your other Amazon accounts." Later than that, everything will be displayed in English. You'll enter your password information, shipping and billing information. Visa, American Express, MasterCard, and JCB are accepted. That's it!

As you've seen, ordering on Amazon.co.jp is very similar to Amazon.com, although some Japanese characters you can ignore are shown. So, just relax and try it. You'll receive the book imported from Japan soon. Sounds exciting, doesn't it?

Notes: Some useful links on Amazon.co.jp

• Help in English
• International Shipping Rates and Handling Charges

Japan Almanac 2006

  A good market entry strategy should be build upon accurate knowledge of the market. If your target is a unique and dynamically changing country like Japan, grasping the big picture of the country is crucial.
  I've just bought an educational and even amusing book titled "Japan Almanac 2006" written in, unusually, both of English and Japanese.

• Title: Japan Almanac 2006
• Publisher: The Asahi Shimbun (The Asahi Newspaper)
• ISBN: 4022196068
• Price: 2,100 yen (About $20 depending on the exchange rate.)
• 287 pages, paperback
• Written in English and Japanese

The 287 pages book is packed with basic statistics, interesting graphs, and even eye-opening analyses. Here are some excerpts:

• Did you know the best selling frozen foods in Japan?  Answer: 1. Croquettes (164,892 ton), 2. Udon, wheat-based noodle (144,543 ton), 3. Pilaf (104,064 ton), 4. Cutlets (66,898 ton), 5. Hamburger steaks (56,713 ton).
• 27.6% of single Japanese women in their 20s take health supplements almost everyday.
• Among Teenage boys in Kanto area in Japan, their mobile phone charges average 6,076 yen. (Maximum 34,000 yen. More than $300!)
• In fiscal 2003, corporate capital equipment investment, led by the manufacturing sector, increased by 10.9% (to 92,779 billion yen) from the previous year, while corporate entertainment expenses decreased by 7%.
• During 2004, monthly food expenditure by salaried worker’s households averaged 72,025 yen (almost $700), which represented 21.8% of total consumer spending (so called Engel’s Coefficient).

  The list could go on and on. I really enjoyed reading many facts that are helpful to understand current aspects of Japan. I’m pretty sure the book is helpful to you, the readers of my blog, too to know what kind of problems Japanese consumers and corporations face and to think of how your products or services can solve them.
  So, you’d ask how you can buy the book, wouldn’t you? Strangely enough, I could not find any stores that sell the book outside of Japan. Even the online giant, Amazon.com, currently does not carry it, although the almanac has been published every year since 1992 in Japan.
  Fortunately, its Japanese subsidiary, Amazon.co.jp* carries it and they can ship it worldwide. I’ll show you how you can order it here on the next post.

* we are affiliated with Amazon.co.jp.