Japan news and archive

Men’s Beauty and Fashion Rising in Japan: Creating New Demand in a Mature Market

This month’s Fashion Friday podcast series by Euromonitor International explores the ageing population and the rise of men’s beauty and fashion in Japan. Japan’s population is ageing and in decline. By 2030, nearly one-third of the population will be aged over 65. To move forward in this challenging environment, companies are keen to create new...

BusinessPress Release

Next JIAM OSAKA to be held in 2022

The Japan Sewing Machinery Manufacturers Association (JASMA) has announced new event dates for JIAM OSAKA – the Japan International Apparel Machinery & Textile Industry Trade Show. The next event will be held from 30 November – 3 December 2022 at the usual venue – INTEX OSAKA. The 2020 edition of JIAM OSAKA, which was originally scheduled in...

Podcast

A closer look at why consumers in Japan prefer functionality

Friday Podcast - This month’s Fashion Friday podcast series by Euromonitor International explores the underdevelopment of Japan’s natural and organic trends. Japan is a unique market where efficacy and functionality are strong selling points, especially in the beauty and food industries. In order to achieve this, manufacturers are putting effort...

Retail |OPINION Featured

How Japan mastered the art of experiential retailing

Experiential retailing, a marketer's term for brick-and mortar-companies creating in-store buzzes to attract shoppers, is part of an ongoing conversation about technology-enhanced, omni-channel, immersive retailing. It is also a subject of intense research, with some 'experts' offering formulas to create out-of-the-box retail experiences that...

Retail

YNAP launches The Outnet in Japan

The Outnet, the discount sister brand to Net-a-Porter, has launched in Japan. The dedicated platform allows Japanese customers to shop and read fashion content in their own language. They can also pay for purchases in Yen or pay in cash upon the delivery of their order. Yoox Net-a-Porter (YNAP), the company that owns The Outnet, informed in a...

Fashion

Uniformly panned: Japan Armani school kit sparks storm

A Japanese school's plan to introduce Armani-branded uniforms for its students, at a cost of nearly $750 a pop, has sparked complaints and fierce debate, even reaching as far as parliament. The local education board confirmed to AFP that the Taimei Elementary School in Tokyo's flashy Ginza district will adopt the designer uniforms from April,...

Business

What is the situation of Japanese consumers’ digital engagement today?

PODCAST - In this monthly Fashion Friday podcast series by Euromonitor International, we will have a closer look at the Emergence of Curation and Subscription Services in Japan. What is the situation of Japanese consumers’ digital engagement today? In 2016, fewer than half of all Japanese consumers actively researched potential purchases using...

Fashion Featured

Exploring Japan's influence on global fashion

Japan’s bountiful visual culture has long been a place to take inspiration from. The futuristic yet traditional culture has become a fascination among western communities, translating into our creative industries, particularly fashion. Described as “another planet” by trend watcher, Ronny de Vylder, the Japanese believe in everything they do,...

Business

Japan's ecommerce market steadily grows

The online retail market of Japan has gradually increased. Recently, the Ecommerce Foundation released a new B2C Ecommerce Country Report on the state of e-commerce in Japan and what’s changed over time. The report, which recently went live, shows the steady increase of Japan’s e-commerce shoppers. The report (powered by Ingenico, Asendia,...

Fashion Featured

Japan's apparel industry in hi-tech bid to secure future

From ready-to-wear knits manufactured instantly to customised dresses produced on inkjet printers, Japan's apparel industry is turning to state-of-the-art technology in a bold bid to cut labour costs and secure its future. At manufacturing giant Shima Seiki's factory in western Japan, garments materialise in minutes, thanks to...

Fashion |BACKGROUND Featured

How Japan's first dressmaking school changed women's lives

Born out of a drive to make Western-style clothing accessible, Tokyo's Bunka Fashion College unleashed a sartorial and social revolution among Japanese women after it opened nearly a century ago. And while its current 21-storey concrete structure in the heart of Tokyo's business district doesn't scream high-fashion, it is the place to be for...

Fashion Featured

Tokyo men stay one step ahead in style during TFW

Feminine glamour may turn the most heads at fashion weeks in New York or Paris, but in Tokyo it is the style-conscious men who set the sartorial trends. From sharp futurism to wool-and-denim casuals, the finale of Tokyo Fashion Week put the spotlight largely on menswear, aiming to promote the most dynamic area of Japanese clothes design. "What...