Japan Pulse

• 83% of the teaching staff in Okinawa think that the students are going through tough family and/or financial times.
• 77% of survey respondents think car sensors should be installed to detect the silent hybrid and electronic cars passing by.
• 60% of people surveyed said they support Japanese snowboarder Kazuhiro Kokubo in the Vancouver Winter Olympics, despite his uniform-protocol transgression.
• 54% of women surveyed say they take supplements daily, and 54% of those take only vitamins.
• 50% buy a product after trying out a sample of it.
• 48% are keen about the idea of reading an e-book on an iPhone.
• 40% of surveyed employees with hay fever prefer to stay at home; 35% of them say wearing a mask is stressful.
• 35% of japan.internet.com readers use SNS such as Mixi to share information, 31% said they use Twitter and 17% use blogs.
• 29% of dog lovers would consider going to a “cat cafe.”
• 20% of males would like to drink a bourbon with Robert De Niro; 17.6% of females want to drink with Fukuyama Masaharu.

Snow Splash features homegrown and international acts

Après ski in Japan used to mean sipping malt whisky in Swiss-style mountain lodges while listening to generic smooth jazz. But in recent years this model has got shaken up a bit with the arrival of live music festivals and organized ski trips that target a crowd who like to mix socializing with their snow time.

“Powder inna day, louda inna night,” is the motto of Snow Splash Japan a live music event organized by Outdoor Magazine that is now in its fifth year. “We started Snow Splash in the 2005-2006 winter because we love winter sports and music festivals and at the time there was a lot in summer but nothing in winter,” said Gardner Robinson, the creator of Snow Splash and editor of Outdoor Magazine. The event is getting increasingly popular. “We had more than 450 people in Minakami this year and expect Hakuba to go off.” Robinson is referring to their next event, on Feb. 27, which will feature live music and DJs both local and international.

Another festival that has been, um, snowballing is WeSky a Go-Go, which started out in March 2005 with 60 to 70 participants and grew the next year to around 500. Held in Niigata at the same resort that hosts Fuji Rock festival in summer, the event is organized by Smash Japan in aid of victims of the Niigata earthquake. Aimed at a more clubby crowd than Snow Splash, DJs Takkyu Ishino, Dexpistols, Gold Panda and The Samos will be spinning the decks from 7 p.m. till midnight on March 13.

Continue reading about the après ski scene in Japan →

• 100% of people surveyed by Goo Research said they did not want a line on their palm indicating a tendency toward financial troubles.
• 75% of people surveyed say that they have reserved hotel rooms online; 75% of those have had problems booking online.
• 75% of survey respondents said they’re concerned about the personal information that can be gained from their garbage.
• 69% of people surveyed want to see more change in the sumo world.
• 65% of people use hand disinfectants.
• 60% of people are not interested in the latest trend of remaking or customizing their old clothes.
• 58% of people surveyed don’t want to borrow money. 7% thinks loans are useful.
• 58% of Onagawa, Miyagi Pref., residents are opposed to a nuclear power plant.
• 57% of people surveyed realize they’re going bald, but only 7% tried hair-growth products.
• 56% of housewives want to cut down on food expenses, much lower than last year’s 85%.
• 55% of people say they use almost the same password for different accounts.
• 39% of surveyed PC users purchased Windows 7, while 54% don’t feel the need to buy it.

"Jogging" by Masahiro Hayata

A few weeks ago, a neighbor asked me and a dozen other friends and acquaintances to help him get a spot at the Tokyo Marathon. Participants are selected by lottery, he explained, and by drawing numbers for him we could ostensibly increase his chances of pounding the pavement next March.

He needs all the help he can get: With Japan’s “running boom” arguably at its peak, races around the country are filling up faster than ever. The 2009 Tokyo Marathon saw 226,378 applicants competing for 30,000 spots: a 68% increase from the year before, and this year’s Peace Marathon in Hiroshima had around 2,000 more participants than 2008. What may be most significant about these numbers is that a majority of these new applicants are first-timers and women. Japanese running clubs are also seeing their numbers swell with new runners, especially those clubs with membership fees that offer professional coaching.

The market has been following closely. Now Nike and Asics have flagship stores in the trendy Harajuku district, and one of Asics’ star designers has broken off to start his own line. According to Brett Larner of Japan Running News, all the major running shoe makers are opening specialty shops and starting their own running clubs. “Upper management-level people from two major brands told me that Japan is the only place in the world where the running market has continued to grow during the recession,” he says, adding that Runners Magazine just moved into new offices last month, due in part to the spike in interest. What’s more,  he explains: “Non-running lifestyle and fashion magazines now regularly feature articles on running geared towards young, fashionable, independent women, the largest demographic within the current Japanese running boom.”

Continue reading about running in Japan →

One of sumo’s two present yokozuna (grand champions) may have just cemented his place in the sport’s history last weekend, but far fewer people were watching than just a decade earlier. Could playing cards help rekindle interest?

The traditional Japanese sport has been simultaneously battling two nebulous forces: controversy and apathy. Not only are popularity and new recruits dropping, but at the same time a number of scandals continue to fester. There was the hazing death of a young wrestler in 2007, the recent accusations of special treatment of yakuza bosses in Nagoya and an assault charge and civil suit filed this month by a tokoyama (sumo hair stylists). And, of course, few have forgotten the marijuana busts.

Continue reading about sumo marketing →