The 'JIN' Japan Inc Newsletter<br>A weekly opinion piece on social, economic and political trends<br>in Japan.<br>Issue No. 445 Wednesday, December 19, 2007, Tokyo<br><br>------------ Translation/Marketing Service ----------------
<br>The J@pan Inc Translation/Marketing team now offers translation<br>and marketing services for companies to help them enhance their<br>performance internationally. Our services include:<br><br>- Professional translation
<br>- Catchy copy writing<br>- Strategic design<br>- Effective PR<br>- Direct marketing<br><br>Our achievement includes:<br>- Corporate report translation and desktop publishing<br>- In-house magazine translation and desktop publishing
<br>- Annual report translation<br>- Company legal document translation<br>- Government PR brochure copy writing and design<br>- DM service targeting senior executives<br><br>Please contact at <a href="mailto:sachie.kuroda@japaninc.com">
sachie.kuroda@japaninc.com</a> for more details.<br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br><br>McJapan<br><br>The Mega Tomato and the Mega Tamago—Big Macs with a big tomato <br>and a large egg respectively—are bursting out of advertising
<br>posters all over Japan. As McDonald's sporadically tries to <br>upgrade its image into a healthier more responsible brand, deep<br>down in the organization, nobody is fooled about the fact that <br>Mega Macs equal Mega McSales. This March, when the Mega Mac was
<br>re-introduced, McDonald's Japan broke sales records reaching <br>43.05 billion yen for the month (<a href="http://tinyurl.com/36ha45">http://tinyurl.com/36ha45</a>). <br>This November the company declared a 9-month net profit of
6.54<br>billion yen, and group sales increased by 12% compared with <br>last year. The company has roughly 3,800 outlets in Japan and <br>in Tokyo's Shibuya there are six restaurants within a 200 square <br>meter area—claimed to be the densest concentration of
<br>McDonald's in the world. <br><br>On Friday, the group expanded its Japanese frontiers by opening <br>its first outlet on Ishigaki island, its most southernmost <br>outpost so far—and it's not really possible to get much further.
<br>The store opening was a big event on the small island of 40,000 <br>people and apparently cars have been queuing up for the <br>drive-through ever since (see <br><a href="http://ishigaki.keizai.biz/headline/176/index.html">
http://ishigaki.keizai.biz/headline/176/index.html</a>). <br>Interestingly, Ronald, lurking in the back of the photo of the <br>opening, puts paid to the rumor spread a couple of years that <br>Japan was dumping the clown in favor of a sexier female version
<br>(<a href="http://tinyurl.com/c9q2v">http://tinyurl.com/c9q2v</a>). <br><br>However, there has also been recent trouble for McDonald's Japan<br>after it found that some its franchises had been selling food <br>passed its sell-by-date. This is something that the fickle
<br>Japanese media has been raging about over the last few weeks <br>with other food outlets, such as the convenience store Lawsons, <br>getting into trouble for the same offence. This scandal has <br>negatively affected McDonald's performance on the JASDAQ since
<br>it broke, but it seems unlikely that this dent will be <br>significant as Japan's appetite for junk food seems to go larger<br>and larger—Burger King returned to Japan this summer and <br>smaller, admittedly more gourmet chains such as the TK Hamburger
<br>Inn, are breaking into the market as well (also see <br><a href="http://www.japaninc.com/mgz_sep-oct_2007_issue_burger-boom">http://www.japaninc.com/mgz_sep-oct_2007_issue_burger-boom</a>). <br><br>For those who fear the Japanese market and worry whether their
<br>products can succeed in it, the story of McDonald's Japan is an <br>inspirational one. When Den Fujita set up the Japan side of <br>McDonald's in 1971, there can have been few people as optimistic<br>about the potential of the brand in Japan as the man himself.
<br>Indeed for Fujita, the introduction of fast food into Japan went<br>beyond business and arguably became a cultural mission although <br>his tongue was probably placed firm in his cheek when he <br>proclaimed: "the reason Japanese people are so short and have
<br>yellow skins is because they have eaten nothing but fish and <br>rice for two thousand years... if we eat McDonald's hamburgers <br>and potatoes for a thousand years we will become taller, our <br>skin become white and our hair blonde." In reality, McDonald's'
<br>success in Japan has come from its ability to maximize its <br>strengths (cuteness, convenience, cheapness) as well as adapting<br>to local sensitivities (the teriyaki burger, and so on). The <br>McDonald's in Kyoto even blends in by having brown background
<br>signs instead of red ones (<a href="http://tinyurl.com/2bymct">http://tinyurl.com/2bymct</a>). <br><br>More recently, McDonald's in Japan has adapted to the specifics <br>of the market in more modern ways. Nutritional information has
<br>become readable on cell phones via a QR (Quick Response) code <br>and, in Shinjuku, plans are afoot to open Studio M, a testing <br>site for new products and for the training of staff. The company<br>also manifested some marketing wizardry when it recruited the
<br>celebrity model Ebi-chan to promote its new shrimp ('ebi') <br>burger.<br><br>Outside of burgers and fries, the parent company, Fujita & Co <br>is an interesting market player with a mixed record of success <br>apart from McDonald's. It took a stake in Toys R Us in Japan
<br>which has done relatively well but it also partnered with the <br>sandwich company 'Pret-A-Manger' which crashed and burned rather<br>quickly, largely the result of high prices that couldn't compete<br> in the good value lunchtime market. This year, in a more overt
<br>tie-up, McDonald's partnered with NTT DoCoMo to distribute <br>coupons electronically and take payments via cell phones.<br><br>Back in 2002 McDonald's struggled in Japan, as it did in other <br>markets due to bad publicity and a downturn in consumer
<br>confidence resulting from the BSE scare. It is possible to say <br>the business has now turned a corner and will carry on growing <br>in the near term, despite the Christmas rush to KFC.<br><br>By Peter Harris<br>Editor-in-Chief
<br><br>++SPECIAL NOTICE - IMMIGRATION PROCEDURES<br>WILL YOU BE LEAVING JAPAN OVER THE HOLIDAYS?<br>If so, you may be interested in finding out how to register for<br>the new automated gate system at immigration, brought in to
<br>facilitate compliance with the new regulations that require<br>foreigners to be finger-printed. Download the information from:<br><a href="http://www.japaninc.com/misc/automated-gate-registration">http://www.japaninc.com/misc/automated-gate-registration
</a><br><br>++FEEDBACK<br>
Want to comment? It is now even easier to voice your opinion<br>
than ever before! Simply visit <a href="http://www.japaninc.com/jin445">www.japaninc.com/jin445</a> and<br>
post a comment below the article. Alternatively, you can email <br>
it directly to the author at <a href="mailto:peter.harris@japaninc.com">peter.harris@japaninc.com</a><br>
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