<div dir="ltr">J@pan Inc Newsletter<br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr">The 'JIN' J@pan Inc Newsletter<br>A weekly opinion piece on social, economic and political trends<br>in Japan.<br>Issue No. 476 Wednesday July 30, 2008, Tokyo<br>
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More about PBXL: <a href="http://www.pbxl.jp/aboutus2" target="_blank">http://www.pbxl.jp/aboutus2</a><br>----------------------------------------------------------<br><br>As part of its green theme for the G-8 summit, the toilets in <br>
Toyako were designed to save water by using snow from the <br>mountains for flushing. The snow was initially used for cooling <br>the rooms and then, once it had melted, the water was used in <br>the toilet cisterns and for watering plants. Japanese toilet <br>
giant Toto also used the summit to showcase its new eco-toilet <br>- the Neorest Hybrid - that has no tank and claims to use 'the <br>least amount of water per flush of any toilet.' Moreover, it is <br>green technology toilets that the company sees as its future and<br>
as one of the keys to global success. <br><br>Last June, when the Japanese government triggered a serious <br>slowdown in the construction industry and new housing starts by <br>tightening the Construction Standards Law, Japanese toilet <br>
manufacturers knew they were in for a hard time. Toto and its <br>industry rival Inax stepped up their competitive plans for <br>expansion prospects in China where they saw huge potential in <br>rapid construction projects and a growing preference for high-<br>
tech sit-down lavatories. Toto already has seven Chinese offices<br>and a market share of 40%. Furthermore, it recently reported a <br>sales increase in the fiscal year 2007 of 27.6% for its Chinese <br>operations, amounting to 22.6 billion yen ($211.2 million). This<br>
huge boost has been partly due to Toto's winning of contracts <br>related to construction projects for the Beijing Olympics, such <br>as that for Terminal 3 at Beijing Capital International Airport.<br>Meanwhile, in 2007, Inax invested billions into its sanitary <br>
products plant in Suzhou and has also been profiting from <br>increased orders across Asia.<br><br>[Continued below...]<br><br>-------------------- UNMASK JAPAN ! ------------------------<br>Carter Associates offers research and consultancy to<br>
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<br>For Toto though, global toilet industry domination extends <br>
beyond the region where it already competes in every major <br>market. In an interview with the Nikkei in January this year, <br>President Teruo Kise also referred to plans for growth in <br>Europe and the US. Kise remarked, 'Foreign sales make up about <br>
10% of our overall sales now, but we hope to boost this to <br>20-30% in 10 years. And we aim to eventually log about 50 <br>billion yen in annual sales in Europe.' This year it entered <br>the German market via the acquisition of toilet seat maker <br>
Pagette and plans to have products on the market across the <br>continent by 2009. Stateside, the group started marketing its <br>combined toilet and bidet, the Washlet, across the country in <br>2007. A controversial New York advertising campaign featuring <br>
smiling naked buttocks won the company some publicity that, <br>overall, it probably benefited from rather well <br>(<a href="http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20071115a1.html" target="_blank">http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20071115a1.html</a>) and, <br>
as reported by Reuters, US sales rose by 18% last year. Toto<br>is now the fourth largest sanitary product manufacturer in the<br>world.<br><br>One of the main reasons why Toto has been able to expand <br>successfully abroad is its astonishing level of innovation, <br>
presumably backed up with impressive amounts of R&D. Japanese <br>
toilets are famous the world over for their high tech functions <br>from automatic lid mechanisms to seat warming options. Toto's <br>bidet-toilet, the Washlet, is widespread in Japan and this brand<br>name has become the common term for the technology even when it <br>
might in reality be made by Matsushita or Inax. The product came<br>out in Japan in the 1980s but Toto had purchased an earlier <br>version from the American Bidet Company back in 1964 – a classic<br>example of Japanese innovative imitation. It is ironic that <br>
Japan, that imported the very concept of sit-down toilets from <br>the West, is now at the center of cutting edge lavatory <br>technology. In addition to the water-saving flushing <br>capabilities, Toto has pushed the boundaries of toilet <br>
applications with developments such as the production of a <br>urinary diagnosis model as well as a more comprehensive system <br>of blood pressure measurement. The latter, dubbed the <br>'Intelligence Toilet,' retails at 400,000 yen(c.US$3,700) and <br>
is produced jointly with Daiwa House.<br><br>However, Toto's path has not been or will be without its hiccups. <br>The company was forced to offer repairs on 180,000 units of its <br>electric bidets after it received reports of a repeated <br>
malfunction causing fires to break out around the seat heater. <br>Additionally, although the company is hoping its green <br>credential will help its chances of international success, the <br>idea of electric toilets may not go down so well with the energy<br>
conscious consumers. A recent article in the The Washington Post<br>referred to the electronic toilet as 'a plumbing fixture that <br>has been reengineered as an ultracomfy energy hog...they use <br>more power than dishwashers and clothes dryers.' One of the five<br>
pillars of Toto's corporate philosophy as listed on their <br>website is 'Protect the global environment by conserving finite <br>natural resources and energy.' With this in mind, one wonders <br>whether that now Toto has tackled the water wastage issue, <br>
if there is any other R&D that they are sitting on that will <br>address the problem of excessive electricity use.<br><br>Editor-in-Chief<br>Peter Harris<br><br>++FEEDBACK<br><br>Want to comment? It is now even easier to voice your opinion<br>
than ever before! Simply post a comment below this article<br>at <a href="http://www.japaninc.com/jin476" target="_blank">www.japaninc.com/jin476</a><br><br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br>
<br>J@pan Inc - Managing Editor/Entrepreneur<br>
<br>J@pan Inc magazine, the publication for foreign entrepreneurs<br>and businesspeople in Japan is seeking a Managing Editor with<br>strong entrepreneurial instincts. Not your run-of-the-mill<br>editing position, we require someone with strong editorial and<br>
management experience to both manage an editorial and production<br>team to turn out Japan's largest English-language business<br>monthly. The successful candidate would also be expected to<br>shape the magazine to become a proactive player in the foreign<br>
business community. Think content involving the world's largest<br>companies and business development involving some of Japan's<br>most enterprising businesses -- an unlikely combination but an<br>exciting opportunity to make your mark in Japan.<br>
<br>Remuneration will be industry competitive and prospects<br>excellent.<br><br>To apply, please send your resume, covering letter and<br>any relevant clippings to: <a href="mailto:kiwijim@japaninc.com" target="_blank">kiwijim@japaninc.com</a><br>
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