2008 Year in Review: Talk of Japan I

22 December 2008
Jiji Press English News Service

Tokyo, Dec. 22 (Jiji Press)--As 2008 draws to a close, Jiji Press looks back at a year dominated by dire economic news to highlight some of the people, products, trends and events that, for good or for bad, caught the public's attention and captured the national mood.

H&M

When Hennes & Mauritz AB threw open the doors of its first Japanese store in Tokyo's upscale Ginza district in September, about 5,000 shoppers, mostly young women, lined up outside to get a taste of what the Swedish clothing and accessories brand had to offer. The popularity of H&M's stylish but affordable clothes was in stark contrast to the slump in clothing sales at Japanese department stores and supermarkets.

H&M, which runs some 1,600 stores in 30 countries, opened its second Japanese store in Tokyo's hip Harajuku shopping district in November. It plans to launch large-scale stores in the capital's Shibuya and Shinjuku districts in autumn 2009.

"Kanikosen" (The Crab-Canning Ship)

The novel by Takiji Kobayashi, which depicts a proletarian struggle on a crab ship off northern Japan, has become a best seller 75 years after the author's death.

It recounts the hardships of workers on the ship and how they rise up in protest against their harsh working conditions.

At a time of growing income disparity in Japan, the book appears to have found a sympathetic audience among the country's burgeoning "working poor," a disaffected class mostly made up of young people who struggle to make ends meet through part-time work and temporary jobs.

Shinchosha Publishing Co. has printed over 530,000 copies of the novel in paperback this year and posted sales of 100 times what the book has averaged. There are plans to adapt the novel into a movie next year.

The strong interest in the book has been cited as one factor behind a surge in the number of people applying to join the Japanese Communist Party.

Managers Only by Name

Although many may lack any real authority, workers in Japan with titles such as store manager or branch manager have long been regarded by their employers as being in managerial positions and therefore not entitled to overtime pay.

Japan's Labor Standards Act exempts companies from having to pay overtime to employees in managerial or supervisory positions. Some companies have taken advantage of it to force their employees to log long hours of unpaid overtime in a practice known as "service overtime."

In a closely watched ruling in January, Tokyo District Court ordered McDonald's Co. (Japan) to reimburse a store manager for overtime he had worked after determining that his position in the company cannot be considered "managerial." The verdict prompted personnel reviews at other restaurant chains and retailers.

Around 40

"Ara four," short for "around 40," became the new buzzword among marketers of apparel and cosmetics as they shifted their focus from the under-30s to the more lucrative demographic of women aged around 40.

Even bookstores cashed in, playing up to the ara four with a new line of women's magazines highlighting luxury brand clothes and cosmetics.

The boom was sparked by a hit television drama featuring a single 39-year-old woman psychiatrist.

Many Japanese women of the same age group spent their early adult years working in Japan's bubble economy during the go-go years of the late 1980s. This experience has left them more willing to spend than women in other age brackets. Moreover, many of them continue to work after marriage and childbirth and are said to be flush with disposable income.

Businesses are looking to the ara four to offset lackluster consumer spending, but it is uncertain whether such women will remain big spenders as storm clouds gather over the Japanese economy.

"Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea"

The latest feature-length anime by well-known Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki proved an instant hit with young and old alike when it was released in July to the accompaniment of a title song by a trio made up of a nine-year-old girl and two men in their 50s.

It is the story of a girl fish called Ponyo who falls for Sosuke, a human boy who rescues her from trouble. Ponyo decides to leave the underwater world to become human, causing commotion in the ocean.

The fantasy movie was a hit among parent-child audiences. Box-office revenue exceeded 10 billion yen within the first 31 days of release, while tickets sold topped 10 million within the first 41 days, contributing significantly to the earnings of Toho Co. , the distributor of the movie.

However, despite high expectations in Japan, the movie failed to win an award at the Venice International Film Festival.

Tainted Rice

Osaka-based food processor Mikasa Foods caused a nationwide food scare after it intentionally sold inedible rice as more expensive rice for human consumption to inflate profits.

The rice, either moldy or pesticide-contaminated, was supplied by the government for industrial use, but instead ended up in "shochu" distilled spirit and rice crackers, as well as in meals served at hospitals and care homes.

The scandal sparked consumer concern about the safety of Japan's staple food, and damaged the earnings of the shochu and rice cracker makers, and of retailers that sold the products.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries came under fire for failing to safeguard the food supply. The vice minister and 24 other senior ministry officials were punished with disciplinary action that included pay cuts.