Hasta La Gadget!

After exploring product design, architecture and fashion in our bid to bring the “Cool Japan” campaign up to date with a contemporary and marketable image, we have dealt with the more creative side of the country. In Part 4 however we turn our attention to something a little less sexy but nonetheless every bit as “Cool Japan” if communicated correctly; Japan’s technology and innovation. We examine how Japan’s dominance in some markets has all but vanished but uncover how innovation is still very much alive and kicking in areas where the country could set global standards.

Japanese technology and innovation has been a leading light of the country for many years; however, in recent times, there has been a huge slowing down in the edge that the country once had over other nations. For example, the days of Japan’s mobile industry being years ahead of any other countries are now gone, as the world has caught up to the kinds of technology—such as mobile wallets—that the Japanese have had for years. As rising economies nip at its heels. China and India, which are both embracing capitalism and globalization at blindingly fast rates, don’t seem to struggle with the language and culture issues like Japan. This, combined with Japan’s lack of foresight on how they could market their technology globally, means that many areas have become stagnant. This being said however, there are still many areas of innovation and technology, often ignored by the media because they lack the “wacky” factor that unfortunately the world has come to expect, that are both groundbreaking and potentially globally influential. We explore just a few of many that, with the right strategy, could certainly be communicated as true symbols of a “Cool Japan.

Continue reading the full story “Uncovering The Real Cool Japan- Part Four” in full on the global blog where we look at how can Japan’s innovation can become synonymous with Cool Japan.

For those who missed it:
Uncovering the Real Cool Japan – Part One
Uncovering the Real Cool Japan – Part Two
Uncovering the Real Cool Japan – Part Three

A week of girls shopping activities at Shibuya Parco opened last night with a party that surprised passers by. Shoppers and those on the street were treated to the talents of girl dance group Tokyo DOLORES. A temporary stage on the street outside the venue became an impromptu pole dancing stage as the dancing troupe opened up the “Shibuya Girls Bunkasai” event that will run for the next week in the department store.

Playing on the halloween timing, the girls strolled though the strore lobby in their trademark goth costumes giving out candy to those in store before heading to the stage. A modern dance interpretation of pole dancing, the set was an impressive mix of acrobatics and dance. The girls entertained the growing crowd with some pretty spectacular movements as they spun themselves around the poles on stage.

Although the whole event is aimed at the female market there were plenty of pleasantly surprised “Salary Men” on their way home from the office amongst them. The girls have started to make quite a name for themselves over the last year performing burlesque type shows in Japan and at venues in America also, opening the Coney Island FIlm Festival and even an impromptu performance on a NYC subway train!

Bunkasai events, a type of “cultural festival” are popular students festival in Japan and the Parco promotion will appeal to the young crowd that populate the Shibuya area. The dancing kicked off a whole week of events at the location with various music and fashion related activities, which is off the back of Japan Fashion Week and in the run up to Tokyo’s Fashion’s Night Out.

Following Tokyo DOLORES also at the event was artist colectiveChim Pom’s Ellie who carried on the party behind the turntable. Chim Pon, who have talked about before, have been gaining a lot more exposure since their Banksy-esque stunt adding the Fukushima nuclear power plant image to Okamoto Taro’s “Myth Of Tomorow” mural in Shibuya station.

The events at Shibuya Parco are on from 27/10 through to 11/6,and details can be found on their site

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Japanese mobile users have long had all manner of health apps and functions on their phones. From pedometers to services tracking their sleeping patterns, diet, calories and more, the keitai has been a trusted and personal device for analyzing and counseling on wellness anxieties. It is natural to build up a personal relationship with your phone, and you end up inputting hygiene and personal care data and information that you would be too embarrassed to tell anyone else outside the medical profession.

It’s big business too; even in 2007 the health market generated 80 billion yen through mobile phone services, and it can only go up and up as the population ages and devices proliferate. With smartphones we’re also seeing a logical shift from services provided by the network (iMode et al), to lots of single, individual apps that the user picks and chooses.

It is often said they’ve got an app for that but surely some things just aren’t possible? Take constipation. Hardly seems there could be much scope digitally. We all know there is medication available but perhaps only in Japan would someone come up with such an inventive way to promote pharmaceuticals through an interactive app.

Targeting young working women in their twenties and thirties, Yoru Suru (Do it at night!) is part virtual dating app, part personal care assistant. The free app is meant to help you remember to take anti-constipation drug Surulacs-S, made by SSP.

Three so-called “ikemen” (hot guys) talk to you and make sure you are taking a dose at the right time. You can choose which man you want — each has his own profile and personality — and then record when you, ahem, manage to relieve yourself. The app then acts as a health management tool, with your virtual boyfriend reminding you to take Surulacs-S at the set time. You can use Yoru Suru as an alarm clock too, and touching and stroking the ikemen character will elicit playful audio responses. Flirting with a constipation medicine marketing app? Yes, they’ve got an app for that.

This is a very Japanese attitude towards wellness and it is reflected in the tongue-in-cheek tone of the health products, even — or perhaps more so — in digital versions. In the recent past we’ve seen similarly colorful and lighthearted apps, assisting consumers with their health problems, but in a way that is very approachable and helping to take away the potential shame.

For example, there was a whole online campaign getting men to talk about their baldness and directing them to clinics, fronted by a popular comedy duo. And there are also funny apps for if you’re a young, stressed student desperate to find a toilet. (As way of a simple contrast, here’s a rather dour and unappealing American app for people with digestive issues.)

I’m now eagerly waiting on an app for itchy groins?

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Yahoo! Sponsored Search Results for 2011 (January to June)

Yahoo! has released information about the search terms most common in the first half of 2011 for its Sponsored Search partners. Unsurprisingly they include many phrases not seen in previous years, such as “TEPCO”, which was outside the top 100 in 2010 but is now number 17. The TEPCO mobile site alone saw a 66.88% increase in traffic in March 2011, compared to the previous month, making it the top climbing site that month by far, though we doubt anyone was celebrating those stats.

In signs that recession mentality has set in, terms like “second hand car” have also risen up the rankings. As last year, “youtube” is still top and slightly more banal newbies in the top 20 include music groups Arashi and AKB48.

These are just initial findings and are taken only from Yahoo! Sponsored Search ad key word results, though it’s clear that Japan’s “New Normal” will continue to affect everyone, from advertisers to web services, retailers and beyond.

Age Recognition for SNS Users

Softbank is to start offering age data to content suppliers from autumn. SNS and community sites will be able to engage with users if they have their permission. Currently the move is just planned for Gree and mixi.

When users access those sites via their mobile phones, whether they are new users or existing members, they will be asked if they agree to provide information on their age. If they refuse part of the page will not be visible. Those who agree will be able to find content appropriate to their demographic’s age band. It makes sense that teenaged mixi users will not want to see the same kinds of banners and content as a thirty-year old office worker. Softbank is also negotiating with Mobage to integrate the functionality with that site too.

Smartphones for Kids

Japan has always been ahead of the game when it comes to kids’ mobiles. Now KDDI has put together a plan for young Android smartphone users. The plan allows parents and guardians to limit and restrict the applications children install and use, as well as the use of the wi-fi connection. The plan is free and can be downloaded from Android Market.

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Looking at the currently sparse user reviews the rating for the app is not high at time of writing. The complaints seem to be that you cannot differentiate the settings and can only turn on the restrictions for everything by re-setting the phone, rather than limiting the use of certain apps etc. Savvy kids can also simply re-start the system in order to turn off the safety mode and use apps.

Top Japanese Corporation for SNS

In a survey by Agile Media Network (AMN) in early September of 300 companies, a list has emerged of the top 50 Japanese corporations who use SNS. Coca-Cola Japan came out as number one, followed by Suntory, Lawson, Universal Studios Japan, and Panasonic.

Of the corporations, 100% of them exploited Twitter to reach consumers, while 86% employed YouTube, and 84% used Facebook, way ahead of local SNS like mixi (58%) and Gree (44%). This represents a victory for Facebook, which achieved only 24% in a similar survey in February this year.

This is the latest in a series of blogs based on newsletters provided by our local research partner, INterRIDE Inc.

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Last week we posted about the short film which looks at a parallel world in a “post nuclear Tokyo”, and over the weekend we came across another amazing film here called “Tokyo Rising”. The 30 minute documentary features Pharrell Williams, the American music producer and musician behind N.E.R.D and The Neptunes label, and produced in association with the American footwear brand Palladium Boots.

The documentary is by no means the usual dry disaster, “end of days” style piece that has been all over the media but instead a fantastically well made film that features some of Japan’s most interesting creative personalities and focuses on how Japan is rebuilding itself and using its creative strength to push on regardless of the problems 6 months ago. “Tokyo faces a new reality after the tragedy of 3/11. While persistent challenges still lay ahead, the city’s creative class is hell-bent on making sure that their hometown thrives. Innovative and resilient, they are defining the future of Tokyo on their own terms.” Pharrell takes us below the streets into the worlds largest underground aqueduct and introduces us to a number of groups and spaces that aim to show the creative energy in Tokyo.

The film explores underground artists as well, including Chim-Pom, the group responsible for the alteration of Okamoto Taro’s nuclear apocalypse mural “Myth of Tomorrow” in Shibuya station. Trying to describe how the disasters themselves and the actions of the government in the wake of the disasters have brought about a resurgence in people expressing themselves through various different and creative ways, I particularly liked the line form Kunichi Nomura, the editor of Tripster, when he says “I hope the young kids get more angry because the old folks wrecked the country”.

Williams’s involvement in the documentary comes from his long standing relationship with the country, along with being the co-founder of the “made-in-Japan” brands Ice Cream and Billionaire Boys Club, he tells us how he, as many other artists are, has been influenced by Japan in many ways.

I recommend watching the full 5 parts of the documentary all available on the Palladium website here. The documentary, as well as being a fantastic piece of film work, is an amazing bit of branding for the company, who not only get the endorsement of Pharrell, but also association with an underground scene that shows some fantastic creativity.

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