Successful foreign companies in Japan, and the story of Coca-Cola, vending machines and more

Japan is a unique place, and it's not always easy for foreign companies to succeed here. There are many barriers to making it in Japan, from the confusing multi-leveled tonya distribution system to the often-quirky tastes of Japanese consumers. Still, many famous gaishi-kei" (foreign capital") firms have built successful businesses here, with some companies like Nestle, Proctor & Gamble and Northwest Airlines having been in the marketplace for so long people often don't realize they're foreign (Northwest has been flying commercially to Japan since 1947). The Japanese have a lot of respect for the icons of America and Europe, and happily embrace brands such as BMW, Michelin, Jack Daniels and Harley-Davidson, all of which have found a great deal of success here, and when a famous brand finally claims "mind share" in the Japanese marketplace, it usually enjoys long-term success. On the other hand, Japan is a very competitive place to do business, with many companies actively pursuing every market, and Japanese consumers are especially demanding of high quality. But the benefits of succeeding in Japan can be enormous: some companies, such as Louis Vuitton and AFLAC, have encountered so much success when they expanded into Japan that it basically springboarded the rest of their company to new heights worldwide.

One of the most incredible success stories of any gaishi firm is that of Coca-Cola. Along with Hershey's chocolate and Levi's, Coke was an enigma to Japanese of the occupation era, a mysterious treat enjoyed by the victorious American soldiers. Over the course of a decade, Coca-Cola overcame the Byzantine, almost Soviet-style regulatory hurdles it had to to face in order to flourish in Japan, and now Coke has something like 90% of the cola market to itself (spikes from Pepsi Star Wars bottlecaps notwithstanding). The rise of Coca-Cola in postwar Japan went hand-in-hand with the popularity of vending machines (there's one for every 23 people here), and Coca-Cola solidified its position in part by taking the lead in developing the most innovative vending machines of any company (including one I saw the other day that let you watch current Coke TV commercials on a built-in LCD screen). Now Coke is somewhat analagous to Toyota in the U.S., a large, smart outside competitor to Japan's Big Four beverage companies (Asahi, Kirin, Sapporo and Suntory).

Foreign companies provide an interesting alternative to working at more traditional Japanese establishments. Foreign companies in Japan have an image of being more socially progressive than Japanese firms, and women interested in seeking serious careers might consider working for American or European firms operating in Japan. The idea of semi-guaranteed "lifetime employement" came to an end in Japan the 1990s, but it's still common for most full-time employees to expect to stay at the same company their entire lives. Japanese who decide to work for a foreign company generally expect more performance-based pay than they might find at traditional Japanese corporations, along with opportunities for advancement beyond those based on age and seniority, which is still quite rare in more traditional Japanese companies. On the other hand, there's apt to be less stability at a gaishi-kei company, which is an important factor in conservative Japan.

Among other things, J-List sells hundreds of amazing DVDs of all types from Japan. While most of our DVDs are issued as "region free" (meaning you can play them on any DVD player), many of the indies, anime and other discs are zoned for region 2, meaning you need a special player to watch them. Happily, J-List carries three excellent region free DVD players that make it easy to enjoy *all* DVDs from Japan, including PAL discs from Europe. We have the full-featured DIVX-compatible DVD-7050, the handy portable M280, and the great half-height Karaoke-enabled DVD-7880K. Just in time for the busy Christmas season, we've dropped our price on the affordable 7880K to just $68! All players are very well made, are manufacturered for the North American market, feature international power supplies, and come with full 1 year manufacturers warranties. Also, all players are shipped double-boxed by our loving San Diego.

Here are today's "really cool products" that I thought were especially noteworthy. Note: the J-List links below may be for adult products and should probably be considered "not safe for work." To see all the J-List products, check out J-List or the JBOX.com updated products link.

	Ma. K. B. D. (Maschinen Kreiger) ~ Kow Yokoyama. This is cool -- a designer of really, really cool military use mechs, which are illustrated by the creator so you can see how they'd work in action. Very nice art from Kow Yokoyama.
	Miharu 1/8 Scale Figure -- Girls Bravo. Super cute anime figure in 1/8 scale, this is Miharu from Girl's Bravo. Great styling on this nice figure, plus you can look at her underwerar all day long.
	DX Totoro Doll Collection -- Sekiguchi. One of the coolest of the Totoro Doll Collection toys I've seen yet, it's a very large Totoro figure with "leaf umbrella." A great item from Japan.
	Neko Neko Punch! ~ Cat Fighter Fubuki and Tsukushi. A very nice "H" manga from Japan, this features two cute girls who seem to be engaged in professional wrestling, with special attention paid to the panty shots.
	Urecco Aug. 2005. Urecco is the #1 selling magazine at J-List, and the quality of the models (all Japanese) and photography (all artful and tasteful) is second to none. This is the newest issue.
	Gundam Ultimate Operation Plus -- Full Set (Set of 6). New Gundam toys. I am a big fan of the Ultimate Operation series, which are very detailed yet very cheap. This set is dedicated to the cool mechs in use between UC0083 and UC0093, the Silver Era of the Gundam Universe, I guess (the original series being Golden, the latter day series being Bronze).
	Too Much Ejaculation -- Hitomi. An elegant new release by SOD, this is HItomi, a new face in Japan's indies world. Very sweet and pretty, she looks great and full of self confidence as she performs for the camea.
	Premium Best -- Yua Aida. Ah, Yua Aida, how do we love thee? This is a nice 2 hour release from Max-A featuring her best-works so far.
	Nyanko Burger Plush Set -- Set of 3 ~ Hamburger, Potatos & Drink. What is cuter than a Hello Kitty refrigerator? Why, Nyanko Burger and Fries.
	Sushi Nyanko Plush Set -- Set of 6 ~ Nyanko Tour. Another cute Nyanko plush set, this is a collection of really cute, really soft sushi that feature cat faces. Great item from San-X!
	SOD Style Twister Game - Sukebe Version. SOD brings you another wacky kikaku (or concept production): naughty Twister, featuring beautiful amateurs who must play Twister no matter what contortions they are asked to make.