( Area) (Population)
Hokkaido 5,684,842 4.55%Tohoku 9,865,006 7.90%Kanto 39,159,557 31.35%Hokuriku 5,614,151 4.49%Tokai-Koshinetsu 15,672,025 12.55%Kinki 22,226,969 17.79%Chugoku 7,763,515 6.22%Shikoku 4,220,707 3.38%Kyushu 14,707,601 11.77%
Total Nearly 125,000,000
KantoTokaiKansai
4.5%
4.5%
12.5%17.8%
6.2%11.8%
7.9%
31.4%
3.38%
62%
Urbanized populationUrbanized population
HAKUHODO
Labor force will continue to decrease in size
• Labor force
6,384
6,779 6,7526,645
6,6426,650
6,666
6,7876,711
6,6156,578
6,505
6,6666,689
6,7666,793
5,000
5,500
6,000
6,500
7,000
90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05
(万人)
Labor force
10,000
Japanese households decreasing rapidly in size
Nr. of persons per householdNr. ofhouseholds
19801975 1985 19951990 20052000
(thousands)
More couples live by themselves and more alone
CouplesCouple with children
One parent with children
Other families
Single person household
Non family
2000
1995
1990
1985
Nuclear families
Families
Most significant demographic facts are:
• Fastest aging society in the world
• Fertility rate continues to drop very fast
• Total population began decreasing in 2005
• The population is highly urbanized
• Live in smaller families
• More live as couples or alone
How they translate into consumer behavior?
• They are not interested in large quantities
• They need smaller/ individual portions
• They can exercise discretion easily
• They can focus on what they really want and forego others because nobody suffers
• They can afford more expensive things
Marriage and starting a family
• Fewer marriages• Marrying later• Waiting longer to start a family• Having fewer children• More having no children
• More divorces • More remarriages
Greater variety of families
• Half of them have members 2 or less• Parents and two children not so typical any more• Single-person households grow fastest• Husband and wife (couples by themselves)• One-parent and children less • Other • The rest in special care facilities
Women in the workforce by age group
China
Pakistan
India
Malaysia
Japan
Korea
Hong Kong
AsiaAsia
Sweden
USAItaly
Czech
Holland
Europe
France
Japanese women by occupation, role and experiences 1986-2005
Traveled abroad
Manufacturing
Gov’t committeeMedical doctorUpper HouseResearchers
Lower House
Section chief
All employee
School teachersTotal Population
Signs of recovery?
• More companies report profit
• More companies began higher many more new recruits
• The prices of property has begun recovering • Consumers replacing their old appliances with more
new ones sooner
• Some suffer from negative equity while the first time buyers enjoy relatively affordable housing costs
Consumer durables 1955-2006
Refrigerator
WasherVacuumCleaner
Color TV
Cars
Microwaveoven
VTR
PC
DVD P/R
Mobile phone
Digital cameraAir conditioner
Consumers have begun replacing old with new
Average interval Japanese consumers replace their appliances with
Color TVRefrigerator
Washer
Air conditioner
Market regains consumer confidence?
050,000
100,000150,000200,000250,000300,000350,000400,000450,000500,000
90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 03 03 04
可処分所得 消費支出(円) Discretionary income Household expenditureYen
Internet access by age group
68.5 68.4
36.8
10.7
62.8
90.7 92.3 90.584.8
65.8
26.0
49.2
72.8
59.0
1.3 1.31.3 1.4 1.3
2.4
1.4
1.8
0
20
40
60
80
100
12
6~
歳
13
19
~歳
20
29
~歳
30
39
~歳
40
49
~歳
50
59
~歳
60歳
以上
1.01.2
1.41.6
1.82.02.2
2.4
2001年末 2004年末 増加率
(%) (倍)
New and altered behavior
• ICT and e-Commerce or m-Commerce
• ICT and info-communication industries altered the lifestyle of Japanese consumers
• ICT empowered consumers with voice
• ICT allowed consumers to actively shape the market
Areas of consumption Japanese wish to focus /improveLeisure and hobby
Clothes
Durable goods
Housing
Food and Diet
Recent experiences for the Japanese “Seikatsusha”
• Prolonged recession has forced Japanese “Seikatsusha” to reexamine their consumer behavior
• We saw negative growth in some years, and the record high unemployment rates in post WWII deprived the younger workers of good jobs
• Changes in “Japanese” employment pattern and
salary structure had an impact on consumer confidence
• Some suffer from negative equity
“Mosaic” Consumption
• Two orientations coexist in consumer behavior– 1.Preference for the real thing
• “It’s worth spending more money to get something good”
– 2.Preference for lower prices• “Would like to pay less for things that they’re not so
particular about”
» Source : A publication from Hakuhodo Institute of
Life and Living,1997
“Mosaic” Consumption
• The Reason Behind this Situation... – Japanese consumers are getting used to
an economy that is growing more slowly– They’re noticing that…. The economy is growing
not so fast as before.
Be selective and focused..
Quality of life is important...
Women in the Japanese market
– Better educated– Highly qualified women enter the workforce– An increasing number of young women are
working and the wage gap is narrowing for them
– More women are pursuing careers– Women are becoming more visible in well-
paid positions and in higher management positions
Young Seniors• The generation who worked hard to rebuild and modernize
the economy.• They are the first to have accepted and adopted Western
ideas and technology.• They have ample time with disposable income and / or
sizable savings to enjoy life.• They are actively seeking ways to enjoy life for themselves.• They try to remain young at heart.• They try to remain active and want to look stylish and
attractive.
The First Postwar Baby Boomers
• 80% of assets held by individuals in Japan belong to those aged over 50.
• They are in late 50s now and are well aware that they are getting older.
• Most of them feel that they are young and capable of competing with their younger colleagues in many areas.
The First Postwar Baby Boomers
• Finally, they are seeking ways to live their lives for themselves.
• They like to think of themselves as being fashion conscious and fashionably dressed.
• They have interest in maintaining good health through healthy diet.
Japanese seniors today want to serve themselves
How I want to spend money
010203040506070
50-64 65-74 75+
%
Spend formyselfSpend forfamily
Japanese seniors want a lot of communicationLLook forward to communicating with
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Child spouse sibling grand child friends
Male
Female
Child Spouse Sibling Grand child Friend
Quality of Life Issues
• Good health
• Sensible diet
• Focus on healthy lifestyles
• Interest in sports
• Participation in sports events
Quality of Life Issues
• Quality of Experience
• Time Value
• Focus on Leisure
• Focus on Style
• Slow and genuine process
• Slow life
The New Breed Generation
• Born in ’60s (9.3 million)
• The first generation to have grown up in the affluence generated by the rapid economic growth after the war.
• They have an entirely different value system from their parents– Martians ~ their attitudes toward life are
extremely alien to the older generations
The New Breed Generation
• First generation to have cultivated a lifestyle that puts emphasis on enjoyment and leisure activities.
• They want to enjoy freedom.They do not want to look far ahead into the future. They did not have to.
• They are willing to pay premium prices for information in order to remain well informed and thereby enjoy life.
• They are the first generation of parents who do not want to give up their preferred lifestyles for the sake of their children.
The New Breed Generation
• “Life is to be enjoyed”
• Strong sense of “entitlement”
• “I am important”, “ and therefore I deserve a lot” “I do not want to give up anything”
• The society and the environment “must accommodate us”
The Second Postwar BabyBoomers
• Born in early ’70s (8.1 million)
• The first generation born into a predominantly middle-class environment.
• They assume that everybody lives in much the same way as they do.
The Second Postwar Baby Boomers
• They also believe life is to be enjoyed and assume a “let it be” attitude.
• They are self-conscious and protective of privacy in their lives.
• They want to be well informed but they tend to reject anything that has the power of authority.
• They have strong desire to try new things and explore the unknown in trying to establish their “personal style”.
Today’s Young Recruits
• Born in the early ’80s. (7.3 million)
• Growing up when the population of young people began to decline significantly.– Water Spiders
Today’s Young Recruits
• They are perceptive and discerning. They are quite realistic and practical.
• They are more tolerant and more accepting of other people’s values and standards. They are open to people from a wide variety of cultures and backgrounds.
• They are quite sociable and outgoing.
• They are quick to adapt new trends and high-tech innovations.