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Tag: Japan

  • Softbank tests NIDD technology for IoT services

    Softbank tests NIDD technology for IoT services

    SoftBank said it has been using NIDD (non-IP data delivery) technology to allow its IoT services to bypass the internet.

    The Japanese operator announced recently that it has succeeded in completing what it claims is the world’s first connection test in a commercial environment for NIDD, which has been newly defined in the 3GPP for NB-IoT.

    Softbank said NIDD enables users to transmit data to IoT devices without allocating an IP address, which reduces the risk of a malicious attack targeting an IoT device, making it possible to build a highly secure IoT network.

    By eliminating such data as header information additionally required in conventional data communications, the company added, the electric power needed for communication is reduced and a broader area can be covered.

    Also, by enabling connection on a closed network with IoT platforms provided by service providers and with external application servers, Softbank said it will enable operator to build a highly secure network from end to end.

    Currently Softbank is providing IoT services using NB-IoT and LTE Cat-M1 technologies, for which an IP address is allocated.

    The company said it aims to introduce and commercialize NIDD technology for devices tailored to various businesses and fields, such as crime prevention, social infrastructure and agriculture, making full use of its distinctive features of high security, low power consumption, and high area coverage.

    A handful of companies – including Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Qualcomm, DK Corporation, Affirmed Networks and SB Cloud – are supporting the company’s NIDD experiment in Japan and will work together with Softbank toward further development of the IoT market.

    “We expect that NIDD technology to reduce communication load for IoT devices and enables to accelerate utilization in IoT field especially for those who had difficulty in conventional conditions,” said Akira Sakakibara, CTO at Microsoft Japan.

    “As NIDD technology corresponds to open standards, it can easily connect to Microsoft Azure IoT platform and enable to implement data management, view and AI features. SoftBank and Microsoft Japan will continuously contribute to accelerate IoT technology utilization in every industry.”

    Tadashi Okazaki, head of solution architect at Amazon Web Services Japan, said security for IoT devices is strongly in demand as IoT popularity is growing.

    “With the implementation of NIDD technology which securely connects AWS IoT platform and peripheral device, we expect to accelerate the popularization of IoT technology,” he said.

    “Low power consumption is one of the characteristic of NIDD technology. Therefore, we hope to solve the long discussed controversy of IoT devices’ high power consumption.”

  • NEC completes construction of SACS cable

    NEC completes construction of SACS cable

    Japanese vendor NEC has announced it has completed the construction of the first subsea cable crossing the south Atlantic ocean for Angola Cables.

    The South Atlantic Cable System (SACS) has been deployed and is now ready for commercial service. The cable system spans between Angola with Brazil, connecting the African continent to Latin America directly for the first time.

    The system uses a four fiber pair configuration to deliver an initial design capacity of 40Tbps. In Angola, it will land at the existing Sangano cable landing station, while in Brazil it will land in a newly constructed data center constructed for SACS and another cable system connecting Brazil with the US.

    SACS was partly funded through a loan provided by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation to Angola state-owned development bank the Banco de Desenvolvimento de Angola.

    “NEC is honored to have been selected as a partner for SACS, the world’s first optical submarine cable system crossing the South Atlantic, directly connecting two Portuguese speaking nations of Angola and Brazil,” NEC GM for submarine networks Toru Kawauchi said in a statement issued on Monday.

    “Yesterday, all communication between the two continents had to go up north and cross the North Atlantic. From today, this new cable will bring information at the speed of light, improving the connectivity between the two nations and two continents.”

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  • Yildiz Looking to Sell Godiva in Japan

    Yildiz Looking to Sell Godiva in Japan

    A sale of Godiva Japan is being considered which could value the business at US$1.5 billion.

    Parent Yildiz Holding is considering an offer which would allow it to use the proceeds to reduce debt and invest in other markets with larger growth prospects.

    Gidova Japan has annual sales of about $350 million a year.

    Yildiz Holdings was founded by Turkish brothers as a biscuit shop in 1944, acquiring Godiva in 2007 for $850 million. It now operates hundreds of Godiva cafes around the world as well as marketing Godiva-branded chocolate products, and its assets include UK brand McVitie’s biscuits.

    Unnamed sources said a formal sale process would commence within weeks.

    Prospective bidders include rival confectionery companies or private equity funds, along with Japanese trading groups.

  • US, Japan keen to invest in Vietnam infrastructure

    US, Japan keen to invest in Vietnam infrastructure

    Vietnam’s plans for building and expanding airports and seaports have attracted the interest of companies in the U.S. and Japan.

    Joel Szabat, deputy assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Aviation and International Affairs, said his country wants to strengthen ties with Vietnam in the transport infrastructure area, especially airports and seaports.

    He told Deputy Minister of Transport Le Dinh Tho at a meeting Tuesday that his department would facilitate U.S. investment in Vietnam’s infrastructure projects in the form of public-private partnerships (PPPs).

    But Vietnam needs to have more policy consistency and open policies, Szabat said.

    Last month Japan’s Secretary of State Tsukasa Akimoto told Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong that many Japanese investors are eyeing key transport projects in Vietnam.

    They are interested in the Long Thanh International Airport and high-speed north-south railway, he said.

    At the meeting with Szabat, Tho said Vietnam is focusing on five areas of transport infrastructure: roads, aviation, waterways, railways, and network connections to boost logistics.

    One of its national infrastructure projects is the north-south expressway measuring over 2,100km in length, of which “650km will be built in 2017-2020 under the PPP model,” he said.

    With the country’s railway network being obsolete, there is need for an upgrade to both its long-distance and inner-city railways, he noted.

    “Our ministry is considering feasibility studies for the north-south high-speed railway.”

    The transport ministry is set to report on the high-speed railway to the National Assembly next year.

    It is now consulting various agencies for a feasibility study for the Long Thanh airport in the southern Dong Nai Province, which is expected to be approved by the government at the end of next year.

    Vietnam has 21 airports, eight of which receive international flights. Given the rapid rise in traffic, it plans to build, expand or upgrade several including Noi Bai in Hanoi and Tan Son Nhat in HCMC.

    The ministry this month approved changes to the upgrade plans for Tan Son Nhat Airport, including the addition of a third terminal and a 250-hectare expansion of the airport.

    Besides building a new terminal, T3, to the south with a capacity of 20 million passengers a year, the ministry also seeks to expand the two existing terminals to increase their capacity to 30 million passengers a year.When the work is complete, the airport’s size will increase from the current 545 hectares (1,350 acres) to 791 ha.

    The airport currently handles 36 million passengers a year against a designed capacity of only 25 million.

    Tho said Vietnam has two major ports, Lach Huyen in the north and Cai Mep-Thi Vai in the south, which can accommodate ships of up to 100,000 DWT.

    “However, network connections for logistics in ports remain underdeveloped.”

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  • Japanese banks to offer instant money transfers using blockchain

    Japanese banks to offer instant money transfers using blockchain

    Japan will this month become the first major economy to launch a domestic payments system based on blockchain technology when three Japanese banks start offering customers free real-time money transfers via a new mobile app. The launch of the MoneyTap system, which secured approval for its licence from the ministry of finance last week, could be an important step in helping Japan to achieve its goal of reducing the use of cash, which still accounts for 80 per cent of transactions in the country. The new platform has been developed by SBI Ripple Asia, a joint venture between Japan’s SBI Holdings and US blockchain specialist Ripple.

    It will be launched by three of the country’s mid-sized lenders: SBI Net Sumishin Bank, Suruga Bank, and Resona Bank. Japanese banks charge customers about $3 to transfer even small amounts of money to other accounts via the Zengin domestic payments system, which only operates until 3pm on weekdays, meaning people often have to wait a day or more for money to arrive. That is much more expensive and slower than in many other countries. “We would like to change peer-to-peer and interbank payments in Japan, which are very inefficient,” said Takashi Okita, chief executive of SBI Ripple Asia and a former official at Japan’s Financial Services Agency.

    “The FSA is trying to reduce cash as a percentage of the economy and once people use the new MoneyTap system they will never go back,” he said. “The banking industry in Japan is still living in the non-internet era — even the banks realise they have to change.” Alipay, the mobile payments arm of China’s Alibaba, launched a service in June to provide a quicker and cheaper way for people to send money from Hong Kong to the Philippines over its GCash blockchain system using Standard Chartered as its banking partner.

    Ripple caused a stir in the payments industry in April by teaming up with Banco Santander to offer a service based on Ripple’s blockchain messaging technology that allows the Spanish bank’s customers in the UK, Spain, Poland and Brazil to send money in many currencies around the world. More than 100 financial institutions have registered with Ripple to use its blockchain-based messaging system, known as XCurrent, which allows banks to co-ordinate the transfer of money between currencies in seconds.

    The launch of MoneyTap in Japan will mean it is the first big country to have a blockchain-based system for transferring money between different banks. Mr Okita said SBI Ripple Asia had been working with a consortium of 61 Japanese banks on the new system and it hoped more of them would sign up to use it soon. He also plans to expand its offering to include cross-border payments. The MoneyTap app does not use Ripple’s XRP cryptocurrency, which is meant to be a cheap and universal bridge currency, providing an alternative to the expensive nostro and vostro accounts of correspondent banking. But Mr Okita said this option would be open in future to any banks that wanted to use it.

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  • Ministop South Korea is for sale, rivals compete

    Ministop South Korea is for sale, rivals compete

    South Korean retail operators Lotte and Shinsegae are competing to buy the 21-year-old local subsidiary of Japanese convenience-store operator Ministop.

    Shinsegae and Lotte respectively own rival chains Emart24 and 7-Eleven and are both reportedly seeking to take full ownership of Ministop South Korea. Both companies see the deal as a means to grow their respective businesses in a market where convenience-store penetration has reached saturation point, limiting opportunities for organic network growth.

    7-Eleven currently operates 9535 stores across South Korea and Emart24 3413. The Ministop network numbers just 2535.

    Japan’s Aeon, which owns the Ministop brand, owns a majority 76 per cent of the South Korean business.

    Daesang group owns 20 per cent and Mitsubishi the balance. Aeon has appointed Nomura Securities to find a buyer for the business as it sees little future for the convenience store brand in South Korea, a highly competitive market. Instead, Aeon is looking to Southeast Asian markets for growth, including Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia.

    Last year, Ministop South Korea sales totalled 1.18 trillion won (US$1 billion), ranking it fourth in revenue terms behind GS25, CU and 7-Eleven.

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  • Japanese department stores Takashimaya and Mitsukoshi upgrading

    Japanese department stores Takashimaya and Mitsukoshi upgrading

    Major Japanese department stores Takashimaya and Isetan are opening new developments in Tokyo.

    Both newly-refurbished stores will launch in Tokyo’s Nihonbashi district to attract a wider customer base. The move occurs against a backdrop of declining department store sales in Japan.

    Today’s Takashimaya launch opens a seven-storey annex with one underground level next to its existing store, accommodating a high proportion of F&B tenants as well as clothing and variety stores, amongst others. The development targets nearby company employees in their 30s and 40s and families, many of whom visit the store to eat.

    Takashimaya President Shigeru Kimoto said: “We integrated a department store with specialty stores. It’s the culmination of meeting the needs of today’s customer.”

    The Isetan renovation to its Mitsukoshi main store in Nihonbashi will open in late October. Among its new features will be a new concierge service.

    The store will share data on the tastes and purchasing histories of key customers with concierge staff and other employees, leading them to use suggestion selling techniques so as to meet customer preferences. Customers will be able to designate a specific concierge before visiting the store via smartphone app.

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  • Daiso to limit its stationery sales

    Daiso to limit its stationery sales

    Daiso stores will be forced to stop selling individual items of stationery in a bid to try and help struggling small and medium enterprises, Korea Commission for Corporate Partnership (KCCP) said Thursday.

    The KCCP is set to hold a final vote on Oct. 10 on adding the franchise to the list of major companies that are restricted in conducting businesses closely linked to the fortunes of small companies.

    A KCCP spokesman said Thursday that the process is an administrative one and that the agenda is likely to be passed as Daiso and the organization have already reached an agreement.

    Daiso, which now has over 1,200 stores in Korea, has faced criticism in recent years from local stationery store owners, who complain that the store is threatening their business. Last month, the franchise decided to voluntarily join the ranks of major companies that have restrictions on stationery sales.

    Starting from mid-October, Daiso stores will sell 18 types of stationery in bundles, including pencils, erasers, sketch books and crayons. As the franchise’s products are priced at 5,000 won ($4.46) or under, the stationery bundles will also stay within that range. During the early days, both bundles and individual products will be placed on the shelves until the latter sells out, a company spokesman said.

    The rule, however, will not apply to every Daiso store in the country. Only branches directly run by the company’s headquarters will have to follow such restrictions, which account for 60 percent of Daiso’s entire 1,200 or so stores nationwide. The 450 stores operated by franchisees will be recognized as small businesses, allowing them to continue selling individual items of stationery.

    A private commission that mediates conflicts between large and small-sized businesses, the KCCP designates industries and product categories, from food to daily necessities, that should be reserved for small enterprises and local merchants. It also lists major companies that should be restricted from conducting business in such fields in order to prevent them from threatening the revenue of smaller enterprises.

    Stationery stores were designated as a protected sector in 2015. That year, Emart, Lotte Mart and Homeplus stopped selling 18 types of stationery as individual items.

    At the time, Daiso wasn’t big enough to be a threat. But the company grew rapidly over the last few years, leading to an increase in complaints from local stationery store owners.

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  • Lumine revealed Indonesia expansion

    Lumine revealed Indonesia expansion

    Japanese urban retail concept Lumine is set to open its first store in Jakarta in December.

    Opened in partnership with local retailer Time International, the store at the Plaza Indonesia mall will be Lumine’s second overseas location. The launch is timed to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Japan.

    President and CEO of Lumine Yuji Morimoto said: “We are very excited to launch our second overseas store, to collaborate with a leading retailer Time International, in Plaza Indonesia. For both Indonesia and Japan, this year is a meaningful anniversary. We hope to become a place that stimulates the sensibilities of our customers, not just a place where they can purchase products.”

    The approximately 1200sqm specialty store offers chic Japanese lifestyle and fashion brands.

    Offerings include womenswear, menswear, miscellaneous lifestyle goods, and a café. Its main target customers are independent women with a global outlook who are sensitive to trends and possess unique and distinctive styles.

    Lumine operates 15 branches in Japan and one in Singapore, which opened last November.

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  • Kit Kat Bar opens in Tokyo, serves new Japanese Umeshu Plum Sake Kit Kats

    Kit Kat Bar opens in Tokyo, serves new Japanese Umeshu Plum Sake Kit Kats

    Nestle has opened a pop-up bar in Tokyo to mark today’s release of its new sake-flavoured Kit Kat bar.

    “Craft Sake Week @Kit Kat Bar” has been offering visitors a preview of the new Umeshu Plum Sake-flavoured chocolate bar paired with cocktails. The space is overseen by former soccer star Hidetoshi Nakata, now known for his work with more than 350 local sake breweries designing products to promote their rice wines both nationally and globally.

    Two Ume Sake Kit Kat and cocktail pairings served in Milano glasses are the highlight of the pop-up. The cocktails, created by noted craft cocktail designers to complement the flavours of the new Kit Kat, are exclusive to the bar.

    The pop-up, which runs to September 24, features other products both collaborated on and curated by Nakata to convey the beauty of traditional Japanese sake crafts, as well as a sake-tasting area.

    Nestle released it first premium sake flavoured Kit Kat last year.

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  • Dunhill Ginza flagship store opens in Tokyo

    Dunhill Ginza flagship store opens in Tokyo

    Men’s clothing designer Dunhill London has opened a new flagship store in Ginza, Tokyo.

    The Dunhill Ginza store blends bar and barbershop environments to create “a masculine and contemporary space” alongside the latest collections by creative director Mark Weston. It also features a new tailoring room for bespoke and made-to-measure services.

    CEO Andrew Maag said the new Dunhill Ginza store brings a complete elevated brand experience to the brand’s most important market and further cements its position as the leader of British luxury menswea

    A bar on the first and second floors serves Japanese contemporary fusion food with a British twist, while on the first floor the Dunhill barber service offers tailored men’s grooming, shaving and treatments in partnership with The Barba Tokyo.

    The store’s design features bronzed brass and wood, together with signature black leather and black metal details, all recognisable codes of the brand’s stores.

    A metal-and-glass facade leads to an open and clean space that showcases apparel in what Dunhill describes as “a subtle and approachable way”.

    A shoe lounge features marble and metal displays, highlighting Dunhill’s newly launched sneakers and handmade English shoes, alongside a tailoring room for Bespoke and Made-to-Measure services.

    View the pictures in the gallery below :

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  • Cartier pop up opened Tokyo convenience store

    Cartier pop up opened Tokyo convenience store

    A Cartier pop up is set to be hosted in a Tokyo convenience store.

    In a stark contrast of venue for the distinguished luxury heritage brand, the store-in-store will exhibit the brand’s latest jewellery collection Juste en Clou, designed to resemble the iron nail, elevating the unremarkable object to a premium status.

    The convenience store on Jingu-mae will be open from September 21–30, operating from 12–8 pm daily.

    The line is currently already featuring in a gallery setting in Roppongi Hills, which will also run through to September 30.

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  • Record profitability for Hermes after China-driven boom

    Record profitability for Hermes after China-driven boom

    A Hong Kong property windfall and the Hermes Asia business helped the luxury label set a record profit margin during the first half of this year.

    Hermes says recurring operating profitability reached 34.5 per cent of sales, with net profit rising 17 per cent to €708 million (US$824 million).

    And after including a capital gain of €53 million from the sale of the former Galleria store in Hong Kong, operating income reached €1.037 billion, up 11 per cent to reach 36.3 of sales.

    Hermes Asia sales – excluding Japan – rose 15 per cent, the strongest performing market internationally, continuing what the company described in a statement as “an outstanding performance, with positive momentum in continental China and the whole region”.

    During the half year, Hermes Asia benefitted from the opening of the Landmark Prince’s store in Hong Kong in January. Another new store opened in Changsha in May.

    Sales in Japan rose by 7 per cent.

    The Hermes Asia performance better that of the Americas (up 12 per cent), Europe excluding France (up 7 per cent), and France (up 8 per cent).

    Hermes global sales reached €2.853 billion, up 11 per cent at constant exchange rates and by 5 per cent at current exchange rates.

    “Hermes achieved an exceptional performance in the first half of the year,” said Axel Dumas, executive chairman. “Our commitment to the quality of know-how, the spirit of innovation as well as the creativity, always renewed, and the dedication of the women and men of Hermes, base the singularity and the integrity of our economic model; a strong model in a worldwide context that remains uncertain and unstable.”

    By product category, ready-to-wear led the way rising 17 per cent, thanks to broad acceptance of its “pertinent and bold” designs, the company said. Fragrance sales rose 15 per cent, watches by 9 per cent, leather goods and saddlery sales rose 8 per cent and silk and textile sales by 7 per cent.

    Other Hermes business lines, which include jewellery, art of living and Hermes Table Arts, grew by 24 per cent.

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  • Good Goods Issey Miyake concept opens in Tokyo

    Good Goods Issey Miyake concept opens in Tokyo

    Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake has opened a new “Good Goods Issey Miyake” concept store in Daikanyama, Tokyo.

    The two-level 94sqm store, which opened next to label mate “Homme Plisse Issey Miyake”, stocks a curated selection of Issey Miyake pieces as well as some exclusive products. It sports a futuristic interior design by Tokujin Yoshioka.

    In a press release, Yoshioka said: “The space, which features aluminum dyed light green, is designed with the futuristic contrast of texture between concrete and aluminium. Diagonal slits extended throughout the space not only show futuristic expression, but also transform to function as shelves. Issey Miyake’s innovative spirit of making things is reflected in the space.”

    In future, the store will experiment with a seasonal rotation of brands and products.

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  • Ikea eyes new stores in Tokyo, Osaka

    Ikea eyes new stores in Tokyo, Osaka

    Ikea Japan says it plans to expand its store network into city centres after the success of its  large-format stores in outskirt locations.

    Ikea Japan K.K. president Helene von Reis said in an interview that the company will open “many shops in Tokyo” given the city’s size.

    “Then we will move into Osaka. We have to start first and understand how this works in Tokyo.”

    She had earlier said during a press briefing that Ikea Japan was working hard to find the right sites in Tokyo. “Hopefully I will be able to give you some good news before this year is over.”

    Ikea Japan’s strategy to head downtown is a contrast to its European experience where it has decided to close smaller city stores after an unsuccessful trial.

    Von Reis said the company recognised customer preferences are changing.

    “Consumers are demanding accessibility and the value of time. It is also a fact that young people don’t have cars. That’s also a global [phenomenon].”

    She said the company believes there is a lot of growth potential for the home furnishings market in Japan.

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