Match making becomes trendy

Based on a recent article with Yomiuri Shimbun since the March 11 earthquake more Japanese become proactive in their love life and take action to find a partner or taking more likely now the step to marry their loved ones. According to O-net Inc.(major Japanese marriage matching service) the number of new members last year increased by more than 30 percent compared with the year before. Additionally the company also made more successful matches among its members last year. Along the same lines today’s Nikkei Shimbun has a one page ad (don’t ask me how pricy this must be) for a major matchmaking service in Japan: Zwei. While having a match making add in a business newspaper might not seem too special, what caught my eye is the targeted audience.
Parents are able to register their kid for a lovely amount of JPY 315,000. Although this seems to me quite a large amount, considering the financial situation of the parents compared to the child, it is much more likely that a parent is willing to invest this amount to get some peace of mind that the daughter or son will be properly taken care of in the future. For sure match making services have caught up with the changed environment since the disaster occurred. It is only natural that people prefer to go through stressful times not alone. I am definitely curious what other businesses will adjust their marketing strategy now with the “new Japan”.

Brought to you by Sibylle Ito (伊藤シビル)

What is the priciest purchase you have kept secret from your family?

From time to time I come across stories in the media or hear Japanese talk about purchases they have been hiding from their family. Personally I perceive this as a very interesting behavior, because I have never done it myself nor can I understand the need for it. I am responsible to bring in enough income so that I can cover my expenses now and in the future, while my hubby has to deal with the same responsibility. I can only assume it has to do with the Japanese approach of keeping the family finances usually controlled by the wife (husband turns over his salary to the wife to take care of the family finance). At our home we have no gender based financial responsiblity and we both have to live up to the same standard.
Coming back to the secret purchases: In a recent Nikkei Shimbun article they had questioned 618 Japanese (half female, half male) about the amount of the priciest purchase kept secret from their family.

Have never kept my purchases as a secret to my family: 23%
Priciest purchase kept secret (less than JPY 10,000): 19%
Priciest purchase kept secret (JPY 10,001 – 50,000): 25%
Priciest purchase kept secret (JPY 50,001 – 100,000): 13%
Priciest purchase kept secret (JPY 100,001 – 300,000): 10%
Priciest purchase kept secret (more than JPY 300,001): 10%

I am happy to see that about one quarter has a similar approach to financial honesty at home, but at the same time shocked that even 10% are able to keep a purchase amount hidden in the value of more than JPY 300,001. I guess it must be some antiques or jewelry or what else can you imagine to keep hidden or undervalued in the face of your family? I am curious to hear your assumption.

Brought to you by Sibylle Ito (伊藤シビル)

Amazing map about altitude of Shinagawa

I must say I truly appreciate to live in the Shinagawa ward, not only for the convenience of being close to important spots in Tokyo plus the airport, but as well the services given to the inhabitants. Just in time with the news of the increased probability of an earthquake in Kanto area in the next four years (70 percent chance of a magnitude 7-level earthquake hitting the capital), the recent weekly Shingawa ward newsletter showed a good comparison on what to expect in case of a Tsunami in Tokyo Bay or then with the Shonan line. The picture on the side shows that due to the coastline Tokyo will experience a much lower wave compared to the V-shaped line of the Shonan area.

Furthermore, the ward office provided an overview about the actual altitude in the Shinagawa ward in case of a Tsunami warning for Tokyo bay. As shown below the areas blue to green are not more than 3 meter above sea level. Orange or then darker orange is still only 5m resp. 10m above sea level.

Personally, I had reviewed the safety of our rented apartment after the earthquake and came to the conclusion that most likely we should be safe in our building during an earthquake, plus then with an incoming Tsunami for Tokyo Bay we might have to move up to higher floors, but still we expect the building to keep its basic structure. No, I am not a pessimist that I bother with this kind of prevention, but I simply have learned that the unthinkable can happen and it does not hurt to be prepared. Most likely I will not experience in my lifetime a similar disaster like this once in 1000 year Tsunami; still I prefer to be safe than sorry.

Brought to you by Sibylle Ito (伊藤シビル)

10 year anniversary of living in Japan

Ten years ago I hopped on a plane heading to Tokyo to start my life again on a different continent for the second time. Today 10 years later looking back is simply wonderful, because in no way I regret the decision to choose Tokyo as my home. After living in Los Angeles (California, United States of America) for about 6 years, plus being exposed to how much the US society is changing after the 911 incident, the time felt right to follow my heart and move to the city I was so badly homesick for: Tokyo.
As it was not my first trans-continental move, I felt better prepared on what I might have to face. As my preparation I got a place to live and a job lined up, but after having given notice to my then employer that I will not extend the yearly contract, the company I was supposed to work for in Tokyo decided not to hire me at the last second. Here I was in Los Angeles without a job in Japan or my present location, having sold off or given away as much as possible of my possessions: Should I take the risk and jump into the unknown or try to re-establish myself in a known environment???
As you can guess, I took the risk and jumped into an unknown future. Getting a job and rebuilding my life in Japan was not easy at all, but worthwhile to do. For sure I learned my lesson that although I had adjusted to a different culture in the past, redoing it in Japan does not mean that I am better prepared for or that I can speed up the process. Adjusting to a local culture takes at least a year, no matter what.
Looking back now, let me list the top 3 best and worst experiences of living in Japan:

Best memories/plus points:

1. Found a home with heartful friends and the best hubby on the planet (!), a place where I feel accepted as a foreigner, plus Japan is giving me much freedom to be myself without too many questions asked
2. Although I complain from time to time about the climate, having so much sunshine in Tokyo is just wonderful. I cannot help but feel happy and optimistic.
3. Actually a constant process: Being forced to reconsider my viewpoints or perception on what I perceive as “correct” daily. There is not a day going by when I am not learning from Japan or the Japanese society to keep my mind open and consider a totally different viewpoint as “correct”, even though it might be completely incompatible with my own view of what is “correct”.

Worst memories/minus points:

1. Realizing how naive I have been about personal safety and health, because I expected someone to look out for me in a worst case scenario (March 11, 2011). Lesson learned: There are limits on what a country or society can do to protect its citizens, I have to do my own share as well. Safety and health protection of myself and the loved ones is my job!
2. Being laid off overnight from my dream job, exactly 2 days before moving in with my partner, now hubby, facing the situation of ZERO income for the near future. Lesson learned: Being truly grateful for having had the chance to experience my dream job. Looking back now, although the “plusses” of my dream job were great, considering all the drive needed to make it work, plus the responsibilities took a toll on my personality and health. I had paid my price to fulfill a dream of mine, but learned it is not worth for me. Further being forced to live off your savings solely has changed my approach to financial security.
3. Sometimes it can be hard to remind myself that I am a visitor in a foreign country and that unless I am a citizen of the country, there are topics or viewpoints that can be only discussed as local nationals. What I can say in our own four walls is not always appropriate outside.

Overall I am very happy for the 10 year anniversary in Japan. Tokyo is my home and a lot of Japanese culture got permanently absorbed in my heart. For sure I am open and curious what the future will bring.

Brought to you from a very happy Sibylle Ito (伊藤シビル)

Tokyo saw its share of snow, plus suprises!

For me a huge reason why I enjoy living in Tokyo is that winters are comfortable. The temperatures go during the cold season below a truly comfortable level – personally I prefer the range of 20-30 degrees Celsius – but I never have to deal with the long periods of grey sky and no sun, lots of snow that melts easily letting your feet feel inside the shoes like a ice block. For sure the Swiss winter I will never miss! Rather seldom it snows in Tokyo and yesterday evening looking outside felt like being in mid Advent waiting for the Holiday Season to start.
I truly enjoyed being inside, not being exposed to the weather and then suddenly a long, noisy explosion sound that seemed to much very much like a roar of a dragon! What happened? What kind of explosion could be? Looking outside of the window showed no difference to the usual, apart from lots of snow falling. Strange sound, but because I could not figure it out, I went back to work. “Wham” again, this time shorter and less intensive. I truly had no clue what is going on.
Later on talking to others, plus then on twitter from the wonderful twitter buddy “@kbrmct” I have learned that actually thunder can occur during snow storms. Moreover looking at the data provided by a nice Twitter buddy, I have learned that actually in Niigata (an area famous for lots of snow) more thunders occur in winter than in summer. Have a look at the graph below, which compared Niigata and Maebashi (city in Kanto area).

In blue Niigata shows the highest number of thunder in December and then Maebashi in the hot summer month of August. More details can be found under chapter 4 on this link from Niigata Local Meteorogical Observatory. For sure I had never expected to hear such a majestic dragon thunder in Tokyo in the winter. I guess it was just perfect timing for the Chinese New Year.

Brought to you by Sibylle Ito (伊藤　シビル)

A darker Chinese New Year for Tokyo?

Since late December I wonder what is going on with the local economy. As a simple example I am surprised that this year at my local supermarket Aeon I cannot find any surprising great deals. A year earlier, I had noticed several offers of clothes or food so amazing, even though I did not really need to buy these goods then, the quality/price offer caused me to buy for stock. This year I have observed some sales promotions, but the price ranges are at least 20% higher compare to a year ago. I wonder when prices will drop again, because customers are not buying and the clothes on the racks are still the same since late November. I am speechless, because I have not seen such a slow moving consumer market in Japan so far.
Based on the information from Nikkei Shimbun sales at supermarkets have dropped 0.6% on the year in December to 1.25 trillion yen (fifth straight monthly fall). Or then even worse, sales for all of 2011 fell 0.8% to 12.7 trillion yen, down for the 15th consecutive year. Are we now at a point in time, when no more further costs can be cut and have reached rock bottom in pricing?
The last few years is forcing many Japanese to rethink their viewpoint on their neighbors. Although historically the relationship of Japanese and Chinese has not been so smooth, recently cash rich Chinese came to Ginza to buy an amazing amount of Japanese goods. As a consequence the local economy could profit quite a bit. So far only few local businesses focused their marketing strategy on the present ongoing Chinese New Year. VenusFort in Odaiba has launched an intensive sales campaign targeting Chinese tourists during the Chinese New Year holidays. Quick actions for Eastern Japan is needed, because according to Yomiuri Shimbun the tour routes for Chinese tourists, which were previously concentrated around the Tokyo area, are moving towards the west. It seems that before the nuclear crisis, 70 percent of tour destinations were in eastern Japan and 30 percent in western Japan. Contrary now since the latter half of 2011, these numbers switched so 30 percent were in eastern Japan and 70 percent were in western Japan.
I can only wonder what the near future will bring, because corporate saving rates are up like never before, while I have never seen such a shopping hesitant Japan. When will movements in the market start again?

Brought to you by Sibylle Ito (シビル伊藤)

Nostalgie is in!

Recently it seems to me that goods related to good old times, like the picture on the side of the promotional flyer of 150 Japanese folk songs (懐かしき日本の歌・第一集), are the new trend. From personal observations I see more products being promoted recently that help to connect to a feeling in the past, when everything seemed fine, less concerns perceived or every day life was much simpler. For those curious to see more details about this example of a unique deal of 7 CDs for a total of JPY 19,000 (additionally promoted with “convenient” 10 times payment of JPY 1980) or then want to see the actual CM shown on Japanese TV, please check out this link. Interestingly the company behind is known for long distance learning: U-can. With an in place well-functioning distribution system, adding products like the one above is a great marketing strategy I can only admire.
For your info the good old times in Japan most commonly refer to the Showa period (December 25, 1926 through January 7, 1989): A period in Japanese history known for the economic boom related to the rebuilding (The Japanese Miracle), close-knit community that let Tokyo even feel like a small town or then a strong “let’s try/we can do it” feeling.
Why this boom now? I see two reasons. In the words of a professional Japanese friend: “Japanese society is getting older on average and at the same time the country is becoming more conservative”. Increasingly products for an older generation definitely makes sense, when the manga related younger population in contrast is decreasing, plus they have less and less spendable income in comparison. Secondly, starting last year with the earthquake/disaster the unexpected became a part of daily life. A large society was exposed to uncertainty and concerns about the future. Over time this resulting stress is best resolved with connecting to times, when life had been easy and simple.
Although I have not known the Showa Period myself in Japan, I have to confess my heart gets warm and tears are flowing, when I am exposed to the Showa mood. Rather seldom Showa goods have this effect on me, but movies like ALWAYS 三丁目の夕日 get to my heart. With the third part of this series, I guess I will not be the only one in the cinema with teary eyes and wishing to be sent back to the warmhearted city of Tokyo.

Brought to you by Sibylle Ito (伊藤シビル)

P.S. I have seen in the meantime the movie ALWAYS 三丁目の夕日64 (reflecting this time the period during the Olympics in Tokyo). For sure it was a heart warming movie and I shed some tears, but I guess it will be more interesting for men than for women. In the movie the classical Japanese gender roles were shown, plus the viewpoint from a child to a young adult had shifted. Men were presented as tight-lipped during critical discussions, when the women were silently in the background.
I am not into souvenirs, but my addiction for the series took over and I needed the clear file as below.