Japanese innovation: Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle (i-MiEV), the world’s first mass-produced electric car, is on display at a Mitsubishi showroom in Tokyo. JP/Riyadi Suparno
Japan is competing hard in Asia and the world market and industrialists in Japan are confident that they would continue to maintain and even expand their export markets with their unceasing innovation, creative market strategies and green technology.
Innovation and quality are the cornerstones of Japan’s two main industries, i.e. the automotive industry and electronics, and they are competing well and continue to lead the world with clear market superiority.
Japan, a country with 128 million people, has five world-class automobile companies – Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Suzuki and Mitsubishi — and produces more than 11.6 million four-wheel vehicles per annum (2007 figure), the largest such output in the world.
Despite their relatively more expensive price tags, Japanese automobiles continue to dominate the market in many parts of the world through their perceived quality and durability.
Now, they are also leading in the production of environmentally-friendly vehicles. Toyota, for example, has the hugely-popular, top-selling Prius hybrid which runs on two power sources, a gasoline engine and electric batteries. Similarly, Honda has also begun selling its Insight hybrid.
Mitsubishi, one of the smallest among the five Japanese auto giants, even went further by launching the world’s first mass-produced electric car, i-MiEV (Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle).
“If General Motors, founded in 1908, opened the door for mass production of automobiles in the following 100 years, Mitsubishi’s i-MiEV is the pioneer that will open the door for the next 100 years of the automobile,” said Masataka Saito, general manager of Mitsubishi Motors Corp’s EV Business Development Department.
Similarly, in the electronics sector, Japan companies like Sony, Canon, Toshiba, Sharp, Fujitsu and the like are all world brand names and they continue to maintain their dominance despite the new entrance of cheaper products from countries like South Korea and China.
These companies excel through, among other factors, better market strategies. Despite their relatively more expensive prices compared to competitors, they promise better quality, design and sharper focus on niche markets.
Sony, for example, managed to maintain its edge in the market by focusing on youth, said said Narihiko Eumura, managing director of Sony Electronics Asia Pacific.
“At Sonny, we now focus on youth because they are the majority of our market. That defines our mid-term strategy,” Eumura said.
Another market strategy has been applied by Honda motorcycles in Southeast Asian market, by developing low-cost products with reasonable quality to compete with Chinese motorcycles. This strategy has restored Honda’s lost market shares in big markets such as Indonesia and Vietnam.
Tomofumi Amano, associate professor at the Graduate School of Economics, Tokyo University, summarized that developing new low-cost products with reasonable quality was one of two main strategies adopted by Japanese corporations in emerging markets.
The other strategy was based on product differentiation through local product development.
Another strategy adopted by Japanese corporations is through quick adaptation to new market trends.
Asahi Breweries, for example, takes a measured strategy in response to the declining consumption of beer in Japan and the world market by entering new ventures in a number of countries, including its biggest overseas market in China, moving into bottled water and non-alcoholic drinks.
“Younger people do not drink [alcohol so much] but play games more. So we adjust our strategy by penetrating non-alcoholic drinks,” said Ryoichi Kitagawa, general manager of the corporate planning department at Asahi Breweries.
Marubeni, a legendary general trading company, takes a different approach by entering new areas that promise stronger future growth, i.e. food and agriculture as well as environment and new energy in addition to its already strong investments in natural resources and infrastructure.
“The growth of population is doubling in 40 years, and this means food is critical. That’s why we entered that sector,” said Chihiro Shikama, regional CEO for ASEAN.
“Environment and new energy have also become promising fields where further growth is certainly going forward.”
In the environment and new energy, Marubeni has been active in developing wind power in South Korea and geothermal power projects in the Philippines. Marubeni has also built the world’s first commercial project to develop ethanol from construction waste in Japan.
Green technology is apparently providing part of Japan’s new-found competitive edge. Another company active in developing green technology is Nippon Oil, which has successfully developed efficient solar power generation and energy-efficient household appliances.
Nippon Oil has successfully developed an energy-efficient household power generation system, called ENE-FARM that produces electricity and heat (for hot water) from hydrogen derived from LPG and oxygen in the air.
In addition, the company is also developing and testing efficient oil water heaters, called ECO-FEEL, an efficient gas water heater ECO-JOZU, a gas-operated heat pump, and electricity storage systems.
Nippon Oil has built an energy-creating and energy saving house, called SOENE House, to test all of its green innovations.
As the world begins to buy greener technology, Nippon Oil, Marubeni and other Japanese firms engaged in green technology would benefit greatly.
Through production and marketing of green technology innovations, Japanese corporations will ensure their place in the world market.
