I cannot imagine how many people living far apart from Japan have ever visited Japan.
Once you are in Tokyo, the capital city of Japan, I think you would find it is so messy town because now we have to share so much narrow space with other people due to the highest population density around the big cities as well as Osaka and Nagoya, which are the other biggest cities. 
All drivers living around cities are concerning about available parking lot when they go to town with thier family and friends with thier car. I don’t know how much fee at your country, however, it costs 800 to 1,000Yen ( $7 to $8.7 USD) per hour in the highest, for example in Roppongi, where is one of the most popular night town crowded many people all day long, parking fee is 9,600Yen ($83.5USD) when you put your car at parking half a day. Nowadays, there are some parkings with reasonable price having the limit, 2,000Yen per night, to ensure young guys who come to spend thier weekends there frequently. But almost parkings around the urban cities in Japan, every parkings are not useful for drivers at the point of parking fee.
Then, how about is the parking space paid for by the month in Japan?
Japanese apartment generally has few parkings because rooms are more important than parking space to make more money for owners of apartment. People who lives in apartments or flats have to find parking lot themselves within 2 Kilometers of thier house due to Japanese law, and have to report it to the police. The monthly fee depends on the area where it is, more or less, it costs 10,000 to 100,000Yen(!) per month.
I guess it is one of reasons why young people in Japan does not own thier car these days…

Technorati Tags: Japan, Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, parking, Roppongi

Today, as everyone knows, Japanese vehicle makers have expanded thier business day by day. We can see almost Japanese dealers the whole world. It’s not rare that you can buy Toyota car in your country, not from Japan, and there are some cars that we cannot get in Japan because of apprearance of international model like Japanese car with LHD.
I have mentioned that young people don’t own thier car these days in my last post yesterday, and it is true, it is getting decreasing the numbers of registrated car in Japan.
The reason why is that, I think, it is not only parking issue but also expensive taxes on owing car and few attractive cars for them recently. According to an article on one of Japanese famous newspapers last month, young people tend to spend thier weekend alone in thier house and save thier earning for thier future because Japanese Social Security System, especially Japanese public pension plan, will be about collasping due to many disgraceful affairs by officers of government. And one more reason I guess is that so many young people are gathering urban city, and there are the various available transportations even if we do not have car, so, there is no necessity for being owner of car near big cities.
Once in a time, owing car was in a sense that was status for everyone in Japan. After the World War II, in high growth between 1955 to 1975, population who eagers to buy and purchase thier own car has been getting increasing, in the time of ”Made is Japan” was not considered good quality then yet. Everyone in the world laughs at things manufactured in Japan and no one could imagine there would be so many Japanese vehicles everywhere around the world in their future days. Now, Japanese cars are loved by people living in different countries, continents and even opposite to Japan.
Japanese car company like Toyota, Nissan, Honda etc. have been no more locar companies in Japan getting global and multinational ones in 21st century for their brilliant sales. Toyota is the best company in Japan nowadays, still some of makers had to change thier sales strategy because of a few bad schandals and changes of laws about ecological regulation.  But totally almost Japanese car makers have been bigger and bigger year by year thanks to thier close mechanical progressings.

 (Continued on my next blog…)

Technorati Tags: Social Security System, pension plan, disgraceful affairs, high growth, Toyota, Nissan, Honda

Japanese well-known makers always have developed a lot of vehicles and keep everone’s eyes on thier products. People who love cars did not used to regard the car as just vehicle, but as thier hobby, however, we cannot see this car boom any more here except for car maniacs still being.

Then, what car is well-sold in Japan now? The answer is “Kei car” which is the vehicle under 660cc.
According to a report of Japan Automobile Dealers Association, during last 6 month, the best-selling car in Japan was Suzuki “Wagon R.” I think you are surprised with this result.
I have mentioned people living around the big cities who can live without thier own cars thanks to the complicated transportation system, trains, subways and buses like net over the area. Moreover, there is few space to be enough to a lot of person can park…
On the other side, country side areas, car is one of the necessities of life, it is going to be one car for one person because we can say it is the only transportation for them. Supermarkets, convenience stores and even if BARs (of course, it is exhibited to drive when they drink!!), they have so much space for parking a lot. They have to get the driving license when they are 18 years old, and purchase car to go work, school and shopping. They must buy car…but car is not trivial expense for everyone. That’s why Kei car is the most popular for people and best-selling car! Makers have been improving thier products’ interior, exterior, equipments and driving functions not only for people in local side but also for people living in the big cities. Therefore, we can find many types of Kei Car, Daihatsu Move, Tanto, Mira, Honda Life, Suzuki Alto, Nissan Moco etc. everywhere even if we are in the big cities and in the country cities.

(Continued to my next blog)

Technorati Tags: Kei car, Suzuki, Wagon R, Daihatsu Move, Tanto, Mira, Honda Life, Alto, Nissan Moco

As you have already known and I have mentioned in my recent blog posts, renewal of some popular car models, like Landcruiser 200, Mark X Zio and GT-R, have launched and will be coming soon. Toyota also announced thier new product “Corolla Rumion,” Mitsubishi, eager to get thier trust back, launches new Lancer Evolution X. They are expecting that thier sales would be increasing with them, however, it is not clear so far.
Some people who are called “celeb” in Japan (please note: this does not mean real celebrity, everyone in Japan calls rich person “Celeb”) like high-grade car, especially, imported car like Mercedes, BMW, Ferrari etc. In Ginza and Roppongi, where rich people are gathering at night, we can see more imported cars than Japanese luxury cars like Toyota Celsior, President, Nissan Cima and so on. It is not unusual sceanary around those town today. All they can afford to buy expensive car but do not buy Japanese car because it is one of thier status to be appeal thier wealth. On the other hand, young people who likes car are tend to buy American car, not Japanese sports car. That’s why there are some American car magazines published here. Almost car owners do think mechanical techniques of car are not the matter when they choose their car, for them, the most important thing when they purchase is its exterior.

Then, do you know who the target of vehicle maker’s sales scheme is?
The answer, I suppose, is car maniacs in manhood. They are not young but can afford to buy car whatever they want. In thier youth days, they liked to buy the “middle-grade” passenger car which has 5 or more seater for thier family, but thier children have been getting growing and independence from parents, finally, some of them have been about age of retirement.
They do not have to spend thier earnings on education for children and can spend thier money on thier hobby!! If there are a lot of car maniacs among them, they are going to boost sales of new car.
Following object is one of reason why I think so, Nissan has already received rushing purchase offers of new GT-R (Official Website), launches on December 2007, unless they had announced all information of it yet. I heard its price would be at least 7,000,000Yen for standard model (actually, it would be possible to be about 8,000,000Yen!!). Who can buy such expensive car!? —Of course, rich person can. Moreover, car maniacs who addicted to old Skyline in the old days have been getting older and now are willing to buy new GT-R, always can’t take thier eye’s off it!!

I’m feeling young car maniacs is getting decreasing and they are tend to buy non-expensive car in Japan these days. Vehicle makers attempt to make various car matching thier interesting, however, it is not sure that have reached everyone’s mind…
And it is getting easier to buy high-quality used car now through appearing used car distribution like Japanese used car auctions which we buy cars for our customer when we export them.
But we should not forget that, we cannot buy used car without new car because used car was new car when it launched first. Decreasing of sales of new car is serious problem not only for car makers but also for us, used car dealer, in the future.

Toyota is still the best company in Japan. They succeeded to make strongest and loved car, finally, people all over the world love thier car. But in Japan, no one take Toyota car considering as special one, needless to say, it is ordinary for everybody. How an ironic it is!!

I would like to expect  the future of Japanese auto industory and Japanese people to love Japanese car…

Technorati Tags: Landcruiser 200, Mark X Zio, GT-R, Toyota, Corolla, Rumion, Mitsubishi, Lancer Evolution X, high-grade car

My staffs and I attended a party greeting by Muslims, Eid Festival, at one of our staff’s house held last Saturday. He is a pious Muslim from Bangladesh and his wife and his brother, too. We had an incredible time with them. It was for the first time to watch the TV show broadcasted Bangladesh with the Internet and I have found Bangladeshi women is beautiful!! Spicy Bangladeshi cuisine is always so good for us!! There is the difference of culture between other countries’ and ours, we sometimes feel it when we talk with our customers and our non-Japanese staffs, however, it is also interesting to learn and get to know another culture very much.

Japanese people used not to get their interest in Japanese culture now. Most of people do behave thier lives like American even if we are born nature Japanese. It is not I want to say it is wrong, but, we should respect our culture more and get the way into our life.
Anyway, I love to know about different country’s culture, cultivate and cuisine. I’d like you to meet me at your country next time!!

We are going to meet one of our customer from Maldives next week. I’m looking forward to meeting him and having a good time.

Technorati Tags: Muslim, Eid Festival, Bangladesh, Bangladeshi

Sumo is well-known sports for the whole world for the sports originated Japan, it is big men’s game. It has long history in Japan, and there are a lot of fans not only inside but also outside of this country.
Now, it, Sumo, is facing a serious problem from two scandals, one is about Yokozuna and another is about young Sumo wrestler.

There is a Sumo wrestler here from Mongol. He speaks Japanese very well like people born in Japan, and the strongest one so far. He used to be very strict for his daily excercises in order to be the top of the wrestler, then, finally he achieved to be “Yokozuna” that is position only eligible man could get. No one object it because everyone admits his power.
No one was being his rival for several years, however, suddenly, Japanese Sumo Association made him exibit to participate in Sumo tour due to he had absent himself from the summer Sumo tour. The reason why he absent was his sickness…but, he did played soccer in his mother country. Knowing it, many people got angry about that and
thought he had told a lie to go to Mongol. Many people reproached him and deplore the decline of moral in Sumo wrestlers.
I watched many TV shows about this problem several months ago, he is in his country due to his despression caused this criticism, not decided when he would come back to Japan and participate Sumo games.

Another, about Japanese young Sumo wrestler, is related murder.
Although it has not completely proved that it is yet, people think so. A 17-years-old young Sumo wrestler died of many injuries on his whole body at his stable in this July. Police concluded that was die from sickness at first, however, they admitted that was thier fault and the truth was death from shock of hits and kicks by his fellows.

How do you think about those problems?
Sumo is one of our best traditional things from Japan. I would like you not to disappeared on it from those problems caused recently, but you to know deep information that never reported abroad.
I think he, Yokozuna from Mongol, cannot be blamed so much because it was on him whether he would perticipate or not (of course, it was not good that he told a lie.) Rather than it, murder is more grave news for us.

Technorati Tags: Sumo, Sumo wrestler, Yokozuna, Japan

I went to Tokyo Motor Show 2007, held at Makuhari Messe, with one of my customers coming from Maldives yesterday. It was opened only to the press or people in auto industory yesterday, they opens to the public from 27th October (Sat) to 11th November (Sun). This is one of very excited events for Japanese car maniacs and they are gathering there from all parts of Japan.
We found various kinds of next generation cars then and had a very exciting time!!

I’m going to write about then in Tokyo Motor Show 2007 with some photos next Monday. Check it out!!

Technorati Tags: Tokyo Motor Show 2007, Makuhari Messe, Maldives

Those are photos of concept cars lined there up in Tokyo Motor Show 2007.
First is Toyota RiN, its concept is based on matching in the forest. Its green color is charming!                            

Next is Lexus LF-A. This car is more practical than another concept car.

Actually, almost cars in Tokyo Motor Show 2007 are not sold and we cannot drive them.
The only way you drive them is visiting Japan and Tokyo Motor Show 2007!

Technorati Tags: Tokyo Motor Show 2007, Toyota, RiN, Lexus, LF-A