This section outlines some general points that need to be considered on understanding Japanese

consumer behavior. It has stressed some of the underlying macro-level factors that influence the
Japanese market and its consumers.

POPULATION DENSITY

According to the Statistic Bureau, 2000, Japan's populace was 126.7 million in 1999, which demonstrates
an increase of just around 10 million during the most recent twenty years. Contrasted with different
nations, Japan was (in 1998) the eighth generally crowded country in the world. In 1999, its populace
density was 340 people, which is about equivalent to that of Belgium and around multiple times more.
As per projections, the Japanese populace will increment by around 1 million continuously on 2010, and
by 2050 it will have declined to an aggregate of 100 million, which compares to a thickness of 270
people for every km2 (Statistics Bureau, 2000).

ECONOMIC PROSPERITY

The after war period has been characterized by relative political steadiness, harmony, and financial
flourishing. Since the end of the Second World War, Japan has gone through significant cultural changes
that thus have impacted different consumer-related practices. Also, a few of the natural costs
(commotion, air contamination, water contamination) of fast industrialization and development are
getting progressively apparent. Different negative impacts can be credited
to the high swarming that is regularly experienced in many shopping regions of huge Japanese urban
areas. Simultaneously, crowds are not generally a disturbance, as they can round up the shopping
experience by "giving the imperative foundation of commotion, energy and sense of something
occurring" (Clammer, 1997, p. 47).

From the get-go in its set of experiences, Japan was generally impacted by its nearby territory neighbors,
in particular China and Korea. During the Meiji reclamation period (beginning in 1868), the impact was
basically Western. European impact was particularly solid in the late nineteenth and mid twentieth
century. American culture was "imported" with the occupation powers after the Second World War, and
its effect on Japan was unavoidable during the second 50% of the twentieth century

CULTURAL HOMOGENEITY

The Japanese offer a solitary language, social legacy, and national origin. Along these lines, Japanese
customers have many mutual implications, and are moderately homogeneous compared with the
population of other nations. As Larke (1994) pointed out, "contrasted with the West, income, education,
spending and individual social awareness are surprisingly uniform" (p. 42). By and by, there is
considerable fluctuation, which cannot be disregarded. Thus, in numerous cases, it is improper to
market to Japan as if it were a mass market, without suitable segmentation (Sasaki, 1995).

AGE

In Japan there is a veritable respect for older persons, and one of the public occasions (September 15) is
the Keiro-no-hello (Respect for the Aged Day). For instance, the depiction of older people in promotions
and advertisements are generally very positive. Age is a significant determinant of utilization and
consumption. In Western societies it is a variable generally utilized for market segmentation. The
significance of this variable is considerably more prominent in Japan, on the grounds that numerous
parts of Japanese life are determined by age, and expected to happen with pattern of regularity. Given
the great extent of age-based compensations and word related progression, the buying intensity of
buyers is intently attached to age.

EDUCATION
Education is highly valued in Japan, and the Japanese consumers spend substantial amounts on various
educational activities. In fact, the high savings rate has been attributed in part to the need to have large
amounts in reserve for different learning experiences (Clammer, 1997). In Japan, education is
compulsory up to the ninth grade. However, the number of persons attending senior high school (i.e.,
grades 10–12) has been about 95% during the last decade (Asahi Shimbun, 2000). In fact, Japan has one
of the highest literacy rates in the world. Generally, Japanese individuals as well as organizations have
been characterized as insatiable information seekers (Melville, 1999). Johansson and Nonaka (1996)
noted that the Japanese usually amass all the available pertinent information in order to minimize risks.
Importantly, information is a driver of consumption (Clammer, 1997). Japan has five significant public
papers, with readerships among the most noteworthy in the world. For the period July to December
1999, their day by day joined combination went from around 3 million for Sankei Shimbun to about 14.5
million for Yomiuri Shimbun (Asahi Shimbun, 2000). Inclusion by the conventional broad
communications (magazines, radio, TV) is likewise high. Furthermore, the quantity of Internet users has
been expanding consistently (Nihon Keizai Shimbun, 2000). Therefore, new consumer styles appear in
the trendy areas of Tokyo, and are immediately diffused in the entire nation by means of the media.

AESTHETIC VALUES

Aesthetic values have been stressed in Japanese culture. The importance of these values and the striving
for perfection can be seen in Japanese gardens, in flower arrangements, in food presentation at
restaurants, in the wrapping of gifts, and in many other aspects of everyday life. The aesthetic
appearance of products is therefore critical, and a great deal of attention is given to it. For example,
fresh produce with minor (mostly cosmetic) blemishes will sell at vastly lower prices than the “perfect”
specimen. Tse (1996), summarizing some of his studies, noted that Japanese (and Korean) consumers
placed more emphasis on aesthetic concerns for both food and appliance purchases than Chinese
consumers.

PRODUCT AND SERVICE QUALITY

Japanese purchasers have been portrayed as demanding due to the significance they attach to product
quality and their insistence on a close match between their need and the particular item (Czinkota,
1985; JETRO, 1988). The nature of items and administrations in Japan is normally consistently high, and
reaches out from little to enormous ticket items. For example, when buying a container of eggs, it is
pointless to check them – as buyers generally do in the USA – in light of the fact that none are broken.
The reliably high caliber can lead to significant levels of consumer loyalty. In manufacturing, numerous
unfamiliar organizations attempt to mimic the demanding Japanese mechanical principles and industrial
standards. Tse (1996), in summing up some of his examinations in the region of item execution, noticed
that among the groups he had considered studying (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, U.S. buyers) the
component of value was generally significant among Japanese and Koreans, trailed by Chinese and
afterward by U.S. shoppers. In numerous conditions, apparently Westerners are regularly bound to
acknowledge the price/quality bargain.
IMAGE

The Japanese have been described as image-cognizant customers (Ariga, 1990; Clammer, 1997; Kato and
Kato, 1992; Melville, 1999). Thus, it has been focused on that an item might be "the best item in the
world", yet except if it extends the correct image, it isn't probably going to succeed" (Ariga, 1990, p. 88).
As per Melville (1999), even in the stature of the downturn 66% of the overall brand name deals were in
Japan. For image-conscious consumers, an important consideration is the quest of status and prestige
items. Consequently, Japanese consumers “attach importance to what the ownership of a given product
signifies to others” (Ariga, 1990, p. 88). Also, it has been stressed that the store where a gift was
purchased can be as reflective as the product itself (Ariga, 1990). Incidentally, it has been reported that
status appeals in Japanese advertising increased dramatically from the late 1950s to the early 1980s and
coincided with economic growth factors (Belk & Pollay, 1985).
REFERENCE

Clammer, J. (1997). Contemporary urban Japan: A sociology of consumption. Oxford: Blackwell

Fields, G. (1983). From Bonsai to Levi’s. New York: Macmillan

Meow, S. C. (1989, February). The Japanese mind: An interpretation. (Papers in Japanese Studies No. 3.)
Singapore: Department of Japanese Studies, National University of Singapore

Meow, S. C. (1989, February). The Japanese mind: An interpretation. (Papers in Japanese Studies No. 3.)
Singapore: Department of Japanese Studies, National University of Singapore

Larke, R. (1994). Japanese retailing. London: Routledge

www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/japan.pdf