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Q: Online Sales in Japan ( Answered 5 out of 5 stars,   1 Comment )
Question  
Subject: Online Sales in Japan
Category: Business and Money > eCommerce
Asked by: tornell-ga
List Price: $30.00
Posted: 11 Mar 2004 12:33 PST
Expires: 10 Apr 2004 13:33 PDT
Question ID: 315805
Hi,
please provide me with some statitics on:

1) E-Commerce (online sales) B2B in Japan
2) Any research on small or mid-size firm internet usage or readiness
(also in Japan).
3) Any information about internet usage in the Japanese construction business
4) Private use of the internet in Japan (development over the years)
5) B2C Online Sales Development in Japan

Thanks,
Tornell-ga

Clarification of Question by tornell-ga on 11 Mar 2004 12:51 PST
Related link:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=53236
Answer  
Subject: Re: Online Sales in Japan
Answered By: umiat-ga on 12 Mar 2004 21:54 PST
Rated:5 out of 5 stars
 
Hello, tornell-ga!

 I have compiled the following statistics for you. I hope they prove
useful! It is hard to find recent data, especially for small business
use of the internet.


=======================
ECOMMERCE B2B IN JAPAN
=======================

From "Japan B2B Market Forecast to Grow 500 Percent by 2005," by
William Auckerman. Internet News.
(Feb 8, 2001) http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/583001

Excerpt:

"Japan's B2B market will grow fivefold in the next five years, to
110.6 trillion yen (US$955 billion), while the nation's B2C market
will jump 16-fold in 2005, to 13.3 trillion yen (US$115 billion),
predicts a new e-commerce survey report."

"The survey, covering nearly 400 e-commerce sites, was conducted from
September 2000 through January 2001 as a joint project by Accenture
(formerly Andersen Consulting), the Japan Ministry of Economy, Trade
and Industry (METI), and the Electronic Commerce Promotion Council of
Japan (ECOM)."

"The survey report estimates that Japan's B2B market was worth 21.6
trillion yen (US$139 billion) in 2000, a growth of about 60 percent
from the previous year."

"The report warns, however, of a growing "inter-industrial digital
divide" -- a gap between industries that are using B2B e-commerce to
their advantage (including the information equipment and
automotive-related sectors) and those that are lagging behind (such as
the chemical products, office equipment, and energy utilities
sectors)."

"The survey found that three industrial sectors (electronics,
information and automotive) accounted for 90 percent of domestic B2B
e-commerce in 2000, but forecasts that this ratio will drop to 48
percent in 2005 as other industries increase their online trading."

(Read more....)
 
==

From an abstract of the IDC Report:
 
"Japan B2B Forecast and Analysis 2000-2005: SMB Adoption Will Shape
Future Growth." (Sept 2001)
http://www.mindbranch.com/listing/product/R104-7067.html 

"How big is the B2B market in Japan? What are the problems the B2B
market is facing? How much will the market grow by 2005 provided that
the problems would have been solved? What are the trends of small and
medium-sized companies that will play an important role in the
Japanese industry? How do we deal with B2B ecommerce?"

"IDC announced the forecast of the size of ecommerce market from 2000
to 2005 based on its Internet Commerce Market Model (version 7.1,
April 2001.). According to the forecast, the B2B ecommerce market
reached US$69 billion and will grow at an average of 48.8% CAGR
(Compound Annual Growth Rate) per year to reach US$504 billion in
2005. This means that the market size in 2005 will be 7 times the
current size, but will the market grow to that level smoothly? Such
growth can only be achieved by overcoming the problems that the B2B
market is facing currently. On the other hand, the B2B market will
have to cover not only large companies but also small and medium-sized
companies in order to grow, which is an important factor especially
due to Japan's industrial and economic structure."

=

Also read the following excerpt from the article profiled below:

"Japan's B2B Universe." Japan Inc (November 2000)  
http://www.japaninc.net/article.php?articleID=482

"There's also the conservative business culture to take into account.
Not everyone in the Japanese business world -- especially industries
slow to modernize -- is like the risk-friendly entrepreneurs that this
magazine covers. "Japan has a very structured business culture," says
Patrick Toolis, a young CEO hoping for success with his new
J-Surplus.com exchange. He complains that the "hanko stampers" -- the
senior managers who must approve any new B2B initiative -- are for the
most part older and not tech savvy."

=

Also see "Recent Trends of B2B EC in Japan." Electronic Commerce
Promotion Council of Japan(ECOM)
http://www.ecom.jp/ecom_e/latest/ecomjournal_no1/topic_07.html



===================================================
SMALL OR MID-SIZE FIRM INTERNET USAGE OR READINESS
=====================================================
 
Many businesses are starting to use cell phones to track business activity.

Read "Emerging Business Applications in the Japanese Mobile Internet,"
by Jeffrey L. Funk. Japan Media Review (2004)
http://www.ojr.org/japan/wireless/1073506040.php
   
Partial excerpt:

"It is estimated there were between 100,000 and 200,000 business
people accessing information in corporate databases from their mobile
phones as of April 2003. This growth has been driven by the rapid
diffusion of Internet-compatible phones and the innovations in the
mobile Internet-related technology that began accelerating in the year
2000."

"It is ironic that there are probably many more mobile Internet
business users in Japan than in the United States or Europe in spite
of the fact that U.S. and European service providers initially placed
much more emphasis on business users than Japanese service providers
(e.g., see J.P. Morgan, 2000)."

"Just as entertainment has been an unexpected driver of this growth
and innovation in the overall mobile Internet, unexpected applications
such as delivery, construction, maintenance and sales are driving
business use in the mobile Internet. Firms that have little experience
with ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning Software) and CRM (Customer
Relationship Management) are implementing a new set of applications
and they are using a new set of solutions that are offered by a new
set of firms.

(Read more....)

See Table 1 - "Growth in Corporate Users for Three Stages of Mobile
Intranet Usage."


==

See the following outline of a paid report: 

"2001 Japan Small Business Internet, E-business, Telecom, & IP
Services." Published by Access Markets International Partners (July
2002)
http://www.mindbranch.com/listing/product/R149-225.html

==

Also see the following report profiled below:

"Japan's B2B Universe." Japan Inc (November 2000)  
http://www.japaninc.net/article.php?articleID=482



================================================ 
INTERNET USAGE IN JAPANESE CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS  
================================================= 

"Japan's B2B Universe." Japan Inc (November 2000)  
http://www.japaninc.net/article.php?articleID=482

(this article profiles a few construction companies as well)

"...eMarketer values Japan's B2B ecommerce market at $45 billion by
2003, so chances are some of the companies listed here will be rolling
in money five years from now. It's equally certain, however, that many
will be out of business. So how do you choose?"

"One US firm that's done pretty well making these choices Stateside is
B2B investor Internet Capital Group, and recently it stepped up its
efforts in Japan. "Japan is one of the great industrial economies of
the world, and in certain industries it's a clear leader," says
managing director Ken Fox. "We want to invest in Japan-based companies
that we think will become global leaders."

"Internet Capital Group is hardly alone, of course, in its enthusiasm
for B2B investments in Japan. One venture capitalist we talked to
admitted that every single company his firm had invested in was a B2B
play."

"Of course, this is Japan, so differences in business culture need to
be considered. Take wireless, for instance. Many businessmen here are
starting to adopt cellphones as their primary means of communicating,
organizing, and Net surfing. Sound far-fetched for using online
exchanges? Don't be so sure: technology integrator Gluegent is already
creating a package whereby cellphones will be the single system a
company needs. No PCs, no laptops.

There's also the conservative business culture to take into account.
Not everyone in the Japanese business world -- especially industries
slow to modernize -- is like the risk-friendly entrepreneurs that this
magazine covers. "Japan has a very structured business culture," says
Patrick Toolis, a young CEO hoping for success with his new
J-Surplus.com exchange. He complains that the "hanko stampers" -- the
senior managers who must approve any new B2B initiative -- are for the
most part older and not tech savvy."

See article for companies profiled:

Construction:
-------------

Kensetsu 21
www.kensetsu21.com
Otsuka Shokai 

Construction EC.com
www.construction-ec.com
Construction EC.com 


Building Materials:
-------------------

Kenzai-Net
www.kenzainet.ne.jp
Mitsui Bussan 

Kogoshima Kenchiku Ichiba
www.ben.co.jp/ichiba
Ben System 

Mokken Ichiba
www.mokken.com
Mokken Ichiba 
 

=


The Japanese Construction Industry is well-represented on the internet
by a number of very interesting websites. Please see the following
Construction Portal:


JAPANESE CONSTRUCTION PORTAL  
==============================
http://www.expage.com/japbuild


The Japan Construction Information Center is invaluable! 
http://www.jacic.or.jp/english/


Other links:

Japan society of civil engineers
http://www.jsce-int.org/

Japan civil engineering consultants association
http://www.jcca.or.jp/english/index.html

Architectural institute of japan
http://www.aij.or.jp/aijhome.htm

Japan architectural education and information center
http://www.jaeic.or.jp/index_e.htm

Japan federation of construction managing engineers association
http://www2.famille.ne.jp/~jcm/Contents.htm

Japan construction information center
http://www.jacic.or.jp/english/

Consultants of landscape architects in japan
http://www.cla.or.jp/en/en.html

Japan interior designers association
http://www.jid.or.jp/eng/

Building research institute
http://www.kenken.go.jp/english/index.html

Building center of japan
http://www.bcj.or.jp/ (press english button)

Research institute of construction economy
http://www.rice.or.jp/e-home/e-home.html

Japan housing association
http://www1.neweb.ne.jp/wa/jha/contents/iysheng/index-e.htm

Contemporary japanese housing by mini encyclopedia
http://www.tjf.or.jp/deai/contents/teacher/mini_en/html/jutaku.html

Standarts for construction in japan
http://www.cals.jacic.or.jp/english/index.html

Japan testing center for construction materials
http://www.jtccm.or.jp/english/index.html

Japan cement association
http://www.jcassoc.or.jp/Jca/English/Ue.html

Japan concrete institute
http://www.jci-net.or.jp/index_e.html
Japan steel information center
http://www.jsic.org/

Japan bridge and structure institute
http://www.jbsi.co.jp

Japan association of steel bridge construction
http://www.jasbc.or.jp/e_index

Public works research institute
http://www.pwri.go.jp//eindex.htm

infrastructure development institute-japan
http://www.idi.or.jp/e_index.htm

Japan construction equipment manufacturers association
http://www.cema.or.jp/index_e.html

Exhibition of japanese construction equipment
http://www.e-coconet.com/2003/index_eng.html 

japan building show 2003 http://www.jma.or.jp/bms/en/
japan home builders expo-osaka 2003 http://www.jma.or.jp/Hbx/en/

The overseas construction association of japan
http://www.ocaji.or.jp



Japanese Construction Information Center (a very interesting site!)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.jacic.or.jp/english/

Online information offering: 
"This information service provides in an electronic format the
construction-related information collected daily from the central
government, from public corporations, regional government authorities,
construction-related firms, etc. Since the start of the service in
November 1988, an enormous volume of construction-related information
has been accumulated and converted, to form a valuable database."
http://www.jacic.or.jp/english/e-jacicnet.htm 



Matsushita Electric Works 
-------------------------
offers "DigiPersNavi," the industry's first internet interactive
service to assist easy, inexpensive and high image-quality perspective
drawing for home solution providers."

Membership is charged on an annual basis!

Read more....

Press Release (September 2002)
http://www.mew.co.jp/e-press/0204_0206/0209-03.htm 


==

The following paper "may" be of interest:

'DEVELOPMENT OF THE PM-SUPPORTING TOOL IN JAPANESE BUILDING
CONSTRUCTION MARKET ~IMPROVEMENT OF AN APPLICATION SOFTWARE FOR
SCHEDULING," by Ryusuke MIZUNO1, Shuzo FURUSAKA, Takashi KANETA,
Takayori TAKAMOTO and Chikashi YOSHIDA.
http://216.239.53.104/search?q=cache:SgQmqXBnSF4J:www.kke.co.jp/cames/archive/W78-51.pdf+japanese+construction+companies+and+Internet+usage&hl=en&start=11&ie=UTF-8

(Since this is a cached article, the link may not work when I post the
answer. If so, you will need to copy the title into your search
engine, and then click on the "cached" version.)



 
====================================
PRIVATE USE OF THE INTERNET IN JAPAN
======================================

From "How to evaluate the number of "Internet users" in Japan." Japan
Internet Report No. 65 (Summer 2002) http://www.jir.net/jir7_02.html
 
A partial excerpt:

"How many "Internet users" are there in Japan today? According to the
government, the figure has already topped 55 million. Meanwhile,
government architects of the "e-Japan Strategy" that proposes to make
Japan the world's premier information technology superpower by the
year 2005, claim that more than 50% of Japanese households have PCs,
and 44% enjoy access to the Internet."

"There is a lot of survey data to support these estimates, and the
conclusions tend to be readily accepted, even by foreign residents of
Japan who should know better. But like Japanese expatriates in the
West, PC and Internet usage is disproportionately high among foreign
residents of Japan, and their friends and acquaintances tend to be
highly "wired" as well. The result is a perception that Japan is very
tech-savvy and has a high incidence of Internet usage."

"But look closely at the lives of ordinary Japanese citizens and quite
a different picture emerges."

"For example, when a breakout group of five mothers of children in a
private kindergarten in an upscale district of Tokyo have only one
computer at home between them, you have to wonder about the 50% plus
household diffusion claim."

"When a buddy is having a custom home built in a pricy Tokyo
neighborhood by one of Japan's leading housing manufacturers (a
company that builds thousands of homes each year), and the project
manager in charge is bewildered by his first-ever request for
throughout-the-home LAN cabling, you have to wonder: Is Japan really
wired?"

"And when InfoPLANT finds that half of all consumers polled have never
even heard of the government's "e-Japan Strategy," and only one in
twenty-five can explain what it is about, you have to wonder whether
this country will indeed be the world's leading information technology
superpower less than three years from now, as the architects of the
e-Japan Strategy claim."

"What's the big flaw in the Internet user data? What accounts for the
enormous discrepancy between official statistics and empirical
observation? One answer is that many of the surveys count subscribers
to Internet-enabled mobile telephone services as "Internet users."

(Read more....)

==

From Global Web Statistics
http://www.mseo.com/statistics.html

"Out of Japan's total population of 125 million, the latest forecasts
from International Data Corp. show 8 million people are online. That
number is expected to quadruple by 2003, reaching nearly 32 million.
And online buying will also boom: from $2 billion in 1998 to $45
billion in 2003. Although that figure is just a small slice of IDC's
U.S. e-commerce forecast of $707 billion, Japan's 87% annual growth
rate will beat the expected 80 percent U.S. growth rate. (Industry
Standard)


=

From AsiaBizTech: "Over 50 percent of Japanese population online." 
http://www.nua.com/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905358740&rel=true

Mar 12 2003: "AsiaBizTech reports that more than 50 percent of the
Japanese adult Population is online. This is according to new data
from the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs and
Telecommunications."

"During 2002, the number of people using the Internet in Japan
increased by 13.49 million to 69.42 million; this is equivalent to a
54 percent penetration rate.

Over 80 percent of Japanese households are now online,

* compared to 79.1 percent of businesses."

In terms of broadband, approximately 29.6 percent of Internet users
connect to the Net via a high-speed connection."

=
 
  
From Yahoo: "Japan sees sharp rise in DSL subscribers."
http://www.nua.com/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905358705&rel=true

Jan 14 2003: "Yahoo reports that there were 5.64 million DSL
subscribers in Japan at the end of 2002. This is according to new
statistics released by the Japanese Ministry of Public Management,
Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications."

"The number of DSL subscribers has risen sharply over the past few
years. At the end of 2000 there were just 9,723 DSL users in Japan, a
figure that rose to 1.52 million at the end of 2001. In December 2002,
the number of DSL subscribers rose by more than 500,000, compared to a
monthly average of 300,000 throughout the year."



==================================
BUSINESS TO CONSUMER ONLINE SALES
==================================

From "Mobile Commerce Revenues by Region, 2000 vs. 2005 (in billions)."

Mobile commerce revenues include retail, travel, paid content and
advertising revenues generated over wireless connections

Japan:
 
0.4 billion in 2000
5.5 billion in 2005 

See chart (Source: Jupiter Media Metrix)
http://www.cba.hawaii.edu/aspy/aspymkfa.htm


=

Predictions to end of 2004:

From the introduction to a paid report: Asia-Pacific E-Commerce: B2B &
B2C." eMarketer
http://www.emarketer.com/products/report.php?asia_ecom

"Even with Japan?s economic woes, e-commerce revenues in the
Asia-Pacific region are expected to explode - rising from $76.8
billion at year-end 2001 to $338.5 billion by the end of 2004."


=

"Predicted Online Retail Sales Worldwide, Q4 2002"

Region   Q4 2002    Market share   % Growth
--------------------------------------------
Japan    $1.93      5.1%           37.7% 

From ePay News Statistics (Source: GarnerGroup, October 2002)
http://www.epaynews.com/statistics/purchases.html


=

"IDC: Where The eCommerce Dollars Are, 2000 - 2004."

Region    2000     2004
-----------------------
Japan      21%      12% 

From ePay News Statistics (Source: IDC)
http://www.epaynews.com/statistics/purchases.html	


==


"The Asia/Pacific area will be third in holiday sales with $3.32
billion; followed by Japan (broken out separately) at $1.93 billion,
with "every place else" coming in at $1.52 billion."

"Statistics: Holiday 2002." Source (Gartner Group 2002)	
http://www.shop.org/learn/stats_hol2002_spending.html

=

From "Top 10 e-commerce countries."

1998 SPENDING (IN BILLIONS) - Japan  2.0
2002 SPENDING (IN BILLIONS) - Japan 28.8

Internet Globalization 2000 (Source: IDC March 28, 2000)

http://www.eurotrash.com/Resources/globalization_statistics.html


==

From "Japanes Ecommerce Set to Explode," by Paul Greenberg. eCommerce
Times (January 2001)
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/2300.html

Excerpt:

"Meanwhile, business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce in Japan is steadily
climbing. Although Japan has been slow to take to e-commerce, Andersen
predicts that B2C e-commerce will reach $42 billion in 2003, up from
under $1 billion in 1999."

"The major market segments that will contribute to B2C growth are
automobiles, travel and real estate, the report predicts, with each
segment topping $9.5 billion in value."

"Still, despite the astronomical gains that are expected in the coming
years, the report points out that e-commerce services will represent
only two percent of household consumption."

"The report says that development of e-commerce in Japan has been
slowed by a number of factors, most notably the high cost of
telecommunications and the lack of Internet applications being
produced in the Japanese language."
 
"About 65 percent of Japan's estimated 20 million Internet users gain
access through the telephone  network of Nippon Telegraph & Telephone
Corp. (NTT), formerly a government monopoly. NTT has not lowered
access fees in 23 years, the report states, charging about $2 an hour
instead of the flat fee enjoyed in the U.S. The high fees have caused
Internet users to largely curtail their Web-surfing."

"Most industries have been unable to generate significant online sales
in Japan, according to the report. Almost 50 percent of online sales
in Japan in 1999 were for electronic goods, the report states, while
40 percent were automotive goods.
Sales of commodity items and luxury items, which are well under 10
percent of the total, have not caught on with the Japanese public."

(Read more....) 
 


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
=======================

See the Subscription-based report:

"eMarketer Chart: B2C and B2B eCommerce Revenues in Japan, 2000 -2004
(in billions)"
http://www.emarketer.com/products/chart_htm/010001-011000/010352.htm


==


 Again, I hope this information provides a helpful initial overview of
ecommerce in Japan.


umiat-ga


Google Search Strategy
======================
B2C AND Japan
B2B AND Japan
Japan AND construction ecommerce
Japan Construction Portal
japanese construction companies and Internet usage
small business internet use in Japan

Clarification of Answer by umiat-ga on 12 Mar 2004 23:09 PST
Here are few more articles, though they are still a bit dated:

"The Internet as Cure for Japan?s Ills." World Trade Magazine. (07/02/2001)
http://www.worldtrademag.com/CDA/ArticleInformation/Global_Online_Item/0,3509,29178,00.html


"ONLINE ON THE GO: Wireless LANs Becoming Commonplace in Japan."
Trends in Japan (September 10, 2002)
http://www.jinjapan.org/trends01/business/index.html
  "Many businesses, particularly restaurants, are making use of this
technology to lure customers."


"The Internet in Japan: Catalyst for Change." International Business
Research (2001)
http://www.international-business-research.com/InternetJapanJan2001Overview.htm
 "a 250-page study of the interplay between the business factors and
regulatory regime shaping online commerce in Japan in 2001."
(The 26-page summary can be downloaded for free) 


"White Paper on the Internet in Japan." Kiko-net. (2001)
http://www.kiko-net.com/Foreigners/White_Paper/White_Paper.php?year=2001


"Japanese Internet User Statistics," by Michael Pastore. (June 1, 2000)
http://www.clickz.com/stats/big_picture/geographics/article.php/5911_384631 


"Internet Access Rates Still Growing in Japan," by Michael Pastore
(October 11, 2000)
http://www.clickz.com/stats/big_picture/geographics/article.php/5911_482261


"Fujitsu Research Institute compiles results of Internet user survey -
Trend is toward "passive" usage, pursuit of personal interests."
(1998)
http://www.fri.fujitsu.com/hypertext/fri/cyber/research/index-e.html
tornell-ga rated this answer:5 out of 5 stars and gave an additional tip of: $5.00
Thanks for a good answer! Now I have some reading to do! Regards, tornell-ga

Comments  
Subject: Re: Online Sales in Japan
From: umiat-ga on 15 Mar 2004 08:22 PST
 
Thank you, tornell, for your very generous rating and tip!

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