Bye Buy Butter

Thirty-five years ago, it was toilet paper. Now, consumers and bakeries are hunting butter as Japan is suffering a butter shortage.

Supermarkets are limiting butter to one per customer. At OK Mart, Hokkaido butter brand was available, up 100 yen from it’s previous price of 199 yen. Buyers were allowed only one package of the precious gold.

Manufacturers are apologizing as usual.

Bakeries and restaurants have been having butter troubles since late 2007.

Falling butter production in Japan is due to a variety of factors since 2006, including government efforts to maintain prices for local milk farmers, dairy closures, a decline in milk consumption, excessive import tariffs, and worldwide grain-feed price rises.

French bakery chefs are concerned: “We’ve had to come up with some new items that use less butter, like cookies. But you’re talking about flavor. How can you replace butter?” says a pastry chef at a bakery in Tokyo. la times

Butt Shortage Not First

Japan went into “oil shock” in 1973 when Arab members of OPEC set policies that would quadruple the price of oil. Reports predicted a shortage of goods, including (more…)

Opposite Directions

Decreasing auto sales in Japan, combined with new laws targeting elderly drivers and other efforts to prevent pensioners from driving, are making it more difficult for auto manufacturers facing a different demographic future.

Newsweek reports automobile sales in Japan have been declining steadily over time. It says aside from minicars and luxury foreign brands, sales of all other types of vehicles are decreasing. Newsweek details a number of factors for the developing disinterest in car ownership.

A 2007 report by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association includes data about the vehicle preferences of people aged 50 years or older. According to the report, “a large number of respondents in this category said they wanted to curb car-purchasing and other car-related expenditures. However, among goods and services they wished to purchase with their retirement benefits, ‘automobiles’ ranked fourth among a total of 19 items.” The research also showed people are keeping their cars longer.

To counter the continuing sales decline in Japan, car makers have been improving marketing strategies. Toyota’s Gazoo website features “Drive Dates” hosted by cute female “idols”. Toyota also developed, built and operates the Tressa Automall near Yokohama.

Nissan’s Cube compact car brand has it’s own artists and music label. Nissan has a whole website of entertainment, including Kid’s Nissan and Nissan origami. Honda is targeting the youngsters with games online at Honda’s ToyTown, which includes popup paper-craft instructions.

License To Shop

Meanwhile, Tokyo city government has been working to get senior citizens to stop driving. Tocho is so concerned about the increasing number of automobile accidents caused by elderly drivers, it is offering incentives to persuade golden agers to quit driving. (more…)

Stay at hotel after a natural disaster and save!

A merchant association in Toda, Saitama Prefecture, is selling memberships in a kind of disaster getaway package.

Buyers choose an inn or hotel in advance, and, if the Disaster Relief Law goes into effect in the city, members will be provided accommodation up to 300,000 yen in value. The vouchers can be used at lodging in 14 locations around Japan. The annual membership fee costs 10,500 yen for a family of five, and that includes transportation.

And if nothing happens during the one-year membership? You get a free gift! Direct from one of the evacuation area regions. A 3,000 yen value.

Brochure images: blog.kogayabungu.jp

The Daily Yomiuri reports that a ?disaster relief vending machine? which can be enabled to dispense goods for free during a natural disaster, has been installed outside a police box in Maebashi.

And the Maebashi machine is not the only one. There are 20 similar vending machines in Shizuoka.

In fact, vending machines that become free-of-charge after a disaster or major quake have been available nationally at least since 2003.

When an earthquake of 5 or higher on the seismic intensity scale, or a similar disaster occurs, and if the anti-disaster headquarters is activated, the items in the special vending machines will be offered free of charge. An emergency power supply keeps the machines operating.

Seishin venderDydo