Foreign manufacturers steadily make inroads into Japan

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OssanAmerica at 12:08 AM JST - 9th September

An orginal product comes out and some other company (steals) copies it. >Similar design !!!! I don't like that !!!

Copying can be done legally through licensing. "Stealing" means that a counterfeit is produced, as in the rampant piracy that comes out of China.

When major Japanese producer Combi Corp came up with a stroller similar >in structure to that of Maclaren, it installed bigger hinges in it to >avoid babies from getting caught in them when the carriage was folded >and equipped it with a stand so that it could be kept vertically.

This is not "copying" nor "stealing". Clearly the product design was improved.
OssanAmerica at 12:21 AM JST - 9th September

Every market in every country is "unique" and to succeed in it a company must understand and target it. How quickly this thread turns into a J-bashing session by people who don't understand marketing.

I also resent the patronizing tone of this article, as most of the top->quality products in the world, (Leica cameras, Apple electronics, >Mercedes-Benz, Bang&Olufsen, etc), are NOT Japanese.

Correct, and that's why the Japanese top level spenders go after those products you named. But it's an undeniable reality that in the rest of the word, Nikons, Lexus, etc are highly coveted by western consumers because of their quality. So all that proves is that high quality is sought everywhere by those who can afford it.

Gimme a Bently or Masterati over a Daihatsu or Nissan.

Yes, and I'll take a porterhouse steak over a hamburger. The markets for the examples you cite are so far apart that your statement is pointless.

Or more likely, simply indoctrinated that goods made outside of Japan >are inferior, lacks Wa or something in that fashion.

No Japanese product has ever won market acceptance, much less market dominance outside of Japan when the quality was less than the other available competitors.
dontpanic at 12:48 AM JST - 9th September

Got to agree with OssanAmerica on the sniping issue. Some people who havent had the success the hoped for are letting their resentment get the better of them I think.

With regard to copies, this is an accusation thats been levelled at the Japanese for as long as I can remember. Sadly for me thats quite a while.

Most so called 'new' products are simply adaptations and innovations of existing products. Few are so innovative they come with a patent. In that case its not possible to protect your idea as in general its usually someone elses anyway. There is a only a small window of opportunity to make a product pay. Its then pretty much accepted other makers will produce similar products.

Unless McLaren has a patent on its pushchair, Combi Corps most sensible response is to produce its own improved model. It goes on everyday all over the world on all manner of products. There are few car makers, for example, who dont buy their competitions products and strip them down for ideas.

There are numerous 'copies' of Dyson products all over the world by reputable makers. Dyson arent whining on about it, they stay successful by improving and innovating. If McLaren are wise they'll work hard right now to improve their products or someone, possibly Combi, will overtake them. Its business.
bdiego at 06:19 AM JST - 9th September

I think it goes both ways. Japan does have above average protectionist policies, but part of the barrier to entry is it's hard to compete even for a Japanese newcomer. Now China, they have extremely protectionist policies but are very adept at being discreet about it. Your company will always be denied for other reasons, but hire a bunch of Chinese or give a bribe and poof you're approved.
888naff at 06:54 AM JST - 9th September

As Dyson is given as an example I would say that they had to up their game to enter the Japanese market.

I'm sure with the help of Japanese locals they employed they have managed to improve their product.

Its certainly better than the uk models which is funny when you read the literature that comes with the uk models that tries to tell a story about selling dyson vacs to the Japanese ( far away place you would know if we were telling the truth anyway) and it was like selling snow to the Eskimos ha ha ha, etc... ...well it wasn't really like that because their uk product would not be up to scratch for the japan market and japanese that use it in the uk are disappointed. Even in Japan comparing the Japan model specs with other brands the dyson still has many bad point that point buyers reviewer off -( ironically one of them ,for a cleaning product, relating to how dirty it is to use(read empty)).

Then there's the dyson airblade copy with their creating marketing trumpeting up their new hand drier globally for anyone who hasn't been to japan in the last 10 years and seen the original and more effective, greener, easier to maintain, advanced, etc mitsu airtowel.
J_rock at 09:25 AM JST - 9th September

This is a very real phenomenon that I observed on a regular basis when I worked in the Japanese division of a US pharmaceutical company. The Japanese market remains very attractive to foreign companies, but as other countries develop and the spending power of the new middle classes being created continues to increase, Japan is going to lose some of its lustre. At some point, it just becomes too much work for too little payoff. I remember a story about foreign skiis being subjected to additional tariffs because Japanese snow was deemed to be "unique". That's not how you encourage outside companies to invest in your country. Products and services should be judged on their inherent quality and value, not where they originate, and for too many people in Japan, it's still a matter of Japanese - good. Foreign - bad.
sydenham at 09:28 AM JST - 9th September

Canadians have this "buy Canadian" mentality, and yet I never hear any sniping about that. Americans have this "buy American" campaign, going on. What the Japanese consumer does vis avis favoring Japanese products is pretty par for the course worldwide, I'd guess.

And just because people around the world buy Chinese crap because it's cheap doesn't make it right, and doesn't make them any less patriotic/nationalistic in their spending habits overall.

Now if you want to talk about import tariffs and the J-government, that's another topic altogether.
OssanAmerica at 09:37 AM JST - 9th September

Products and services should be judged on their inherent quality and >value, not where they originate, and for too many people in Japan, it's >still a matter of Japanese - good. Foreign - bad.

That is true. But it is also true that the Japanese are some of the most active and determined buyers of specific foreign brand goods despite the usually exorbitant prices.
J_rock at 10:24 AM JST - 9th September

Actually, the Canadian government is currently VERY upset with the United States for its "Buy American" policy, as well as its protective tariffs over everything from agricultural products to lumber. And I should have mentioned the very obvious exception with regards to Japanese consumers and designer goods. But the article was dealing more with foreign companies trying to break into the market and not well-established brands like Vuitton, Chanel etc.
Noliving at 11:52 AM JST - 9th September

"Americans have this "buy American" campaign, going on."

A lot of people don't fully understand what that campaign is. What it is, is a campaign to buy products assembled/manufactured in the US, it doesn't mean the company has to be head quartered in the US.

So for example lets say the US government wants to buy a whole bunch of blu ray players for whatever reason, if the blu ray players are assembled/manufactured in the US, the government then will buy them even though Sony isn't an american company.

A lot of people misinterpreted this to mean to only buy from companies that are from the US.
blackbagger at 02:51 PM JST - 9th September

Thanks for pointing that out Noliving. The point of the "buy American" campaign has always been to support American workers, not even American companies or products. The idea is that by spending a bit more on a product that was assembled in the US you help keep manufacturing jobs at home.
Yelnats at 03:56 PM JST - 9th September

I like my Daihatsu. Good car and very affordable. I do not like the Japanese vacuum cleaners though. Silent, but break within a year. They suck good though, but also suck money out of your wallet.
zaichik at 04:58 PM JST - 9th September

I don't know about Dysons in Japan, but the ones they sell here in NZ are ridiculously heavy and cumbersome. I used to have a Daewoo vac in Japan, which was lightweight and good quality.

What I've found since coming to NZ is that quality control over here is next to non-existent. I've lost count of the number of things we've had to take back to the shop to get a replacement because the original item didn't work. Japan has excellent customer service and the quality control is second-to-none.

I just wish I could live in an amalgam country with the good points of Japan, the UK and NZ :-)
Ah_so at 07:33 PM JST - 9th September

quality products in the world, (Leica cameras, Apple electronics, Mercedes-Benz, Bang&Olufsen, etc), are NOT Japanese

Bang & Olufsen?? You obviously do not know much about hi-fi..

Gimme a Bently or Masterati over a Daihatsu or Nissan

Maserati?? You obviously do not know much about cars, either!

The Mclaren is an excellent stroller - absolutely superb for the city. The only snag I have found is that they do not allow for a single-handed push due to the horizontal push bars - the buggy quickly veers to the reverse side. The addition of a horizontal handle would help.
Ah_so at 07:38 PM JST - 9th September

> Then there's the dyson airblade copy with their creating marketing trumpeting up their new hand drier globally for anyone who hasn't been to japan in the last 10 years and seen the original and more effective, greener, easier to maintain, advanced, etc mitsu airtowel.

Could not believe it when Dyson released their "invention" a few years ago in Britain with lots of publicity and gushes about cutting-edge technology etc and I remembered using exactly the same product in Tokyo about 5 years earlier.