1. The Japanese Food Market
Presentation prepared for the European Institute for Asian Studies, Swedish Embassy, Tokyo
June 20, 2011
Stephanie Assmann, Akita University

2. Fragmentation of Food Retail Market
Demographic Changes
Fragmentation of Food Retail Market
Aging of society
Delay of marriage and parenthood
Single parent families remain a rarity
Fertility rate at 1.26.
Conventional patterns of family life
Women
41 percent of the workforce
70 percent leave workforce upon marriage and/or childbirth
Convenience stores, specialty stores and drug stores cater to single consumers
Pre-packaged foods, ready-made meals, snacks and frozen foods
Family-owned shops cater to families who purchase fresh food on a daily basis.
Older consumers
New shopping possibilities such as home delivery services
Use of modern communication technologies

3. Eating Habits
Culinary influences from China, Korea, Spain, Portugal, France and Italy.
Famous non-Japanese foods
1. Tempura from Portugal
2. Ramen from China.
Occupation Period ( )
US food aid program supplied bread and milk for school lunches
American style fast food chains such as McDonalds in 1971 and Japanese interpretations like Mos Burger in 1972

4. Convenience Stores (Konbini)
Self-service mini supermarkets
Established in the 1960s
Sales area between 30 m²and 250 m²
Opening hours mostly 24/7
Ready-made meals, snacks, soft drinks , alcohol, cigarettes, postal and bank services
42,738 outlets (2004)
Yearly sales of billion yen
Locality and convenience

5. Supermarkets Established in the 1960s and 1970s.
Large-scale retail outlets
18,485 stores.
Sales of 1.08 trillion Yen (August 2009)
Key Market players
1. Seven & I Holdings
Sales of 5,649.9 billion Yen (US$ billion)
Ito-Yokado
2. Aeon Co. Ltd.
Sales 5,230.8 billion Yen (US$56.3 billion)
Jusco
Supermarket chains Aeon and Saty
Convenience stores (Ministop )
Drug stores

6. Department Stores Rich in history and tradition
Large-scale retail outlets between 1,500 m² and 6,000 m²
Almost a third of department store sales consist of food markets and gastronomy
Number of department stores has declined since the early 1990s from 455 department stores to 308 outlets in 2004
Sales figures of department stores have declined from 8.99 trillion Yen (99.12 billion US Dollar) in 1999 to trillion Yen (81.45 billion US Dollar) in 2008
Standard Assortment
Freshly made delicatessen and bentō (lunch box), food gift boxes , coffee and tea specialties
Department Stores
Rich in history and tradition
Socializing and cultural events

7. Mitsukoshi
Founded in 1673
13 department stores in Japan and 22 department stores in Paris, London, Taiwan and Shanghai
Mitsukoshi Isetan Holdings key market player
Sales of billion yen
Innovative distribution channels, such as online shopping, home delivery and mail order services

8. Food Safety
Use of expired and/or tainted ingredients, illegal or contaminated additives and pesticides
Mislabeling of food ingredients
Falsification of production dates and expiry dates.
Snow Brand Milk Products: tainted milk products
Meat Hope: mislabeling of croquettes
Fujiya: use of expired ingredients and mislabeling consume by dates of its products
Food scandal over tainted dumplings imported to Japan from China

9. Impact of 3/11 Disaster on Food Market
1. New focus on food safety
Fukushima Daiichi refocused the attention of consumers on food safety with implications for farmers
MAFF: prohibition of harvesting of Fukushima vegetables, such as spinach, kakina and parsley
Iitate-mura: emergency slaughtering of cattle
2. Earthquake and tsunami have destroyed coastal fishing towns in the Tohoku Region
3. The disaster has destroyed agricultural areas, in particular in the most affected prefectures Miyagi, Fukushima and Iwate.
Future Tasks
Identify new distribution channels and food products that are attractive for older consumers
Support and rebuild agriculture and fishing industry in the affected regions
3. Analyze if and how regional food products can be (re- )integrated into the assortment of food retailers.