The fastest-growing drinks market in Japan isn't craft beer or fruit smoothies. It's cups of cheap black coffee from the local convenience store.
"Convenience-store coffee is just great, given its low price," said Kiyoshi Fujimoto, a 50-year-old school teacher in Tokyo. He estimates he drinks coffee from the shops, known locally as conbini, four times as often as from Starbucks Corp., and pays about one-third of the price.
"In my office, only instant coffee is available," Fujimoto added. "When I want to have a good coffee, I escape from the school to get it at a convenience store."