
Business Jan 14, 2021
Japanese firms take e-commerce livestream plunge as Chinese splash out
With China's online shopping market expected to grow, and with tourist numbers down, firms are seizing on the opportunity to sell through a new format.
For Su Xincheng's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
With China's online shopping market expected to grow, and with tourist numbers down, firms are seizing on the opportunity to sell through a new format.
Online orders have increased about 20% from the previous year as people are refraining from going outside due to COVID-19, Japan Post said.
Many analysts forecast the 225-issue Nikkei average will move between 23,000 and 24,000 toward the end of the year.
Market participants are closely watching whether the new prime minister will dissolve the Lower House for a snap election to strengthen his grip on power.
Japan's longest-serving prime minister is leaving an economy that is smaller, badly hit by the pandemic and with more debt than when he returned to power in 2012.
As companies close offices in central Tokyo or encourage employees to work from home to stay safe from the coronavirus pandemic, young people are relocating to the suburbs where rents are cheaper, space less at a premium and nature nearer the doorstep. With Japanese work ...
Inventive companies are adding tricot, xylitol and even coolant packs to masks as medical experts warn using them in hot and humid weather might cause health problems.
E-learning program providers are offering their services for free to help students keep up with their studies while schools in Japan remain closed over the coronavirus outbreak. Major manga publishers are taking the same step to keep students entertained as the government calls on students ...
In a small fishing village in Hokkaido, Shiho Tateoka rises at 6 a.m. and sends her three children off to school before starting a day of handling fish sales. When that's done, she's back on social media searching for more clients. The 43-year-old used to live ...
Every few meters along a shopping street near towering Tokyo Skytree, signs with the words "PayPay used here" can be seen promoting the availability of an electronic payment option, an option that remains a relatively uncommon offering in cash-obsessed Japan. Despite its reputation as one ...