Japanese watch makers, long overshadowed by luxury Swiss brands, have found their niche: radio-controlled watches.

The nation's time-pressed salaried workers have taken a particular shine to the watches, which lose only a second every 100,000 years. A typical quartz watch loses between 10 and 20 seconds per month.

"You can say the radio-controlled watches are the savior of Japanese watch makers," said Yoshiaki Ashizawa, director of Citizen Trading Co., a marketing arm of Citizen Watch Co.