Furniture giant IKEA marked its return to Japan with the opening of a store Monday in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, but some domestic rivals question whether the Swedish firm has learned enough about Japanese consumers to please them.

With its 40,000-sq.-meter showroom and some 10,000 items on sale, IKEA's directly owned and operated showroom hopes to dazzle shoppers with its stylish Scandinavian furniture offered at low prices.

"The 'Black Ship' has arrived," said Hiroe Tonegawa, chief executive officer of Tokyo Interior Co., referring to the Western ships that came to Japan during the 17th century, when most of the country was closed off from the outside world.