Japan's labor crunch provides opportunities for more women to take the wheel
From moving companies to taxi and train operators, Japanese firms have been recruiting more female drivers amid a serious labor shortage that is hitting the service sector particularly hard. But taking steps to support female drivers has become a critical challenge for companies, as many ...
Faced with Japan's changing habits and demographics, delivery firm Sagawa looks to diversify
Sagawa delivery driver Keisuke Kawabe has seen the video that went viral on the internet two years ago of one of his colleagues smashing up parcels out of frustration that the customer wasn't home, and he doesn't approve. "Of course I can understand it to ...
Kansai Electric attaches delivery lockers to power poles to gauge demand
Kansai Electric Power Co. said Thursday it has attached delivery lockers to power poles in Seika, a town in Kyoto Prefecture, to assess demand for such a service. The utility company intends to hear from users and examine the convenience of such lockers as it ...
Drone deliveries ready to soar in Japan but lingering issues likely to keep post office in business
A drone carrying a package sails through the air, touching down to make a delivery right on a customer's doorstep. Amazon.com Inc. wowed the world in 2013 with a video purporting to show what the future of the delivery industry would look like. But are ...
Yamato and DeNA test autonomous delivery system in Japan
On Tuesday, Yamato Transport Co. and DeNA Co. tested an autonomous vehicle delivery service to gauge the potential of self-driving technology in the field of logistics. The two Tokyo-based companies conducted the experiment in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, in which an electric car navigated through a ...
Yamato Holdings Co. plans to provide logistics services in Myanmar through a joint venture with a local partner, aiming to capitalize on growing demand for trade and road transport from foreign companies. Yamato Global Logistics Myanmar Co., set up at the end of last year ...
The Japan Times newsroom selected these economy and technology stories as the most important of 2017. 1. Morass of data scandals: Kobe Steel Ltd., Mitsubishi Materials Corp. and Toray Industries Inc. were all swept up in data falsification scandals, damaging Japan's reputation for high-quality production. In ...
Meal kit delivery services gaining popularity in Japan's busy households
Meal kit delivery services are not just helping out busy households but also seniors in Japan's increasingly graying society. The selling point is that customers can prepare fresh meals on their own with a ready-made kit of food ingredients and seasonings in just the quantities ...
Japan to give parcel locker initiative a push to reduce redeliveries in more areas
To ease the burden on delivery firms by reducing unnecessary redeliveries, the environment and transport ministries plan to expand their budgets substantially to encourage the installation of parcel lockers in suburbs and rural areas, informed sources said. For fiscal 2018 starting next April, the ministries ...
Packaging firm Rengo focuses on innovations in cardboard to drive corporate efficiency
Cardboard box makers in Japan are coming up with innovative designs to ameliorate corporate labor shortages and to improve delivery efficiency. Market leader Rengo Co. is displaying such products at its showroom in Saitama Prefecture, including boxes that are easily opened and double as actual ...
