National Mar 9, 2021
Vending machines help ease access to COVID-19 tests in Japan
by Hideto Sakai and Rocky Swift
Seven machines, each holding about 60 PCR testing kits have been set up around the greater Tokyo area.
National Jan 24, 2021
Disposable diapers, baby wet wipes and canned liquid formula are now increasingly being offered in locations around the country.
Cartoons | ZERO GRAVITY Jun 28, 2020
Roger Dahl on Japan's vending machines
by Roger Dahl
Business / Corporate Jun 11, 2020
Coca-Cola Japan to add virus-resistant coating to 30,000 vending machines
Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan Inc. said Thursday that it will make some 30,000 of its about 700,000 vending machines resistant to virus and bacteria in response to growing hygiene awareness among the public amid the new coronavirus crisis. Beginning this week, product selection buttons and dispensing ...
National May 14, 2020
Cooled masks sold in Japan's vending machines prove a hit in pandemic
Masks are helping struggling knitwear company earn revenue while bringing a bit of happiness to the people purchasing them.
Business Dec 2, 2019
Japan to OK sales of duty-free goods in vending machines amid labor crunch
The government is ready to approve a plan to sell duty-free goods in vending machines to address Japan's labor shortage, especially in areas outside of big cities, government sources said Monday. Duty-free items such as cosmetics, character goods and watches will be sold in vending ...
Business Sep 6, 2018
Want a piping hot pizza any time you feel like one? So did truck driver Yoshiharu Taniguchi, who craved freshly made Italian pies when he worked long nights. His solution: hunt for a pizza vending machine. He tracked down an Italian company that manufactured them, ...
Business Oct 26, 2017
Osaka's ¥1 sales energize shoppers but not good for BOJ's inflation quest
by Masahiro Hidaka
Osaka is famed for it's cheap prices, with ¥1 supermarket sales, ¥10 drinks and discount train tickets sold right next to the station. That attracts thrifty consumers and tourists, but may be undercutting the central bank's efforts to generate sustained price rises. "If it's not ...
Business Oct 5, 2017
Uniqlo installs clothing vending machines in U.S. airports, malls
Japanese casual clothing chain operator Uniqlo Co. has been placing vending machines in airports and malls in U.S. cities, offering two of its most popular items. The company has installed five of the so-called "Uniqlo to Go" machines since Aug. 2, including one at California's ...
Lifestyle Aug 19, 2017
Gachapon: Tracing the evolution of Japan's colorful toy capsules
by Tim Hornyak
Where else but Japan could you buy a miniature version of Edvard Munch's "The Scream" figure crouching over a squat toilet, horror-struck? It's one of thousands of ingeniously designed trinkets you can buy for a pittance from toy machines across the nation. They're subversive, ...
Business Aug 4, 2017
In a change from chocolates and fizzy drinks, the French are starting to offer fresh oysters from vending machines in the hope of selling more of the delicacy outside business hours. One pioneer is Tony Berthelot, an oyster farmer whose automatic dispenser of live oysters ...