Comm J Market Notes
#54, May 2008
What Japanese Customers Want - 2
People ask me what Japanese customers want. Last time I mentioned the importance of redundant systems that continue operation despite points of failure.
#2 – is compactness. In Japan they like things small.
This may not surprise you. But, does miniaturization top your development priorities list? If you're going to sell in Japan, maybe it should.
Some of the miniaturization is born of necessity.
Take notebook PC's. While the Western notebook typically weighs 2-3kg, the Japanese are making them smaller and lighter. My new Panasonic Let's Note (called ToughBook in the U.S.) weighs 1.17 kg, my partner has the 0.96 kg model. (For comparison, the MacBook Air at 1.35 kg, equals the heaviest of the Let's Note series). In a country where people are commuting and going to meetings on trains, size and weight really matter. The battery runs 10 hours, so you save carrying a 400 gram power supply too. Toshiba, NEC, Fujitsu, Sony, Sharp have similar notebook products. Of course Japanese have smaller fingers, so they don't mind the slightly cramped keyboard.
Companies like ASKUL "miniaturized" the office supply business by delivering pens, paper, printer cartridges, in frequent small lots to small-medium offices in near-real-time "Toyota Just-In-Time" style. Considering the dearth of Tokyo office space (and storage space) and the narrow roads unfriendly to delivery vehicles, the motorbike-based ASKUL system works well.
Putting aside practicality, compactness is so embedded in Japanese culture that a "small for small's sake" design ethic has evolved. Japanese manufacturers always push the envelope on smaller and smaller cellphones, digital cameras, suitcases, computer mice, and more.