Every year the Nikkei Marketing Journal (NMJ) ranks the year¡¯s best new products and services like a sumo tournament, naming a ¡°yokozuna¡± (champion) for eastern and western Japan. We combed through that, as well as magazines like Trendy (also from Nikkei) and Dime, for the game-changing gear of 2012 in Japan. Some trends we¡¯re noticing are compact, cheaper goods that offer a comparative experience to the full size ones they¡¯re designed to replace and ¡°smart¡± appliances that work in tandem with .
The kei car from Honda doesn¡¯t look like a kei car. Kei, or ¡°light,¡± cars are ubiquitous in Japan; unless you¡¯re planning to log long hours on the highway (for which you could just use the train), a small, light car with no power is perfect for traffic-clogged, narrow streets. Also, they cost a lot less to register and insure. But the innovation of the N Box ¨C some 200,000 were sold this year ¨C is that it is much roomier than your average kei. Not American-style minivan roomy, but maybe mini-minivan roomy. Ranked #3 for eastern Japan by NMJ and #12 by Trendy.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.