MEDIA
How Diets are Developing
When survey firm Macromill , Inc . asked 1,030 men and women between the ages of 20 and 70 if their diets had undergone changes compared with two years ago , 60.8 % replied in the affirmative .
The most pronounced changes in their activities , as reported in the Nikkei Marketing Journal ( 15 May ) were , in descending order : modifying the items in one ’ s menu ( up by 56.3 %); moving about more in the course of daily activities ( 54 %); performing light exercises at home ( 48.4 %); and not snacking late at night ( 44 %).
Interestingly , 49.5 % of respondents said they felt a sense of enjoyment from their efforts at dieting . “ More people are realising that they won ’ t feel the effects from dieting unless they stick with it ”, explained Masaki Furuya , head of the Japan Diet Health Association .
“ This shows how dieting has been evolving , with more people becoming aware of the right ways to [ diet ]”, he added .
And , in what is surely one of the most innovative recent consumer incentives , the all-female share house Beauty & Diet Esaka in Osaka ’ s Suita City has begun offering reduced monthly rent to female tenants who can show they have lost weight , according to the 17 May issue of the same newspaper .
The basic rent is ¥ 45,000 and , for each kilogram lost , rent is reduced by ¥ 1,000 . Lose five kilogrammes , and the tenant need only pay ¥ 40,000 — at which point the limit kicks in .
There ’ s also a disincentive against weight gain , as the same scale works in reverse , with penalties in increments of ¥ 1,000 per kilogramme ( up to ¥ 50,000 ).
The new house , which was converted from a firm ’ s dormitory for single workers , is currently at full capacity with all 26 rooms taken , mostly by working girls in their 20s as well as students .
The operator was quoted as saying that , while the entrants expressed interest in dieting , none specifically raised the point that they hoped to reduce their rent through weight loss .
An Osaka shared house charges less rent if you lose weight .
Lightweight and economical motorbikes , such as this Honda CRF250 , are in demand .
Cheaper Models Drive Bike Boom
Motorbike sales have suddenly taken off , with some manufacturers reporting a three-fold , year-on-year rise in demand for lightweight 125 – 250cc models .
According to J-Cast News ( 17 May ), sales have been boosted by major model changes in 2012 that resulted in improved fuel consumption and lower sticker prices .
Sales of 125 – 250cc models rose 168.4 % YoY in February , and 162.3 % in March and 139.4 % in April by the same comparison . Meanwhile , Kawasaki report demand up 305.8 % YoY and Honda 189.0 % YoY .
All four major manufacturers reported boosted sales across the board . “ Even while sales were in decline , a strong latent demand remained . We have made moves to exploit this demand ”, explained a Honda Motor Co ., Inc spokesperson .
The key factor in stimulating new demand was reducing the cost of ownership . Until recently , for instance , few owners were said to have paid much attention to the fuel consumption figures of their two wheelers .
In the past , models that were exported to different world regions featured slightly different configurations . Now , extensive standardisation has made possible considerable price savings .
Further , Honda is hoping to appeal to younger buyers — whose interest in motorcycling in recent years has been declining — by pricing its newer small-displacement models of 110 – 125cc below ¥ 300,000 . “ It is hoped that fathers ’ enthusiasm for motorbikes will start to spill over into their children ’ s age group ”, said a spokesman for Baiku-Oh and Company , a chain that specialises in used models .
JUNE 2013 | BCCJ ACUMEN | 13