Japan's seen record snowfalls this year, right along its Japan Sea coast and northern prefectures, enough to bury entire houses. And yet the traffic keeps flowing. How come?
Well, a mixture of preparation, and ingenuity. One Japanese company making rice crackers noticed that the underground water it was using to wash its rice and then disposed of was warm enough, at 13-14 degrees, to melt snow. So it started channelling it through pipelines to bubble up along nearby roads and keep them snow- and ice-free. Some cities in Hokkaido achieve the same feat by using heat from underground shopping malls to heat the roads above.
Solving snow-related problems is not exactly a UK strength.... but we have some inventive solutions to many other problems that are facing Japan. Last week I heard about a UK company that's selling a simple device in Japan to help elderly and disabled people pick up and put on their socks- lots of potential there, in this rapidly aging society. At a more macro-level, the UK's carbon trading scheme is one of the best ways yet devised of incentivising companies to move to sustainable operations and low carbon technologies, and British government and industry are doing our best to spread an understanding of the potential in Japan.
Japan faces plenty of other challenges: how to get the best from its mountains of privately-held assets? How to optimise its soft power? How to internationalise its education systems? How to retain its pre-eminence in electronics and performance engineering? Does your company have a product or service that could form part of the answer to any of these questions? If so, we can help put you in touch with the problem-owners. The Asia Task Force events taking place around the UK in February (www.businessinasia.co.uk) could be a good place to start, but we're happy to hear from you at any time (commercial.tokyo@fco,gov.uk) .
Meanwhile, we'll work on matchmaking the rice-cracker manufacturer with Heathrow Airport.
Sue Kinoshita
Director, Trade & Investment
UKTI Japan
Sue.kinoshita@fco.gov.uk
2 comments
Comment by Jeremy Hill posted on
I think the story about the health-care item proves that if you have the right product and are prepared to invest the time and effort in the Japanese market then success will come. It doesn't have to be very hi-tech, but the Japanese are always looking for looking for new and innovative products and ideas. So if you are dithering about whether to dip your toe in the water then pull your socks up, do your research and get out there! It could make all the difference to your business.
Comment by Jeremy Hill posted on
I think the story about the health-care item proves that if you have the right product and are prepared to invest the time and effort in the Japanese market then success will come. It doesn't have to be very hi-tech, but the Japanese are always looking for looking for new and innovative products and ideas. So if you are dithering about whether to dip your toe in the water then pull your socks up, do your research and get out there! It could make all the difference to your business.