A guest house in Tokyo with a stylish interior.

Some young Japanese are rejecting single-living and opting to share spaces with others, usually strangers, as they search for a sense of community. Guest houses (rental residences with private bedrooms and communal kitchens and bathrooms) are enjoying a surge in popularity, especially among Japanese women.

The number of guest houses in Tokyo and three surrounding prefectures was less than 100 in 2003. Today there are over 600. A website, Guest House Hitsuji (“Guest House Sheep”) provides a directory of guest houses around Japan as well as advice for choosing a guest house. In the past, guest houses were used mainly by foreigners staying in Japan for a short time, but non-Japanese now make up less than 30% of residents. According to a recent survey by Guest House Hitsuji, around 70% of guest house residence are single Japanese women, mostly in their twenties.

Popular guest houses emphasize communal living spaces.

One such guest house is “Bauhaus” in Minami Senju, a commuting hub, which boasts a stylish interior, luxury amenities such as jacuzzis and fireplaces, relaxing communal spaces and comfortable private rooms. Prices for a single room range 65,000-82,000 yen, which is slightly more than a small studio apartment.

Living with others offers a feeling of security, space and community, especially when compared with the tiny, often uniform apartment. It’s part of a growing shift – powered especially by the mobile Internet – of young Japanese creating new communities beyond the traditional realms of work and family.

Innovative showrooms like this may not be enough to save the Japanese automobile industry.

Japanese auto sales are at a record low, falling 22 percent in December compared to the same month the previous year, giving a dark end to 2008, the worst year for car sales in 34 years. Japanese are increasingly urbanizing, with trains and subways being the preferred mode of transport.

However bleak things may look, some companies are responding with innovative new services. An increasing number of condominums are offering car sharing services. Residents register for the service, and then book a car for one day in advance, make a reservation for as short as a 30-minute block of time. Orix Auto, which operates the service, provides a number of compact cars to a housing complex, charges a monthly fee or around 3,000 yen ($30) and a minimal fee each time the car is used. Given the high prices or maintaining a car and a parking spot in Tokyo, the system can mean a savings of hundreds of dollars per month for someone who only drives occasionally.

Similarly, companies that rent cars and motorbikes have begun offering rentals for as little as one hour, for rates lower than a short taxi ride.

A recent event held at Architect Cafe in the fashionable district of Aoyama in Tokyo had an atmosphere similar to a networking event. Products on display included sweets, soap, aroma, cheese and interior goods. Products on sale were from large brands such as Jalux and Lion, as well as small businesses that ordinarily sell only online. Admission to the event was 1,500 yen (around $15). All participants received 1,000 yen worth or products from Lion, a major manufacture of body care and housecleaning goods, and Suntory provided free drinks at the bar.

The shopping parties provide companies with a chance to target consumers in a fun and casual setting. For participants, it is opportunity to have a “girls night out” as well as a way for professional women to exchange business cards.

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A Shiseido beauty consultant displaying her skills.

Shiseido brought together 48 beauty consultants from around Japan and the world for the final stage of this annual contest. These Shiseido employees are the ones who come in direct contact with Shiseido’s customers, making them key members of the corporation.

In the first rounds, contestants gave basic demonstrations of their skills. During the finale professional make-up artists from Shiseido performed the finishing touches on professional models, including Anne Watanabe, the daughter of Oscar-nominated actor Ken Watanabe. The contestants came from places ranging from Malta to Poland to Japan.

Contestants from around the world participated in the contest.

Shiseido is aiming to become a major player in the global cosmetics and skincare industry. To achieve this, their corporate philosophy consists of three key points: 1) Rich – beauty from the inside out; 2) “human science,” or the contentment and self-confidence Shiseido can bring; and 3) Omotenashi – Japanese hospitality and service.

Shiseido beauty consultants are important representatives of the brand.

The contest, which was known as “Miss Shiseido” when it started in 1934, works to motivate and inspire employees at every level of the company, ultimately benefiting Shiseido as a whole. The event resembled a high-energy rally more than a serious beauty event, as supporters from around the globe enthusiastically cheered on contestants.

Natalie Meyer

A seminar room in the coach A office.

The last two years have seen a sudden increase in demand for executive coaching in Japan. The training, which ranges from weekend group seminars to intensive one-on-one sessions, aims to increase overall work productivity by developing leadership and communications skills. One of the main focuses of coaching is teaching managers how to speak to their subordinates in a way that boosts harmony and cooperation in the workplace.

Leading coaching firm coach A Co. has vastly expanded their services, offering training courses for everyone from the upper executive level down to first-year employees and new recruits still in university. Meanwhile, coach A. Co. has also started training programs in English and opened offices in North America in order to train Japanese executives posted outside Japan. Another coaching provider, Coach21, has diversified its programs, starting a new four-month course in May in which busy executives undergo training via teleconferencing systems.

In the past, such training was often taken by individuals seeking to improve their skills in order to land a promotion or transfer to a better job. Recently, however, more and more companies are paying for coaching services, seeing them as an investment that will pay off in terms of higher work productivity. A long-term once-a-week course averages around 630,000 yen ($6,300), and prices are on the rise.

The Global Life Learning Center, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Education, has tested and certified 2,886 people to become coaching instructors, and it is likely that new training providers will enter this quickly expanding market.

A new TV program focuses on parents harassing teachers.

“Monster Parent” a new drama series on Fuji Television premiered yesterday. The story revolves around a female lawyer at a prestigious law firm who is summoned to a public school in the suburbs to help the board of education deal with a “monster parent.”

“Monster parent” is a term that only recently began appearing in the Japanese media. Japanese parents long had a reputation of completely trusting teachers, especially at prestigious schools, and supported the decisions made about their children’s education by officials. This has changed, and many critics argue that the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction.

Yoshihiko Morotomi, a professor at Meiji University who has written a book on the topic, says that parents will strongly oppose even the slightest signs of favoritism or singling out students. Morotomi relates stories of mothers insisting on sitting in on their children’s classes and taken pictures or filming while classes are in session to make sure all is fair. In a recently reported case, an elementary school staged staged a performance of Snow White in which all 25 girls in the class simultaneously played the title character, as all of the parents pressured the school not to favor any one student with the star role. In extreme examples parents will harass a teacher they believe has wronged their child until that teacher agrees to resign.

That a prime-time series has been based on the topic indicates that it is very much in the popular consciousness, and it is possible that educational or even legal reforms will be made to address the problem.