Bandai has scored a hit with this toy that allows kids to make sushi at home.

Toys that allow children to try their hands at making real food – from chocolate snacks and ice cream to bread and sushi rolls – have achieved remarkable success in Japan. By the end of 2008, toy manufacturer Bandai had sold 150,000 units of its sushi roll set for kids, “Norimaki Makki”, launched the previous summer.

On the marketing side, this and other products were developed out of a clever strategic cooperation between companies from various sectors. Toy manufacturers, food distributors and supermarkets have worked together not only on product development, but also creating sales promotion campaigns for example online and in stores as the products drive sales of both the toys themselves and the required ingredients. The success of the sushi roll set in particular is remarkable not only for the fact that this is the first time that a toy that utilizes no cute cartoon characters has turned into a major hit among young girls. It is also a manifestation of a broader trend of Japanese parents looking for ways spend more quality time with their children.

This shift has been widely cited as one of the key factors driving the success of Nintendo’s Wii game console. However, food toys offer parents several more benefits. Whereas with the Wii, parents are likely to take a beating at the hands of their kids, activities like making sushi rolls put mothers in the driver seat and allow them to teach their daughters practical cooking skills as well as lessons about the value of food.

With the current economic situation likely to continue well into 2009, the market is likely to see more products that offer consumers multiple benefits and at the same time help manufacturers drive sales. For the toy sector, it is interesting to note that products released so far have been exclusively targeted at mothers and daughters, so manufacturers are not doubt looking at similar toys for fathers and sons.

Since 2004, Panasonic has been selling a lineup of beauty appliances that generate nano-sized steam particles to moisturize facial skin, offering Japanese women an affordable way to replicate the beauty salon experience at home.

Recently, the company has released a new product that represents a paradigm shift not only in the beauty appliance category, but might have broader repercussions. It has launched a steamer that no longer requires users to sit in front of the machine like previous models. Instead, it can be used while sleeping, making it easy to use fro even the most time-pressed women. It also expands it benefits by delivering moisture to hair as well as facial skin.

Technological innovations aside, introducing a product that can be used while sleeping might well turn out to be a stroke of genius for the company, and could spark a broader trend for brands to stop competing for the busy and limited waking hours of consumers, and instead offer products that fulfill their function while consumers are sleeping.

A number of similar products have already appeared in the market. A small manufacturer has recently released a blanket that contains so-called moisture care silk and promises skin-care effects while sleeping, while another company has released fragrant sheets that can be attached to the pillow case.

National

National Electric has launched a new home beauty care product for women that uses ultrasonic waves and vibrations to clean out facial pores, kill bacteria that causes pus in larger pores on the nose, and make facial features better defined. Facial pores free of foreign particles become smaller, giving the skin a smoother look overall.

The unit, called the “Ke-ana Esute” (“Pore Aesthetic”) retails for around ¥20,000 (US $200) at online retailers such as Amazon Japan. The device is cordless and water-proof, allowing it to be used in the bath.

Advertisements for the new product in Tokyo trains include actual holes in a poster of a woman’s face, making a point about how vulnerable skin is to pollutants.

In the past, National Electric has released beauty appliances such as their “Nano Steam Facial Cleaner” for women and shortly after released the same concept retooled men. So we are likely to see a similar ultrasound product for guys in the near future.

Advertisements for the new product make a point about skin pores with actual holes in the posters.

Kobe is being transformed from a port city to a technological hub.

Kobe’s supercomputer is positioned as one of Japan’s fundamental national technologies to support the development of Japanese science, technology and industry in the future, supported by the government.

The next-generation machine has been under development since fiscal 2006, with the think tank RIKEN acting as its main developer. The seven-year project is estimated to cost about 115 billion yen by the time of its completion towards the end of fiscal 2011.

This supercomputer simulation technology is indispensable for the development of science, technology and industry in the future as the third means after experiments and theories – a means linking the last two.

Kobe’s supercomputer will boast the world’s most advanced performance achieving a processing speed of 10 quadrillion (10,000 times a trillion) floating-point operations per second.

Furthermore, the establishment of a supercomputing research and education base known as a center of excellence (COE) of the world’s highest level will develop Kobe into a ‘base of wisdom’ assembling world-class researchers and businesses within this city.

The new supercomputer will be open to private and public sectors, academia and government without assuming any specified area of use so that it’s technology can be shared for wide applications ranging from basic research to industrial use.

An antique camera fair drew analog fans.

Japanese camera makers are known for being at the forefront of digital imaging technology. The Fuji Film company has been following global trends by gradually rebranding themselves as “Fuji Digital Imaging,” to align themselves with the filmless photo age. However, both amateur and professional photographers have their hearts in quite another place. A recent used camera fair was held in a Tokyo department store, bringing dozens of antique camera dealers together with thousands of camera fans over the course of a week.

A large number of the visitors to the fair were retired men who previously worked as professional photographers or journalists and are unwilling to make the switch to digital. Many of the other shutterbugs in search of vintage gear were hobbyists, but in Japan people take their hobbies seriously. “Well, anyone can use a digital camera,” said a vintage camera fan at the fair while looking over Swedish cameras from the 1960s, meaning that a hobby that is too easy to do is not really a hobby.

While this is bad news for digital camera manufactures, film makers can rest assured that they will have a market in Japan for some time to come.