Terrie Lloyd Having a population that is able to screen out distractions means marketers have to come up with ever more devious, or in-your-face, means of marketing to their audience. My favorite place to see this marketing-versus-humanity evolution at work is in Shibuya. Whatever is new to catch your attention, you’ll see it there first.

Peter Harris Dear Readers -- We took great pleasure in compiling and editing the articles in this month’s magazine, our first issue as a monthly publication for quite a few years. With marketing as our focus we offer articles covering a range of hot topics. Industry expert, Andrew Till, explains how to harness the latest eye-tracking technology to understand Japanese consumers and, we offer detailed case studies of Krispy Kreme and P&G.

Dear Editor -- I am writing in regards to last issue’s ‘Sending the Right Signals’ article. Joseph Greenberg makes mention in paragraph two of what seems to be a uniquely Japanese ‘shotgun approach’ to sending products to market. I have long been dumbfounded at the amount of new products that are constantly popping up at convenience stores, 100 yen shops and supermarkets around Japan. Almost every autumn I develop a taste for some chocolate bar or new drink and just as fast it is taken off the shelves (maybe for the better).

By Florian Kohlbacher and Uwe Holtschneider -- Why you have to wait two hours for a doughnut in Japan. -- Queuing is nothing special in Japan. Every day, television programs show long lines of people queuing for up to one hour, even in front of regular noodle shops, only to finish their food within less than ten minutes. Now, the Tokyo branches of the American doughnut chain Krispy Kreme are taking this phenomenon to a new level.

By Jon Hoel -- Hey, big spender. -- At first glance, Yukina Abo, 22, is one of many million reasons why Japan consumes 41% of the world’s luxury goods, according to JETRO. Her impressive collection of luxury accessories includes Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Prada and Coach. Aspirational consumers in Japan like Abo have been willing to skimp and save to buy a must-have item, even if it means getting into debt to do so.

By Andrew Till -- Understanding the Japanese consumer in the digital age -- Japan, and its population of demanding consumers, has always been a famously tough market to crack. Several of the world’s favorite brands, including Colgate Toothpaste and eBay, are simply not present here, and those that are often struggle in a war of attrition against strong, home-grown competitors. -- The world of experimental psychology and neuroscience that has provided marketers with eye tracking technology is now also a source for other advanced tools that are used to gauge the effectiveness of advertising, especially costly TV commercials.

By Sarah Noorbakhsh -- Proctor & Gamble: a Japanese marketing success story -- Global consumer goods giant P&G entered the Japanese market in 1973, acquiring the Nippon Sunhome Company—just three years later, its first product in Japan, the laundry powder ‘Cheer’ had become a best seller. An international marketing leader, in recent years it has had to adapt to changing market conditions and also to think about its own ‘P&G’ brand.

J@pan Inc is pleased to present our comprehensive Marketing Services Directory.

By Makoto Goldstein -- An in-depth look at the Japanese advertising giant -- The advertising industry in Japan is a unique creature and many believe that it is driven, like so many other facets of Japan’s history, by one major ruling body. In the marketing realm, the Shogun is Dentsu. Dynamic they may not be, yet all encompassing and all-purveying they most definitely are.