Whisky & Chocolate

Lotte and Suntory have teamed up once again, this time to release a limited edition set of Whisky and chocolate in time for next year's Valentine Day.

Dean & Deluca

Dean & Deluca has released a new and seasonal flavour for its premium ice-cream line with "Modena Balsamic Vinegar with Fig".

White goods go ECO

The large Japanese manufacturers of household electronics have launched campaigns touting the environmental friendliness of their products in recent months. Slogans are quite similar (Toshiba with Eco Style and National with Eco Ideas) and seem to try and persuade consumers to trade in their current products for the latest, energy-saving model.

Suntory Smoothie

Suntory has come up with a new take on the liquid breakfast with this Fruit and Tofu Smoothie

Spot the difference

From time to time, Japanse companies release what can only be considererd brazen imitations of their competitor's package design. The most recent example are Ebisu and Kirin - one of the above is a so-called third beer (brewed without malt) and retailing for about 130 Yen for a 350ml can, the other a premium beer sold for approximately twice that amount.

Virginia Slims Noire

Virginia Slims "Noire" is the latest tobacco brand targeted at women.

Eneloop Kairo

Sanyo has released a rechargeable and thus eco-friendly pocket-warmer with the Eneloop Kairo

Sony integrates LISMO!

KDDI has announced that the next generation 'LISMO' mobile music download service will be fully compatible with Sony audio equipment, allowing owners of Sony's NETJUKE HDD stereo system to back up and play music files downloaded using an au mobile phone or transfer music stored in 'NETJUKE' directly to an au mobile phone or Walkman - without using a PC.

Glico Almond Premio

Glico has released a premium version of its almond chocolate sweets with Premio.

Haagen Dazs Kokuto & Kuromitsu

Haagen Dazs Japan has released another flavour inspired by traditional Japanese ingredients with Kokuto & Kuromitsu, brown sugar and sugar syrup.

SUICA goes ECO

Train operator JR East is jumping on the recent craze for re-usable shopping bags with the SUICA de Eco campaign, offering new users of its smart card SUICA the chance to win a cute SUICA cloth shopping bag.

Peace Infinity

The premium trend that has been evident in so many recent new product launches in the food and beverage sectors has reached cigarettes - Japan Tobacco has released Peace Infinity, a premium version of its Peace brand.

Starbucks Discoveries Paris

Starbucks has released the latest addition to its RTD coffee brand Discoveries with Paris. The drink follows the recent trend towards bitter flavours and is not sweetened.

Clorets HOT

Cadbury's Clorets chewing gums now come in Spicy Cinnamon as well.

Lotte Beni

Lotte's new health and energy drink Beni is targeted at women.

Face mask goes fashion

Unicharm has released a new face mask in its successful Rittai series specifically targeted at women and teamed up with the online community site Girlsgate to provide tips on a face mask as the ultimate fashion accessoire.

Hello Kitty

Interestingly, the world's first Hello Kitty Jet. Interestingly, the plane is not operated by a Japanese airline, but Eva Air from Taiwan, where Hello Kitty appears to be even bigger than in Japan.

Hello Kitty is everywhere on board of this plane - including of course the welcome video, where she can be seen doing a somewhat un-Japanese dance.

Vegetable Yogurt

Otsuka is trying to establish a completely new product category - vegetable yogurts - with Yasai no Senshi.

Suntory goes mint

Suntory has released Cool Mint Cider, a mint-flavoured soft drink developed in cooperation with Lotte's Cool Mint chewing gum brand.

Pro Tec Head

Lion has released a new hair-care line for men called PRO TEC HEAD, which consists of four products and offers a new care system to revent hair loss and thinning.

Bitter Caramel

Haagen Dazs Japan has recognized the recent trend to non-sweetened snacks and beverages and has released Bitter Caramel.

National Horse Riding Simulator

National seems to be quite successful with its horse riding simulators - not only because of the novelty and obvious health benefits, but also by cleverly making a sport with a strong celebrity image accessible - at least as a simulation - to the average Tokyo citizen in their cramped apartments. Simulated horse riding for imaginary social mobility?

Axe effect

Axe has launched in Japan with this (hopefully intentionally) funny website.

Premium Calpis

Calpis is the latest company to jump on the premium bandwagon with The Premium Calpis.

SUICA Water

JR is beginning to realize the value of its SUICA penguin character as a promotion tool and has started using it in the adverts for its new From Aqua mineral water brand.

Yakult Thorpedo

Yakult's Thorpedo is a sports drink developed in cooperation with scientists at the University of Sydney.

Office snacks

Manufacturer of traditional Japanese snacks Kanro has come up with this fun campaign presenting its products as the ideal snack when at work.

SUICA & Ecute

SUICA promotion at the Ecute shopping center inside Shinagawa station.

Kirin

Kirin goes premium with this sparkling version of its tea drink Gogo no Kocha.

Mobile SUICA Campaign

JR has launched a campaign to encourage customers to sign up for Mobile Suica, where the Suica card is integrated in their mobile phones.

Kirin & Uniqlo

Kirin has teamed up with discount clothes retailer Uniqlo to promote its Afternoon Tea brand with a campaign offering the chance to win an exclusive Uniqlo T-Shirt.

White Tea

White tea seems to be the latest trend among tea beverages - Coca Cola Japan's Venus White is the latest example.

Suntory Premium Malts Black

Suntory has released a limited black version of its successful premium beer brand Premium Malts.

KitKat Yubari Melon

The latest Kitkat flavour is Yubari Melon - and a percentage of profits go to the famous melon producing (but recently bankrupt) town of Yubari.

La Menta

Lotte has released La Menta - a mint for oyaji (old guys)!?

Deo Natulle

Just in time for the hot and humid rainy season, Deonatulle has released this foot deodorant in a nice, faux-European design. Background and concept of the ad, however, are purely Japanese, with a tatami mat - the traditional flooring found in many homes and restaurants that requires taking off one's shoes - and the caption "Uh-oh, I have to take off my shoes..?".

Frisk

Always quick to pick up on the latest trends, Frisk - which has been a huge hit in Japan with 2.4 boxes sold each second - is offering a case covered in Swarovski crystals as part of its latest campaign.

Tully's goes Jazz

Jazz legend Ron Carter appears in Tully's adverts for its Barista's Special chilled RTD coffee.

The Oolong tea wars

Suntory has been so successful with its tea drink Black Oolong TTP which it claims suppresses the increase in serum triglycerides that osmaller manufacturers are trying to launch copycat products.

Mega Teriyaki

Mc Donald's giant hamburger MegaMac has been so successful that the company will release a teriyaki version soon.

(Teriyaki is a cooking method where meat is broiled in a sweet soy sauce marinade.)

Dolce

Haagen Dazs Japan has branched out into desserts and released a new brand with Dolce.

Peach John goes retro

Lingerie mailorder Peach John goes retro with its latest catalogue featuring model Dita von Teese for a distinct 1940s atmosphere.

NTT DoCoMo goes RED

NTT DoCoMo has joined the (Product) RED initiative and released the M702iS(RED) handset developed by Motorola. A percentage of the profits from sales will be donated to the global fight against AIDS.

The Hop

Sapporo has added another product for its premium Ebisu brand with The Hop.

Lawson Plus

The barriers between convenience stores and supermarkets are disappearing in Japan. Latest example is convenience store operator Lawson with its Lawson Plus stores, which offer fresh produce such as fruits and vegetables alongside the standard convenience store offerings.