Economy booster
They say the health of the Western economy is measurable by the quantity of champagne consumed. Well out East things are slightly different. For Western bubbly, see Eastern pep drink.
The New York Times reported this week on the fate of the Japanese economy. All eyes were on the sales of Lipovitan D, a power drink mixed to stimulate its workaholic 24/7 user, and made by Taisho Pharmaceutical Co. Ingredients include a mass of vitamins, amino acids and a good measure of caffeine.
In June, Taisho stock sank to a seven-year low. Thats sixty per cent down on its 1999 figures. The company has forecast no growth in sales or profits for this year.
For forty years Lipovitan D has held near mythic status as the stimulant of choice for economy-building Japanese businessmen. It has virtually become one of the pillars of the Japanese miracle. No self-respecting suit would be seen without their can of the elixir as they pushed their mental and physical stamina to breaking point, stuck in the office to all hours, forging a prosperous future for their nation.
The success of Lipovitan D built an energy-drinks market worth two hundred billion yen a year (thats $1.71 billion). It first appeared in 1962, and was an instant hit. Workers drank it by the gallon, as the economy grew at a rate of ten per cent a year. Taisho hired Sadaharu Oh, Japans home run champion, to promote the drink. By 1965 they were shifting 100 million bottles a year. That figure doubled by 1970, and again by 1980.
But the companies recent problems highlight the economic and social changes that are sweeping across Japan. A number of factors are at play. First, globalisation. The business class are increasingly looking to American companies like Starbucks for their boosters. This is particularly true among younger workers, who are turning away from traditional ingredients like royal jelly, jujube and ginseng.
A second factor is regulatory change in 1999 that allowed the drinks to be sold in convenience stores, and no longer just in pharmacies. The belief is that this removed the mystique that had always surrounded the product. Businessmen no longer had to hunt it out in chemists, buying the potion over the counter. How can a product available everywhere you turn have magic properties? Taishos core customers are middle-aged men. They have always played on the macho image. Low-calorie and light versions of the drink (for women and teenagers) failed to take off.
But perhaps most importantly is the performance of the Japanese economy itself. Middle-aged businessmen are spending less. And there are less of them. Unemployment is high. Companies are cutting workers. And the ones they keep are encouraged not to do overtime. No overtime, no pep drink. A sluggish economy means a sluggish workforce. The cycle is reversed. Sales of Lipovitan D plummet.
George Fields, an expert on marketing in Japan, puts it simply. People associate Lipovitan with better times, but thats now passé.
Meanwhile, Taisho Pharmaceutical Co. is shifting its focus onto other products. They are currently pushing Ri-Up, a hair-loss treatment. With all those investors pulling their hair out as they watch the Nikkei average, sales should be good.
Breaking from the US
With most eyes busy watching and assessing the growing rift between the US and Europe, further evidence of the disintegration of the so-called multilateral coalition came to the Diarys attention this week.
The first was an article by Doug Struck in the Washington Post that concentrated on the unease in Japan and South Korea at the recent events in the US, and at the actions of the Bush administration. In both countries there are growing calls for an increased independence from Washington that is complicating domestic politics.
First, Japan, where hopes for an economic recovery have been hit by the corporate scandals in the US. The yen has suffered, and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumis plans to reshape the Japanese economy along the lines of the US have been made to look somewhat ridiculous.
Koizumi
Add to this a continuing anger at the US rejection of the Kyoto treaty and concern about US plans to attack Iraq (Japan gets most of its oil from the Middle East), and youve got one frustrated ally. Things were made worse on June 30, when, as he was watching a World Cup match, Koizumi received word from the Pentagon about a Chinese missile launching. It turned out to be a false alarm. Koizumi was said to be startled by the incident, and not for the first time, US intelligence was brought into question.
Since last year, theres been a major confrontation going on among conservatives, a significant debate carried on in the monthly magazines, Tadae Takubo, author of The New U.S.-Japan Alliance told the Post. The subject of the day is US military might. Michihiro Matsumoto, a debate promoter, has been inspired to schedule a series of public forums on whether Japan should wash its hands with the fifty year-old US-Japan security treaty. Describing himself as a centrist, Matsumoto says lately weve been watching the United States with a mixture of disillusionment and resentment. Everyone likes America, but we are having second thoughts about whether bigness is goodness.
In South Korea, anti-Americanism has been fuelled by Bushs axis of evil speech, which is viewed as having undercut President Kim Dae Jungs sunshine policy towards North Korea, that seeks to re-establish relations between the countries. Theres been room for huge friction in our alliance because of Bushs lopsided foreign policy, says Kim Seong Ho, a South Korean assemblyman and foreign affairs expert in the governing Millennium Democratic Party. The Korean people wont follow the United States unconditionally, like before. Kim Sung Han of the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security in Seoul, agrees, saying that The fact Bush is even considering a pre-emptive action escalates the possibility of crisis. Its a mistake for Bush to treat such an important issue as just a part of Americas global strategy, without giving deeper thought to the Korean peninsula.
Things werent helped when a US armoured vehicle killed two teenage girls in a traffic accident last month. Protests flared. Trust between the two countries has been significantly damaged, admitted Park Won Hong, an opposition member of the South Korean National Assembly.
Meanwhile, in Russia, voices have been raised against US cultural imperialism. Karen Shakhnazarov, director and head of Mosfilm, Russias biggest film studios, has called for a quota on the number of US films allowed to be shown in the country. The hope is that by cutting Hollywoods domination of Russian cinemas, local films (Russian films) will get a look in. At present, only 7% of films shown in Russian cinemas are Russian.
Says Mr. Shakhnazarov, US studios get all the benefits without even having to invest in building new movie theatres. The US government and movie industry are not so keen on the slapping of quotas on Hollywoods artistic output. Theyve already had the experience. Where? Why in South Korea, of course, where embargoes on American movies are said to have breathed new life into the local film industry.
...and the Empire strikes back
In what can best be described as a counter-offensive operation, the US was preparing this week to make the case for itself. On Monday, the House of Representatives passed the Freedom Promotion Act of 2002.
According to BBC monitoring, the act allocates $135 million to expand US broadcasting into Islamic countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. It also gives the State Department $255 million over two years to improve its communication strategies, finance academic exchange programmes, English-language teaching and twin-city partnerships with Muslim countries, as well as more generally expanding US international broadcasting. The main aim is to counter anti-Americanism.
The chief sponsor of the bill is Chairman of the House International Relations Committee, Henry Hyde. Much of the popular press overseas, often including the government-owned media, daily depict the United States as a force for evil, accusing this country of an endless number of malevolent plots against the world, he said in Mondays debate. Even as we strike against the network of terrorists who masterminded the murder of thousands of Americans, our actions are widely depicted in the Muslim world as a war against Islam. He identified a need to ensure that the truth about our country rises above the cacophony of hate and misinformation that often passes for discourse in many areas of the world.
Hyde recalled a statement from last year made to Houe International Relations Committee by the Chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, responsible for international broadcasting: We have virtually no youthful audience under the age of twenty-five in the Arab world. That thought has apparently kept the Republican representative from Illinois up at night.
Hyde called the methods of current US broadcasting antiquated, and demanded that they shift attention towards television and the internet.
The plan is to get government-owned Voice of America to increase its radio broadcasts on AM and use more local FM radio relays. Local TV channels in the Muslim world will also be targeted. The BBC reports that Supporters of the act said US public-diplomacy specialists should increase their use of the Internet and take a more active part in the public debate in Muslim countries.
Look out for that one.
Quotes of the week
He couldnt have been more forthcoming.
Marwan Muasher, Jordanian foreign minister, emerging from a Middle East crisis meeting last week with President George W. Bush.
This will inevitably sound self-serving, but the fact is, it is an enormous advantage to the public to have somebody who knows about the securities business and the securities law as I do, and it would be unthinkable to deprive people of my expertise.
US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman, Harvey Pitt, responding to the suggestion that he should step down from his job due to conflict of interest. Pitt is a former securities lawyer on Wall Street and was appointed to his job by President George W. Bush.
I was embarrassed to tell people I was a CEO. Its like being a sinner.
Kathy Bronstein, CEO of West Seal Inc., a US chain of clothing stores, quoted in the Los Angeles Times.
I am ashamed of what happened to that corporation and the damage that it has done to all of us.
US Army Secretary Thomas White, voicing his regret for the collapse of Enron Corp., where he was an executive for 11 years.
People look at you as if youre insane if you talk about going to Pakistan or Somalia.
Dennis Hays, former US ambassador to Suriname, lamenting his fellow countrymens reluctance to take diplomatic posts in hardship areas.
Contact the Diary editor:dominic.hilton@opendemocracy.net
