17 Fukuoka Now #138 June 2010
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English language summaries of last month's top Kyushu area news
stories. 1
Aeon Kyushu Revenue Decline
Fukuoka City-based Aeon Kyushu announced that non-consolidated
sales for the year ended February 2010 fell 3.7% from the
year-before period to 258.9 billion yen. This was the companys
first revenue decline since their stock was publicly offered in
2000. The decline was attributed to lower customer unit prices and
the drop in consumer purchases caused by the economic downturn.
Current profit, however, rose 15.4% to 437 million yen.
Miyazaki Mango Lager
Hideji Beer, a microbrewery in Nobeoka, Miyazaki Prefecture, has
launched sales of a low-malt beer it calls Mango Lager. The beer is
brewed using yeast cultured from the skins of mangoes, A speciality
of the prefecture. The fruit itself is also used as an ingredient,
which is why it has been classified as a low-malt beer. The company
is experimenting with yeast from 80 different types of fruit with
Miyazaki University, and Mango Lager took three years to develop. A
330 milliliter bottle costs 600 yen.
Kyushu University Entrepreneur Center
Kyushu University announced it will open an Entrepreneurship
Center this year with the objective of inculcating the
entrepreneurial spirit in students and providing instruction and
guidance for starting and operating businesses. It will also offer
classes in entrepreneurship starting in the 2011 school year. Plans
call for opening the courses to students from other universities
and adults in the future.
2010 Spring Salary Compromises by Unions
The Nishinippon Shimbun reports that most of Kyushus major
companies have reached agreement with their labor unions in the
annual spring labor offensive. For the most part , those companies
are sticking with standardized salary increases. Most unions
compromised with the companies and accepted terms less than their
demands. Few companies are making efforts to significantly improve
the salary and employment terms of their irregular employees,
either.
7,000 Taxi Maps for Foreigners
In response to the increase in foreign tourists locally, the
Fukuoka City Taxicab Association, along with local publisher
Fukuoka Now, has created a map of areas of interest in the central
part of the city, plus handy words and phrases, in English, Korean,
and Japanese. The objective is to have the tourists enjoy their
stay in the city and use more taxicabs. The maps were distributed
to taxi companies in May, and placed in 7,000 cabs in the urban
area.
Fukuoka Soko Asian Subsidiaries
Fukuoka City-based transport and moving company Fukuoka Soko has
been establishing subsidiaries for the commercial moving business
with a focus on China. The objective is to accelerate corporate
growth while business is down in Japan. The company set up a
subsidiary in Shanghai in January with a branch in Beijing. They
also converted their local operations in Vietnam to a subsidiary
last July. These overseas operations currently account for 20% of
overall revenue.
Island City Bird Sanctuary
A committee to create an eco-zone park on the artificial island
Island City in Hakata Bay submitted its final report for the
creation of that zone to Fukuoka City Mayor Hiroshi Yoshida. It
calls for the establishment of spaces for feeding and rest for rare
birds in the area. The zone will cover about 550 hectares on the
north and northeastern sides of the island. The committee was
formed in November 2006 and met eight times before disbanding at
the end of March this year.
Plenas Bento Shops in Beijing
Fukuoka City-based Plenas, which operates the Hotto Motto bento
shops, announced plans to open takeout bento shops in Beijing,
China. It would be the companys first attempt to run retail shops
in the eating and drinking industry overseas. They will open the
first outlet in July, and hope to operate about 200 in five years.
The company thinks Japanese food is a growth opportunity in China
because food safety is becoming a public issue there.
22% 746 Izutsuya Profits Plunge
Local department store company Izutsuya, currently restructuring
its business, reported sales of 74.6 billion yen for the fiscal
year ended in February 2010, a 22% decline. The company has also
formulated a new mid-term business plan for the next three fiscal
years to cope with a harsh business climate with stagnant
consumption and to confront the opening of the Hakata Hankyu
department store in the new Hakata Station building next year. The
company hopes to create a structure capable of stable profit even
if consumption continues to decline.
Kureko Dance Society Award
The 44th Eiji Yoshikawa Cultural Award was presented in Tokyo,
and the winners of the first prize were three people from the
Society for Preserving the Kureko Traditional Dance from
Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture. The prize, which is to honor
unrecognized people who work to elevate Japanese culture, is worth
one million yen. The dance is said to be at least 500 years
old.
7 New Car Registrations Rise
IA prefectural association of auto dealers released its report
on the number of new car registrations in the seven Kyushu
prefectures during FY 2009. The report showed there were 293,231
registrations, a 17.1% jump from the previous year, and the first
increase in seven years. One factor cited is the financial support
given by the national government for eco-car purchases. That
program ends this fall, however, so there are concerns the overall
totals for this year could drop again.
KKyushu Olive Production
The Kyushu Olive Association started operating its f irst ol ive
grove in Nakagawa-machi, Fukuoka Prefecture, on the 24th of April.
The associations objective is to make Kyushu the leading producer
of olives in East Asia because they are easy to cultivate and have
potential for product development. They also hope to put farmland
currently lying fallow to use.
News source: With permission from the morning editions of the
Nishinippon Newspaper.
