Goals
To inform decisions on launching new business in the Japanese market, determine which markets in Japan are positioned for growth based on a PEST analysis of the country for the past 1-3 years.
Early Findings
- A PEST analysis is a look at the political, economic, social, and technological factors that are influencing business for a given country, region, industry, or company.
- Japan's streak of economic growth is on track to become the longest economic growth streak in the post-war era. However, economic experts agree that beginning in 2019, Japan's growth will slow significantly, and this slow growth will continue for the next few years.
- Some factors that will likely contribute to the slowing economy are slowing economies worldwide, an increase in the Japanese consumption tax scheduled for October 2019, and the U.S.-China trade war.
- Japan is highly dependent on exports which means they are greatly influenced by external factors from around the world.
- Experts expect that technology based companies such as mobile payments, artificial intelligence, and e-commerce will see robust growth.
- The consumption tax is increasing from 8% to 10%, and most experts believe this will have a permanent impact on the spending power of consumers.
- The Japanese government is facing economic pressures from many directions including a rising budget deficit (3.7% in 2018), reconstruction work resulting from natural disasters in the country, and infrastructure investments due to the upcoming 2020 Olympics.
- JETRO, the Japan External Trade Organization, created reports on several "attractive sectors" based on "market size, current condition, and the most promising industry fields which stand out in the market for their exceptional growth." These industries include smart robots, biopharmaceuticals, smart agriculture, virtual and augmented reality, renewable energy, tourism-related businesses, electricity, life sciences, and ICT.
- The smart robot market is expected to have a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.9% through 2035.
Proposed Next Steps
We propose continuing the PEST analysis above by providing additional details on the political, economic, social, and technological picture in Japan. (3 hours, $87)
We also propose a deeper dive into the industries that are posed for growth in Japan. We could look at three industries per request and provide a summary of each industry, opportunities in the market, details on why the industry is posed for growth in Japan, and any publicly available information on CAGR and market size. (3 hours, $87 for each set of three industries)
- If we continue with the industry analysis, please provide the industries to be examined. We could do all nine industries identified by JETRO in three reports which would be a total of 9 hours of research, at a cost of $261.
We look forward to your response on how to proceed.