Honda to Cut Jobs
Paint Firm Sign Red Devils Manchester United has signed a three-year sponsorship agreement with a Japanese paint manufacturer, The Guardian reported on 18 January. The deal with Kansai Paint Co., Ltd. has shown how top European football clubs can use their international fan base to secure partnerships with a broad range of firms—giving them an appeal that extends beyond consumer brands.
Honda Motor Co., Ltd. plans to cut about 800 jobs at its South Marston plant, Japan Today reported on 12 January. The cuts will take place by the second quarter of 2013 and are due to a Europe-wide fall in demand for the maker’s vehicles. The Japanese firm, which employs a staff of about 3,500 at its southwest England works, will continue to make cars and engines in the UK. Sir Bobby Charlton CBE, ambassador of Manchester United, and Yuzo Kawamori, president and representative director of Kansai Paint Co., Ltd., have signed a three-year deal.
Poll Outlines Gender Salary Divide Japan has the biggest pay gap between men and women, while in the UK the divide is higher than average, according to a study issued on 7 January. Academics from Warwick Business School, the University of Cambridge and Canada’s Lakehead University studied 20 industrialised nations, comparing the
wages of men and women who work in different occupations. Researchers found that there was not much income inequality between men and women from different occupations, and that the biggest pay gaps are found in countries where men and women do the same work.
Report on M&A Rankings
Wine Group Search for Brand Envoy
Japan is the world’s second most acquisitive nation, while the UK is in fourth place, according to a report issued on 9 January by DC Advisory. The leading, pan-European, corporate finance adviser’s annual merger and acquisition (M&A) rankings found that, in 2012, UK businesses and private equity firms completed acquisitions worth $76bn (£48.2bn), while the overseas acquisitions of Japanese corporations and private equity firms totalled 566 instances worth some $105bn (£66.6bn). The US remained the top player in global acquisitions, in 2012 having completed overseas M&A investments worth $307bn (£194.8bn).
Koshu of Japan (KOJ), an organisation that promotes white wine made in Yamanashi Prefecture, has launched a campaign to find a UK brand ambassador, according to a press release issued on 15 January. The winner will be awarded a trip to Japan, including visits to leading wineries in the prefecture and an overnight stay in Tokyo. KOJ is involved in the overseas promotion of the wine which is produced only in Japan from grapes indigenous to the country. Prospective candidates are asked to submit evidence of their knowledge and appreciation of the wine as well as of the Japanese region where the grapes are cultivated. Applicants should also explain how they would promote the wine in the UK market.
UK Top, Japan Fifth in Mobile Ad Spending In 2012, mobile advertisers in the UK spent more than their counterparts anywhere else in the world per mobile internet user, according to a 7 January report by market research firm eMarketer. The same report places Japan in fifth position. Although in absolute dollar terms, Japan is the world’s second-largest mobile advertising market, advertisers spent the equivalent of £16.70 per user, compared with the UK’s £23.15. Norway was in second place, with £22.74 spent per user.
Festival Marks 400 Years of Links with Japan A year-long series of cultural events has been launched in the UK to celebrate the 400th anniversary of relations with Japan, The Japan Times reported on 18 January. The Japan400 festival will hold some 100 events, in which the first exchanges between the two countries will be explored. It will also look at developments in the areas of art, science, trade, enterprise, technology and lifestyle.
Historic Art Displayed Miniature Japanese sculptures have been displayed at a Bolton Museum, This is Lancashire reported on 23 January. The selection of Japanese art includes netsuke—small sculptures made of wood or ivory that were used to secure pouches to kimonos in 17th century Japan. The sculptures depict numerous objects, including animals, people and mythical creatures.
Rare Artwork Found A rare Japanese painting showing early 18th-century street life has been discovered in the Edinburgh Central Library’s special collections, the Belfast Telegraph reported on 4 January. The 13.4m scroll was donated to the library in the 1940s, but its significance was only recently realised by experts in Edinburgh. Painted by Furuyama Moromasa (1712–1772), the scroll could be the largest among his extant works. It depicts a street scene in Edo (as Tokyo was formerly known), showing shops, theatres and domestic life.
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