Biz Buzz Japan

Biz Buzz Japan features the latest business trends that can impact your business and lifestyle. Our topic today is sushi. Popular worldwide, we focus on sushi innovations in Japan, both technical and culinary. We visit a sushi outlet with a new high-tech system offering the ultimate speedy service. We also meet an innovative sushi chef with a popular online video teaching sushi etiquette in English. His Tokyo restaurant is packed with visitors from abroad. Other master chefs show us and their foreign students how to create authentic sushi for their international clientele. Sushi topped with innovation; a combination always rolling forward.

The whole world's falling in love with healthy Japanese cuisine. This episode of Biz Buzz Japan presents some new ways to store food. Each makes it possible to deliver ingredients to distant diners without sacrificing quality or freshness. One technique makes use of slurry ice to keep skipjack tuna at an optimal temperature right through until it's prepared for consumption. Another fast-freezes prepared ingredients, so that even inexperienced cooks can simulate the quality of Japan's top chefs!

Japan is in the middle of an unprecedented tourism boom. In 2015 a record number of people visited Japan from overseas, and against this backdrop numerous uniquely Japanese services are emerging. In addition to simply taking people from A to B, certain trains have become destinations in their own right. Another new trend sees traditional homes converted into guesthouses, offering visitors a chance to interact with local people. This episode of Biz Buzz Japan explores some new niche services targeting tourists.

With global demand for food increasing, Japan is rising to the challenge with various innovative approaches. Fallow land is being brought back into production by renting it to amateur farmers, data analytics and other forms of high tech are boosting yields, and new markets are being developed for Japan's staple crop, rice: rice gel is even being used to make chocolate cake! This episode of Biz Buzz Japan digs into the hidden potential of Japanese agriculture, as well as "telephone farmers" in Kenya.

By the year 2025 the global robotics market is expected to triple in size relative to 2010, and Japan is at the forefront of this boom. It's not just industrial robots that are in the spotlight; robots have recently started to move away from the factory and get involved in everyday life, helping both those in need and the people who care for them. Androids, too, are making great strides. These days you'll even find them at hotel check-in desks, or complaining when they're feeling tired!

"Made in Japan" once ruled the world, and now a new image of "making" is changing the face of Japanese manufacturing as people seize fresh opportunities to develop, make, and market a diverse range of products. We meet the independent manufacturers of a stylish light, and a popular smartphone charger. We also see the maker take on the power of cute (kawaii). Our studio guests discuss the key role played by technological and network innovations and the new opportunities that exist for commercial success.

Japan is covered in forests, and wood is central to some great new businesses. One lumber company exports timbers that are used to make traditional structures with no need for expert skills. We meet the man behind a forest adventure park that is breathing fresh life into a regional community, and we learn about amazing cellulose nanofiber, a wood-based material that is much stronger than steel! Our studio guests discuss the interesting opportunities that may be concealed in Japan's forests.

The obstacles to widespread adoption of alternative sources of energy include unstable supplies and long-distance delivery. In Japan, new ways to store and convert energy are being explored as ways to address these challenges and generate new business value. One solution involves the use of recycled rechargeable batteries from electric cars. Another could improve the shipment of hydrogen in bulk. Our studio guests discuss these solutions in the context of the latest global energy developments.