The reference source on Japanese retail
RetailJapan delivers current data, sector guides and analysis on Japanese retail and consumer markets — built on 25 years of JapanConsuming, the premium monthly intelligence report trusted by global retailers, brands and investors.
What we do
Japan is the world’s most sophisticated retail market — and one of the hardest to read from outside. Official statistics are fragmented and in Japanese; company reporting follows local conventions; and the trade press rarely reaches an international audience. RetailJapan exists to close that gap.
- Interactive dashboards — key indicators for retail formats, department stores, convenience stores, online sales and consumer spending, updated with every METI release.
- Free market guides — concise, current introductions to every major retail channel, from convenience stores to e-commerce.
- A gateway to JapanConsuming — the full premium reports, rankings and monthly analysis for subscribers who need the complete picture.
25 years of JapanConsuming
JapanConsuming was founded in 2000 and has published continuously ever since — a monthly report on Japanese retail and consumer markets that has become the reference source for international retailers, consumer brands, fund managers and analysts working on Japan. Its coverage combines original data compilation — sector rankings, store networks, format-level sales tracking — with analysis grounded in decades of on-the-ground research.
RetailJapan is its data-driven sister publication: the place where JapanConsuming’s core numbers become accessible, current and interactive.
How our data is compiled
Our figures are built from primary sources: METI’s Current Survey of Commerce and related government statistics, company filings and results presentations, industry bodies (JCSC, JDSA, JFCA, JADMA and others), and the Japanese trade press — cross-checked and compiled consistently so that numbers are comparable across years and formats. Where figures are estimates, we say so.
The team
Michael Causton — Publisher
Michael Causton co-founded JapanConsuming and has written on Japanese retail and consumer markets for more than two decades. He holds master’s degrees from Cambridge and Stirling Universities (the latter in Japanese and Japanese business). Michael created a consumer goods distribution business in Tokyo in 1992, with sales of ¥2 billion within eight years, before co-founding JapanConsuming. He regularly consults for companies and governments, including providing talks, seminars and webinars and has published widely on Japanese retailing.
Roy Larke — Editor
Roy Larke is an academic and researcher who has worked in Japan for most of the past 30 years, researching Japanese retail and consumer markets. He co-founded JapanConsuming in 2000 and edits RetailJapan. Roy moved to Japan in 1985 and worked as Professor of International Marketing and Japanese Business at major universities in Kobe and Tokyo. He has consulted for numerous consumer goods companies and retailers with regard to the Japanese market. Roy has published widely on retailing and marketing in Japan, and is the author of four books.
Start with free registration
Registered users get the interactive dashboards and a complete sample issue of JapanConsuming.
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