An Essential Industry Report Summarizing the Key Developments and Trends in Japan's B2B Media Industry over the Past Year

DUBLIN, Ireland, Oct 14, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Research and Markets ( http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/eda33f/industry_report) has announced the addition of the "Industry Report - Japan Round-up" report to their offering.

This is an update report building on the last edition published in May 2007. It provides a summary of the key developments in Japan's B2B media industry over the past year. The report is segmented into exhibitions, online & mobile and print.

Despite its size, Japan's B2B media market appears to be viewed by many in the industry as a sleepy, slow-growth market and as a result, it does not always seem to receive the attention that its scale demands. Activities over the past 12 months suggest that this is beginning to change in the online B2B media market, particularly as China-focused companies begin to look towards Japan for new opportunities. Alibaba.com, Baidu and eBay have all made significant announcements recently regarding their commitment to the Japanese market.

Alibaba.com has launched an upgraded Japanese-language sourcing site through a new joint venture with Softbank Group. Earlier in 2008, Baidu formally launched its search services in Japan. eBay has crept back into the market through a deal with Yahoo Japan and Xinhua Finance extended an agreement with MSN Japan to provide data on China's equity and currency markets.

Key trends influencing the market in Japan include the decline of the PC as an Internet access device, the continued rise of mobile devices and the growing popularity of user-generated content. Yet, the conservative traditional Japanese media industry still appears uncertain how to address these trends although three of Japan's leading newspapers (Yomiuri Shimbun, Asahi Shimbun and the Nikkei Daily) did finally acknowledge the Internet by cooperating to launch a content-sharing website.

Japan's exhibitions industry is the second largest in the region behind China. In 2007, BSG estimates that nearly 2.2 million m2 were sold at 362 exhibitions in Japan -- nearly 17% of all of the space sold in Asia. The industry in Japan generated revenues of US$779 million last year. However, Japan's exhibition industry continues to significantly under-perform the rest of the Asian market recording just 1% growth in 2007. Preliminary figures, now being finalized by BSG suggest that the regional average was 14% and China recorded 21% growth last year.

Japan's exhibition market is mature and it looks likely to continue to grow more slowly than the rest of Asia through the end of 2009. This is largely due to the fact that other markets in Asia are going through a period of modernisation and expansion. High growth markets include India, Korea, China and Indonesia. Despite this, it should be noted that some foreign organisers such as Reed Exhibitions and CMP Asia continue to generate significant business in the Japanese exhibitions market.